CSUN Geol101: Geology of Planet Earth Syllabus, Fall 2010

Tuesday/Thursday 8:00-9:15 AM, Chaparral Hall Room 5122

Prof. Richard Heermance

-Office LO1212, email: richard.heermance@csun.edu, phone 677-4357

-office hours: Wed 11-1 PM or by appointment

-class webpage: “moodle” page at csun.edu

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1) understand the geology of southern California

2) introduce you to basic geologic concepts and how they are applied

3) learn to use the scientific method and apply your geologic knowledge to different environmental and geologic issues

GRADING

1) Problem Sets (4 @ 10% each) 40%

2) Exams (3 @ 15% each) 45%

3) Quizzes/Class Participation/Attendance 15%

TEXTS AND MATERIALS

Plummer GEOL101: Physical Geology, ISBN 9780077954314. This is a custom text made for CSUN, but is directly based on the text Physical Geology, 13^th ed by Plummer, Carlson, and Hammersley. Four copies of this book are on reserve at the library (2 hrs/sitting).

CLASS LECTURE AND TEXTBOOK ADVICE

The most important concepts from each chapter will be highlighted during class, as well as other key concepts & quiz answers. To prepare for exams and study for class, you should go over your in-class notes, read each chapter outline, and the chapter summary. This will give you an overview of the chapter and allow you to focus on the key concepts. Pay careful attention to figures. Finish the chapter by asking yourself if you can define the “Terms to remember” at the end.

CLASS STRUCTURE

Please feel free to ASK QUESTIONS at any time during the class. This will hopefully make the material clearer and make class more interesting.

CLASS RULES

A. Turn OFF all cell-phones and other electronic equipment while in-class. This means NO TEXTING, TALKING, EMAILING, ETC IN CLASS! I will confiscate any equipment used for personal use during class time.

B. Group work and discussion is encouraged. All written assignments and exams, however, must be done entirely by each student unless otherwise instructed.

C. Honor code violations will result in automatic NO CREDIT
Geology 101 Syllabus, Fall 2010

Week	Dates	important dates	Topic	Chapter
1	Aug 24 Aug 26		Introduction to the Geology of LA, the Scientific Method, Atoms, Elements and minerals	1, 2
2	Aug 31 Sep 2		Atoms, Elements and Minerals Igneous Rocks	2 3, 4
3	Sep 7 Sep 9	PS #1 due Thursday	Igneous Rocks Sedimentary Rocks	3, 4 5, 6
4	Sep 14 Sep 16		Sedimentary Rocks Geologic Time Overview	5, 6 8
5	Sep 21 Sep 23	Tuesday, EXAM #1	Geologic Time Tuesday, Exam #1: ch 1-6	8
6	Sep 28 Sep 30		Metamorphic Rocks	7
7	Oct 5 Oct 7	PS #2 due Tuesday	Geologic Structures	15
8	Oct 12 Oct 14		Earthquakes	16
9	Oct 19 Oct 21		Plate Tectonics	19
10	Oct 26 Oct 28	Thursday: EXAM #2	Plate Tectonics Th, Exam #2	19
11	Nov 2 Nov 4 Nov 5-6*	*Fri-Sat: PS #5 Little Tujunga Field Trip	Glaciers, Glaciation and Climate Change	12
12	Nov 9 no class Th	PS #3 due Tuesday	Mass Wasting	9
13	Nov 16 Nov18	PS#4 due Tuesday	Streams and Floods	10
14	Nov 23 no class Th		Groundwater
15	Nov 30, Dec 2	Thurs EXAM #3	Exam #3: Ch 9-12	11
16	Dec 7 Th Dec 9	PS#5 due Tuesday Th: Final E.	Review, Problem Set #4 Due Final Exam 8-10 AM

PROBLEM SETS

1) “Los Angeles against the mountains” by J. Mcphee (1989)

2) Using Google Earth to solve geologic problems

3) Tujunga field trip (Friday, Nov 5 or Sat, Nov 6)

4) “Catch-22: Water vs. Energy” in Scientific American Earth 3.0 (2008)

5) Rivers (“virtual river” and USGS websites)

The Problem Sets are designed to encourage critical thinking and expose you to various geologic data. Problem sets will be graded on a 25 point scale, and turned in via “moodle.” All problem sets must be turned in by 5:00 PM on the due date, NO EXCEPTIONS! You will be allowed to drop the lowest grade from the 5 problem sets.

EXAMS

This class will have 4 exams (including the final exam). You will be allowed to drop the lowest exam score. All exams will be cumulative, although the recent material will be the main focus in each exam. All exams will be scantron and you must bring your own scantron card to each exam. There will be no make-up exams allowed.