Geosciences 102: Principles of Historical Geology

Geosciences 102: Principles of Historical Geology, Spring 2016

Textbook: Evolution of the Earth, Prothero and Dott, 8th Edition (or earlier).

LECTURE SCHEDULE: MW 9:00-9:50AM; Lapham Hall 160

No weapons are permitted in any building on the UWM campus.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

DATE TOPIC PAGES IN TEXT

Jan. 25 Introduction; Early Historical Geologists Ch. 2 (16-17, box on p. 18)

Jan. 27 Early Historical Geologists (continued) Ch. 2 (16-17, box on p. 18)

Feb. 1 Sedimentary Rocks PDF on D2L

Feb. 3 Depositional Environments PDF on D2L

Feb. 8 Scientific Methods & Modern Concepts of Hist. Geo. Ch.1,2,4:pp. 9-13,17,22-35, 67-77,80-83

Feb. 10 Faunal Succession, Biostratigraphy, Numerical Dating Ch. 2 (18-22); Ch. 4 (78-80); Ch. 5

Feb. 15 Plate Tectonics and Origin of the Earth Ch. 6, 7

Feb. 17 catch-up, review session

Feb. 22 EXAM 1 (Jan. 25-Feb. 17)

Feb. 24 Evolution Ch. 3

Feb. 29 Precambrian and Early Life Ch. 8 (165-177); Ch. 9 (181-191)

Mar. 2 Cambrian Explosion Ch. 9 (192-205)

Mar. 7 Marine Paleoecology no reading

Mar. 9 Early Paleozoic Ch. 10 (210-229)

Mar. 11 Learning Journal I DUE VIA D2L DROPBOX (see Grading section)

Mar. 14 SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS

Mar. 16 SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS

Mar. 21 Early Paleozoic II Ch. 11

Mar. 23 Middle Paleozoic Ch. 12

Mar. 28 Late Paleozoic Ch. 13

Mar. 30 catch-up, review session

Apr. 4 EXAM 2 (Feb. 24-Mar. 30)

Apr. 6 Mesozoic I Chapter 14 (351-382)

Apr. 11 Mesozoic II Chapter 14 (382-404)

Apr. 13 Cenozoic Ch. 15 (413-440)

Apr. 18 Cenozoic II Ch. 15 (443-461)

Apr. 20 Pleistocene Chapter 16 (465-488)

Apr. 25 Mass extinctions (p. 404-411)

Apr. 27 Human Evolution Chapter 16 (489-499)

May 2 Future Predictions Ch. 17

May 4 catch up

May 9 catch up; review session

May 10 Learning Journal II DUE VIA D2L DROPBOX (see Grading section)

May 12 FINAL EXAM (Apr. 6-May 9), 10:00AM-12:00PM, Lapham 160

COURSE GOALS:

The primary goals of this course are to introduce you to the history of the Earth and the life that inhabits it, as well as the methodologies that geologists and paleontologists use to understand Earth’s history. I hope that you come away from this course with a deeper understanding and appreciation for how geological and biological processes have shaped our modern world.

EXPECTATIONS:

You can expect me to:

1)  present information as clearly as possible. All of my lectures will be made using PowerPoint, and I will use the chalkboard and overhead projector a lot, too.

2)  make lecture notes available on D2L (Desire2Learn) before class (see section about D2L below). I highly recommend that you print the class notes before lectures. I will be presenting a lot of information and you need to be able to keep up with me. Lectures will be available as PowerPoint files ONLY. (NOTE: The lecture notes posted online contain only the figures, key words and processes that we will cover in class. The rest of the information can be obtained and filled-in during class.)

3)  hold review sessions during the class period before exams.

4)  meet with you either during my office hours or during an appointment if you wish to discuss any aspect of the course.

5)  welcome questions at any time before, during, or after class.

6)  be kind to you and respectful of you at all times.

I expect you to:

1)  attend class. There is a direct correlation between class attendance and course grade. (The more classes you attend, the higher your course grade.) The exams will be written assuming you’ve attended class. Some of the material presented will be new science and will not be available in textbooks yet.

2)  read (or at least scan) the appropriate pages in the textbook before lecture.

3)  get notes from missed classes from D2L or from a classmate, NOT from me. It is my responsibility to present information every class period (twice a week), and it is your responsibility to go to class to obtain that information. I will not e-mail notes and I will not print them out for you.

4)  BE RESPECTFUL OF YOUR CLASSMATES. Everyone taking this course is working hard to do well in school and to pay tuition. On behalf of your hard-working classmates, please TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES AND LEAVE THE CHIT-CHAT IN THE HALLS WHERE IT BELONGS. Lecture attendance is not required. Arriving late and/or leaving early are inconsiderate of your colleagues.

5)  refer to this syllabus for the answers to frequently asked questions before you ask me what chapters the exams cover, the date of the final exam, etc.

6)  follow the simple rules of E-mail etiquette. Do not e-mail me questions or comments that you would not ask me or tell me in person. I will try to reply to your e-mail messages within 2 days. If you have a serious question about class or a complaint, please see me before or after class (I always show up early and stay late), during my office hours, or make an appointment to meet with me. I am happy to discuss any aspect of the course with you in person!

7)  be respectful of me.

GRADING:

1.  Lecture Examinations: There will be 3 lecture exams based on material covered in the lecture portion of the class; each is worth 15% of your final grade. The lecture exams will consist of ~50 multiple-choice and short-answer essay questions. I recommend at least 1 hour of studying for each lecture that is covered on each exam. For example, Exam 1 covers 8 topics, so plan to study at least 8 hours for Exam 1.

Extra credit on exams: Students will have the option of taking a quiz on D2L before each lecture exam in order to earn up to 5 points on each lecture exam grade. The online quizzes will consist of 5 multiple-choice questions each. Each quiz will be made available between the end of each exam’s review session and the exam itself. There will be no opportunities to make-up the quizzes after the lecture exam has begun, so please do not ask to do this. These quizzes are optional but are intended to be a way for you to gauge your understanding of the course material. Please take the optional “trial quiz” on D2L before February 10 to ensure that you understand how quizzes and exams work on D2L!

2. Learning Journals: Studies have shown that students learn science more effectively and gain greater confidence in the subject material when they conduct scientific writing. ‘Writing-to-learn’ will help you gain a deeper understanding of concepts and scientific thinking, and will help you move away from simply memorizing facts.

In the middle and at the end of the semester you are expected to complete and submit a Learning Journal assignment. The assignments, tips for writing a Learning Journal, and the rubric I will use to evaluate the learning journals are available in the Geosciences 102 course pages on D2L. Submissions should be a word-processing file that is double-spaced; typed; and in a 12-point font. Each learning journal is worth 5% of your final grade. Due dates for the learning journals are listed in the schedule above. I recommend at least 3 hours to write a good Learning Journal.

Keep in mind that I can access any website that you can access, so do not plagiarize! Check out this information from the UWM Libraries on how to NOT plagiarize: http://guides.library.uwm.edu/content.php?pid=217260&sid=1806375 .

3. Laboratory: A major part of this course is the 2-hour lab section you will attend each week. Your lab TA and syllabus will have more details.

Laboratory Exercises: Exercises will be performed, completed, and turned in to the TA each week during your lab session. These exercises will comprise 25% of your final grade for GEO SCI 102. The lab exercises will also be your best form of preparation for the lab exams. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP LABS FOR ANY REASON, SO DO NOT ASK. TAs have too much to do to cater to individual scheduling conflicts or personal whims.

Laboratory Exams: There will be 2 lab practical exams; each is worth 10% of your final grade. Each examination will be centered on what you observed and performed in lab. Your TA and your laboratory syllabus will be able to provide you with more information on the lab exams. I recommend at least 1 hour of studying for each laboratory that is covered on each laboratory exam. For example, if Lab Exam 1 covers 5 topics, plan to spend at least 5 hours studying for that exam.

4. Regarding conflicts: Students can make up missed lecture and laboratory exams for official university activities, medical conditions, family emergencies, religious observations, or military duty ONLY. Excuses like forgetting the date of the exams, being on vacation, etc. are not acceptable for making up any exam or lab so DO NOT ASK. If you are going to miss an exam for an official university activity or military duty, you must inform me in advance and give me the proper documentation from a coach or other university official. If you miss an exam due to illness, you will need to present a doctor’s note to me when you return in order to make up the exam. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH D2L and/or WITH YOUR COMPUTER ARE NOT VALID EXCUSES FOR NOT COMPLETING YOUR WORK. ALL ISSUES PERTAINING TO EXAMS, MAKE-UP EXAMS AND EXTRA CREDIT MUST BE RESOLVED BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM.

5. Grading Summary:

Assignment % of Grade

Lecture Exam I 15%

Lecture Exam II 15%

Lecture Exam III (Final Exam) 15%

Learning Journals 10%

Lab Exam I 10%

Lab Exam II 10%

Laboratory Exercises 25%

TOTAL 100%

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT AND PLAGIARISM: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Acad_Aff/policy/academicmisconduct.html

“Academic misconduct is an act in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation, uses unauthorized materials or fabricated data in any academic exercise, forges or falsifies academic documents or records, intentionally impedes or damages the academic work of others, engages in conduct aimed at making false representation of a student's academic performance, or assists other students in any of these acts. Prohibited conduct includes cheating on an examination; collaborating with others in work to be presented, contrary to the stated rules of the course; submitting a paper or assignment as one's own work when a part or all of the paper or assignment is the work of another; submitting a paper or assignment that contains ideas or research of others without appropriately identifying the sources of those ideas; stealing examinations or course materials; submitting, if contrary to the rules of a course, work previously presented in another course; tampering with the laboratory experiment or computer program of another student; knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above, including assistance in an arrangement whereby any work, classroom performance, examination or other activity is submitted or performed by a person other than the student under whose name the work is submitted or performed.”

The first offense will earn you a score of 0 on the assignment. Any infraction thereafter will get you an F for the course.

D2L AND GEOSCIENCES 102:

Many students wish to print lecture notes before class starts and to take notes on the print-outs during class—I highly recommend doing this. I will make the lectures available as PowerPoint files only. In order to find and browse the course Web site:

1.  Call up your Web browser and go to the UWM home page: http://www.uwm.edu

2.  From the UWM home page, click on the “E-learning, D2L” link near the top right of the screen.

3.  On the next screen, click on the Desire2Learn logo.

4.  This will bring up the Desire2Learn welcome screen. You will see a location to enter your Username and Password.

5.  Your Username is your ePanther username (the same username as your ePanther campus email), without the “@uwm.edu” part. Do not hit Enter after you have typed in your username! Either hit the Tab key on your keyboard, or use the mouse to click in the box next to Password.

6.  Your Password is your ePanther password. After you have typed in your ePanther password, then please hit Login.

7.  You should then see a My Home screen. You will see on the screen a list of My Milwaukee Courses. There is a + next to the words Fall 2014; click on the + sign. You will then see a + next to the name of any department in which you are enrolled in a course that uses D2L, for example, + BUS-Business Management or + L&S-Biological Sciences. Click on that + too. Finally, you will see a course title underlined in blue. That is a hot link: click on it and you will enter your course Home Page.

8.  Once you are on the My Home screen, you will see links on the left side of your screen that allow you to change your ePanther password or forward your ePanther email to your preferred private email address.

9.  If you have any difficulty getting on the course Web site, please close down your Web browser completely and open it up again, then try logging on again using the instructions above. If you do not know your ePanther username or password, please get help as indicated below.