Fall 2012 - Dynamics of the  Earth (Geology 100) - Web-based Class - Syllabus

Introduction | Grading | Contact Information | Objectives | Holidays | Final | Schedule of Readings and Exams

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Posted initially on 8/21/2012

Please read this syllabus carefully. It outlines the structure of this class, and provides you a reading and exam schedule (see links at the top of this page). After carefully reading this syllabus, for those of you who remain unsure of how this class will work, then please drop by my office in GMCS 120 for a brief 5 to 10 min chat about the structure of this course.

Finally, note that the four required exams are scheduled for Saturday between 9:30 and 11:00 am. Exams 1, 2, and 4 will be in GMCS 333 while exam 3 will be in ENS 280 (see Schedule of Readings and Exams).

Posted 8/21/2012- Extra credit questions for exam 1
Complete a google search and be prepared to answer the following questions on Exam 1.

1. The March 11, 2011 earthquake that struck Japan occurred along what kind of a plate boundary (1 point)?
2. What was the magnitude of the March 11 earthquake (1 point)?
3. How many people were killed during the March 11earthquake (1 point)?
4. What was the major cause of so many deaths (1 point)?
5. In terms of the magnitude of the March 11 earthquake, how does it rank in history (1 point)?

No go to the following web site and read Chapter 4 Mount St. Helens: A Case Study - http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/
Chapter 4 can be found in the Table of Contents under the menu item labeled "eBook". After reading Chapter 4 please be prepared to answer the following questions on Exam 1.

1. What is the maximum speed reached by the pyroclastic flow generated by the northward-directed lateral blast that occurred on May 18, 1980 at Mt. St. Helens? (1 point)
2. The area affected by the pyroclastic flow produced by the lateral blast can be subdivided into three roughly concentric zones.  What are these zones referred to and how is each characterized? (3 point)
3. How were most people killed during the May 18, 1980 eruption? (1 point)

Posted 8/21/2012 - Extra credit questions for exam 2
Go to the following web site and read the material in Chapter 8, Landslides, paying particular attention to the Mount Soledad and La Conchita landslides:
http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/
Chapter 8 can be found in the Table of Contents, under the menu item “eBook”. After reading this material, please answer the following questions.

1. Where is La Conchita located?
2. What kind of a landslide occurred on March 4, 1995 at La Conchita?
3. During the January 10, 2005 event, was new material involved in the landslide? If not, then what part of the March 4 landslide was reactivated?
4. How thick was the debris that buried 4 blocks of La Conchita during the January 10 event?
5. How many people were killed during the January 10 event at La Conchita?
6. What is thought to have been the major cause of both the March 4 and January 10 landslides at La Conchita?
7. How would you describe the material making up the mountain in back of La Conchita?
8. What is the name of the most ancient and probably largest landslide?
9. Is it safe to live at La Conchita? If not, then why not?
10. List below two rather obvious similarities between the La Conchita and Mount Soledad landslides?

Posted 8/21/2012 - Extra credit question for Exam 3
The geologic column or geologic time scale is the framework in which geologists view Earth history.  On the CD and web site Figure 7 of Chapter 9 is an example of the geologic column.  You will receive 10 extra credit points if you can list in descending order (youngest/uppermost to oldest/lowermost) the Eonothems/Eons, Erathems/Eras, Systems/Periods, and Series/Epochs of the column shown in Figure 7, Chapter 9. You also must show the age boundaries for the Cenozoic, Mesozoic, and Paleozoic.

Posted 8/21/2012 - Extra credit questions for Exam 4
Please consult the following web sites for the answers to the following questions. Each correct answer is worth 1 point of extra credit.

• http://www.earthquakecountry.info/10.5/MajorMovieMisconceptions/ - for questions 1 - 5
• http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/visualgeology/naturaldisasters/ - for question 6 - 10 consult Chapter 7 Earthquake Hazards at this site
  

1. What is the largest magnitude earthquake recorded in historical time, and what was the length of fault rupture?
2. What is the largest magnitude earthquake recorded in California, and what was the length of fault rupture?
3. What can you deduce about the length of fault rupture and the magnitude of the resulting earthquake?
4. Is a magnitude 10.5 earthquake possible?
5. If your answer to (4) is no, then why not?
6. The Mexico City earthquake killed approximately 9500 people.  What was the major cause of all of these deaths?
7. What kind of geological material is Mexico City built on?
8. During the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 liquefaction during ground shaking produced what two cascading effects that ultimately led to much of the city being consumed by fire?
9. About 410,000 people lived in San Francisco at the time of the 1906 earthquake.  About how many were left homeless?
10. The North Anatolia fault ruptured on August 17, 1999.  The resulting earthquake killed between 17,000 and 40,000 people and left about 500,000 homeless, and is commonly referred to as the Izmit earthquake.  In what country did the Izmit earthquake occur?

You do not need a scantron for any of the scheduled exams.

Required CD (its your book): Notes on Planet Earth version 3.0 can be purchased in the campus bookstore. If you are confident that the server will not go down, or are confortable reading the material online, then you do not have to purchase the CD. If you are a Mac user, then purchase the CD from the bookstore, and then bring it to me so that I can exchange it for one compiled specfically for the Mac OS.

Introduction

Geologists utilize physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science to develop a holistic understanding of our planet. In so doing they have reached the conclusion that the fundamental Earth paradigm is Plate Tectonics, a subject that we will cover in Chapter 1. As you walk on the surface of the Earth, it feels hard and solid. That is because it is built from various types of rocks and sediments, topics that we will cover in Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. However, prior to jumping too far ahead it is important to recognize that the rocks and sediments below our feet are made up of many different varieties of minerals, a topic that we will cover in Chapter 2. As you probably already know the Earth has a long complicated history. In Chapter 9 we will delve deeply into this history, and attempt to understand how geologists distinguish time, an abstract but quantifiable term, from material that was deposited during, and therefore is representative of, a particular time. Geologic maps portray the distribution of various types of Earth materials and the complicated forms that are produced by forces acting within and on the surface of our planet. In Chapter 10 we will learn how to read a topographic map, and in Chapters 11 and 12 we will study how to identify folds and faults as well as consider the causes of earthquakes. In Chapter 13 we will evaluate the kinds of evidence that indicate that in the past the global climate of our planet was vastly different than it is today. We will then consider several reasons why that may be the case. We will close our study of planet Earth by investigating the causes of ocean waves, tides, currents, and tsunamis in Chapters 14 and 15.

All exams will be taken on the scheduled dates. Basically, I provide you a web site and a CD that contains all of the material including practice tests. You work through the 15 chapters and take four exams according to the schedule listed below. 

At the web site you will find under Table of Contents, links to your syllabus and a video introduction (Introduction), my eBook (eBook), videos of each of my lectures (Video Lectures), PDF files of practice exams (Practice Exams), video reviews for each of the four exams that you will take (Exams Video Review), PDF files for the Geology 101 Laboratories (Geology 101 Labs), and a link to my biographic sketch (About the Author). If you have not signed up for the 1 unit Geology 101 Laboratory, then do not worry about the link for the various Laboratories.

Grading/Assessment

There will be four exams, each exam being worth 25% of your total grade.  Extra credit questions will be provided to students at various times during the course. I will not provide answers to the extra credit questions. The 4 exams break the course up into 4 more or less equal quarters.

Range/Grade
100 – 93.3 A
93.3 – 90 A-
89.9 – 86.7 B+
86.7 – 83.3 B
83.3 – 80.0 B-
79.9 – 76.7 C+
76.7 – 73.3 C
73.3 – 70 C-
69.9 – 67.7 D+
67.7 – 63.3 D
63.3 – 60.0 D-
< 60 F

Contact Information

My office phone number is 594-2552 and my e-mail address is ggirty@geology.sdsu.edu. My office is GMCS 120. If you have any questions, then please do not hesitate to call or e-mail me. I have open office hours Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from ~8:00 am - ~3:00 pm. However, I may be in the field with my graduate students on some Fridays. You do not have to email or phone to make an appointment, but for Fall 2012 it might be a good idea to email prior to coming in on Friday.

Objectives

This course has several overarching and content goals. Overarching goals are outline below and meet several of the Goals and Objectives for GE Courses in the Sciences as outlined in the 2003 SDSU Curriculum Guide

I. Overarching Goals/Outcomes
After completion of this course students will be able to:

1. Articulate the multidisciplinary integrated nature of the Earth Sciences and the importance of its role in their and others everyday lives (Goal 1 – Objectives 2 and 3)

2. Articulate how technological advances along with the collection of a myriad of observational and analytical data over the last 200 years have lead naturally to the interpretation that the Earth originated about 4.6 billion years ago, and that its development has been punctuated by several major planet-wide events that brought about profound change in Earth’s habitants (Goal 2 – Objective 1)

3. Articulate how laboratory experimentation has lead to an enhanced understanding of dynamic earth processes such as faults and earthquakes, and, as a result, how the Earth Sciences have impacted their and others quality of life (Goal 2 – Objective 2; Goal 3 – Objective 3).

4. Articulate how the scientific method is used to infer the causes of global-scale changes that have affected planet Earth over time (Goal 2 – Objectives 2, 3).

5. Articulate examples of everyday observations that indicate that the Earth is dynamic and ever changing, and how these observations impact their daily life (Goal 4 – Objectives 1, 3, 4).

The above overarching goals are intertwined with the following specific content goals.

II. Content Goals/Outcomes
To meet content goals students will be able to:

1. Articulate the role that lithospheric plates and their movements play in shaping the Earth’s landmasses and ocean basins, and the internal compositional and mechanical attributes of planet Earth

2. Identify from their physical and chemical characteristics the common minerals in the non-silicate and silicate mineral groups

3. Distinguish the three major rock groups based on their physical characteristics and modes of formation

4. Articulate the distribution of the 12 major soil orders within the various states, and convey the major climatic or parental controls on this distribution

5. Convey the vastness of geologic time, key biological and physical events that have affected Earth through time, the terminology used to distinguish time from the rocks and sediments deposited during a specific time interval, and the role of the fundamental age equation in establishing the temporal framework for the geologic time scale

6. Identify the different types of faults and demonstrate an understanding of their origin, distribution, and relationship to earthquakes.

7. Identify the different types of folds from their geometrical and stratigraphic character, and the various map symbols used to locate and characterize them on geologic maps.

8. Identify the various landforms displayed on topographic maps, articulate locations in township and range format, and convey the differences between magnetic and geographic north.

9. Articulate the role of the Earth, Moon, and Sun in producing tides, the role of wind in producing waves, and the physical characteristics of deep and shallow water waves.

10. Convey that the Earth’s climate has been different in the past as exemplified by the Great Ice Age, and that the Earth’s climate is influenced by a variety of mechanisms including the precession and obliquity of the Earth’s axis of rotation and the eccentricity of its orbit around the sun along with large volcanic eruptions and bolide impacts.

Holidays

September 3 - Labor Day

November 12 - Veteran's Day

November 23-24 - Thanksgiving

Final

December 1 - 0930 to 1100 - GMCS 333

Schedule of Readings and Exams

Below is the schedule that we will follow during Fall 2012. Please adhere to it. Note that to prevent conflicts with your Monday through Friday class schedule all exams will be given Saturday mornings, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am. Exams 1, 2, and 4 will be held in GMCS 333 while exam 3 will be in ENS 280.

For each chapter, there is also an online video lecture for you to watch. You are strongly encouraged to first read the material for a given chapter, and then watch the video lecture or vice virsa. After you have completed this task, then download and print out the practice exam. Find a quiet place, and work through all of the questions on the practice exam. If you score a 90 or higher, then you probably know the material well enough that you can go on to the next chapter. If you do not score 90 or higher, then you need to go back over the material. Please note that none of the questions in the practice exams are repeated in the exams that you will be required to take. However, the practice exams focus your attention on the concepts and ideas that I think are important. These concepts and ideas are what I will test you on. Finally, I have posted for each exam a Video Review for you to watch. These reviews are posted under the link Exams Video Review on the home page. You are strongly encouraged to watch the video reviews.