Texts

• After many years of relying on a textbook by Klein (Manual of Mineralogy), we are moving this quarter to a new text, by Nesse: Introduction to Mineralogy. This change is because the content of the course is changing to include basic petrographic techniques, which are not covered at all in Klein. While I realize that this is a bit of a financial burden for some, as there will be few (no?) used texts, the benefits of this new text for you outweigh the difficulties. Also, for those of you going on to take Optical Mineralogy, Geo 406 (or its successor course next year, Advanced Petrography), this text will likely suffice for that course as well.
• We will use the text extensively - bring it to lecture and lab.

Other resources

• The tentative content of labs and lectures is available.
• The web contains superb resources for this course and for general earth science. Check out these links and others.
• Email will be a useful way to communicate with other students and your professor. I encourage you to subscribe to our email list, geo306. Send to listproc@lists.wwu.edu the command: sub geo306 yourFirstNameHERE yourLastNameHERE. If you are reading this from your own machine (i.e., with a mail program whose reply address is your email address), then you can have your computer send the email for you.
  • Be sure, in the email you send, to replace the "yourFirstNameHERE" and "yourLastNameHERE" with your actual name.
  • Be sure to send the email from your regular account (the list server checks the return address to see where to send the emails)
• I have posted an anonymous comments form. In this way you can give me feedback on my teaching. If you don't want to fill out the whole survey, you can just skip to the end of the form and write a comment in the space provided.

Lab

• Exercises - Your Lab assignments are due at the beginning of the following lab period without penalty. Because labs are for learning, not evaluation, they will be graded primarily on completeness; complete labs will be graded on a Check plus (11 pts), or Check (10 pts), or Check minus (9 pts) basis. Incomplete labs will be graded according to the amount completed. Assignments handed-in after the beginning of the next lab are late. They may be turned in up to one week late for a grade reduction of one mark. No credit will be given for labs turned in later than one week after due.
• Exam - There will be a lab practical exam during the final lab session, which will focus on techniques covered in the lab sessions.
• You will need a hand lens for all labs(10x or 12x magnification is best, 18x or 20x is too much). These (10x) can be obtained cheaply at the WWU Bookstore. Also, there are numerous Geological Supply catalogs that carry excellent hand lenses - ask me.

Assignments

Your turned-in work, aside from the Midterm and Final exams will include the following:

• Term paper
• Labs
• Homeworks
• Quizzes

Field Trip

We will have an optional one-day field trip to a couple of local mineral collecting spots. Tentative dates for the field trip are: Saturday, October 19 (target date) and Saturday October 26 (backup date in case of really bad weather on 10/19). This trip may include an opportunity for extra credit points - more info later.

Grades

• 25% of the grade will be based on in-class evaluations.

This portion of the grade is calculated from the results of one midterm exam (closed book), worth 150 points, and also of some very short quizzes in lecture and labs (collectively worth 100 points). The midterm date is listed below; attendance at the midterm exam is required. In general, a missed exam will be cause for a grade of 0, unless an acceptable medical excuse is is presented, or a leave of absence from the Office of Student Life. In general, make-up exams will not be given. The short quizzes mentioned above may not be announced in advance, and they cannot be made up if missed (although the lowest one or two will be dropped).

• 40% of the grade will be based on the final exams.

This portion of the grade is calculated from the results of the lecture and lab final exams - each is worth 200 points. The lecture final will be held as scheduled by the registrar (date listed below). It will be comprehensive and closed-book, and it will cover primarily lecture material. There will also be a lab practical exam, held during the last lab session, during the normal lab time (date listed below). It will focus on lab topics, and emphasize mineral identification in hand specimen and thin section and other techniques covered in lab.

• 35% of the grade will be based on non-exam work.

This portion of the grade is calculated from your laboratory work (200 pts.) and any course homework and projects (150 pts.), including the term paper.

• The grades will be curved.

Based on the above distribution, the maximum number of points possible will be (1000). The curve will be calculated and grades assigned in the following manner:

• First a point corresponding to the top of the curve will be obtained from the average of (1)the maximum possible points and (2) the maximum points achieved by any member of the course. [Example: If the highest score achieved is 850, then the point obtained is (1000 + 850)/2 = 925.]
• Each student will be assigned a percentage score obtained by dividing their points by the top-of-the-curve value calculated above. These will be rounded to the nearest 0.1% (so 79.94% = 79.9%, not 80.0%). [Example, continued: If your raw score was 800, then your curved percentage is (800/925) = 86.5%.]
• Finally, letter grades will be assigned by reference to these percentages. Although the cutoffs for each letter grade will not be assigned until the end of the course, they will be no harsher than the list below. [Example continued: If your curved score is 86.5%, then the lowest grade you could get is a B, but you could get any higher grade as well).

Prerequisites

• Grade of C- or better in Geo 211
• Grade of C- or better in Chem 121
• Grade of C- or better in Chem 122

Important Dates

• Exams
  • Midterm exam - Friday, October 25
  • Lab practical exam - Thursday, December 5
  • Course final - Tuesday, December 10
• University deadlines
  • University regulations allow a drop without incurring a "W" on or before Tuesday, October 1.
  • Last day for late course withdrawal is Friday, November 8

Other Important Notes

• Group work
  • There will be a number of occassions for group work, and group activities. Furthermore, I encourage you to form study groups, discuss questions about the material, and quiz each other on lab and lecture topics. There may even be some group assignments, where a group grade is assigned for work completed. However, you must do your own work on exams and on most assignments. If it is ever unclear what collaboration is acceptable on an assignment, ask your professor!
  • Anyone caught cheating on an exam or turning in work that is not his or her own will be dealt with in accordance with the General Catalog's Appendix D - Academic Dishonesty Policy and Procedure. If you're not familiar with this section, you may want to review it.
• Special exam conditions
  • If you have a condition verified by the Office of Student Life that requires non-standard exam conditions, you must notify me at least one week before the exam in question. I would prefer notification as soon as possible, preferably within the first two weeks of class.