Abbreviated Course Syllabus
Physical Geology
EEES 1010, Spring semesters, 3 credit hours
This course is approved for credit for the Natural Science Core Requirement, and it will:
----Provide a general understanding of the nature of science
----Provide an analysis and evaluation of scientific information
----Provide discipline specific principles and information regarding the earth sciences
----Demonstrate how geology impacts society and how this knowledge can be utilized
----Introduce scientific reasoning skills.
Instructor: Dr. Alison L. Spongberg
Office: Bowman-Oddy 3086-F, Lab: Bowman-Oddy 3059.
Telephone: 530-4091 (office), 530-2986 (Lab, Press 1 to leave message). Messages can also be left with EEES office 530-2009.
Office Hours: MWF 9-11. If these hours are not convenient for you, contact me for special arrangements.
Course Objective: This course has been designed to give the student (both geology majors and non-majors) a solid grounding in earth materials, processes, and features that are encountered in our lives every day. Emphasis in this course will be divided equally between 1 - minerals and rocks, 2 - surface processes and landforms, and 3 - internal earth processes. Overall emphasis is slanted towards recent newsworthy events of geologic origin.
Required* Text: Essentials of Geology, by Wicander & Monroe, 4th ed. Inside the front cover is a registration code for you to access online resources associated with our text. This will only work with NEW texts, not ones that have been registered before. Although I will not require you to have access to this site, it is an excellent study aid. Remember to write down your username and password.
* An older edition of our text or another Physical Geology text will be fine for my course. The chapter numbers and names might be different, but you should be able to find the appropriate material. I do encourage you at get some sort of text for this course. Do not rely only on the course notes.
Class website for additional dates and information:
Use your myUT website, also, to download syllabus and other information. If you want any of your professors to be able to contact you by e-mail, you must provide an e-mail address.
Accompanying Laboratory course: EEES 1020, 1 credit hour, is a laboratory course that roughly follows the outline for this lecture course. This companion course focuses on mineral and rock identification, map reading, and analysis of geologic structures. It is not required that the student take both courses, nor do they have to be taken during the same semester. However, the visual and ‘hands-on’ nature of EEES 1020 will be very helpful for understanding the material in 1010. This lab is especially useful for Middle School Education majors (in my opinion). If you wish to sign up for lab this semester, attend the first scheduled class of any open section and the TA will help you enroll in that section. Call the EEES office (x2009) for more information.
Students with disabilities: If any student has a disability that requires special assistance, please tell the instructor so that appropriate measures can be taken. It is also recommended that the student contact the Office of Accessibility as soon as possible for additional support.
Topical Outline: (Subject to change)
Approximate timing / TopicWeeks 1 and 2 / Introduction
Plate Tectonic Theory
Week 3 / Earthquakes
Week 4 / Atoms, Elements and Minerals
Week 5 / Igneous rocks and Volcanoes
Week 6 / Weathering and Soil
Sedimentary Rocks
Week 7 / Streams and Rivers
Week 8 / Metamorphic Rocks
Week 9 / Geologic Time
Weeks 10 and 11 / Geologic and Energy Resources
Week 12 / Groundwater
Week 13 / Earth’s Interior
Week 14 / Plate Tectonics Revisited
Week 15 / Additional topic, if time
Finals Week / Comprehensive Test
Tuesday 12:30