Geology 101/211 - Intro to Geology/Physical Geology - Summer 2008 - CRNs 30203 (101) & 30204 (211)
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Geology 101/211 is intended as an introduction to the way the earth works. It is designed to teach you all that you need to know about the earth in order to be an informed, contributing member of society. The course will focus on the processes that form and re-form the earth as we know it, paying special attention to the ways earth processes impact our daily lives: earth hazards and earth resources. In order to understand the processes of the earth, you will also learn about the various parts of the earth, from the the largest scale (core, mantle, crust) down to the smallest (minerals, elements).
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Times & Locations
Lectures will be held jointly on MWF 9:00 - 10:50 a.m. in SMATE 110, but not continuously during the session (see schedule for details). Lab sections will be held separately for the 101 and 211 students. Labs for 101 will be run by Dave and will occur on Thursdays from 9:00 - 10:50 a.m. in ES113. Labs for 211 will be run by Nikki and will occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 - 10:50 a.m. in ES118. Note that labs are run more-or-less independently from the lectures, because students from all four lectures will typically be in a given lab section.
People
Instructor: David Hirsch
- Office hours: Right after lectures, or by appointment. Note: I'm often in ES110, my lab.
- Office phone: 650-2166
- email: hirschd@cc.wwu.edu
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TA: Nikki Moore
- Office hours: TBA.
- Office phone: 650-4157
- email: gratefulgirl16@comcast.net
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Texts
- We will be using the 2nd edition of Essentials of Geology, by Marshak for the lecture part of the course, supplemented by handouts on occassion. The GeoTours workbook is a nice add-on; we'll be using Google Earth a fair bit in lecture. However, the workbook is not required, and you can do just fine without it.
- You will be provided with the current version of the WWU Lab Manual for General Geology on the first day of lecture or lab.
Instructional methods
- This course will include both traditional lectures (augmented by slides and videos), small group discussions and problem solving sessions, class activities, and other methods that may be new to you. You will use the course web site to interact with the instructor and each other.
- Each week in Geology 101/211 we will explore new topics in geology. The reading assignments must be completed by the beginning of the topic period. I will show you how to get the most out of the textbook in the shortest time.
Prerequisite knowledge
I expect you to know basic math and science skills which you were probably taught in grade school and middle school. If you don't know these, brush up at the tutorial center. These skills include, but are not limited to:
- Reading a graph
- The metric system (e.g., how many millimeters are in a kilometer)
- The numerical meaning of the words "million" and "billion" (in U.S. parlance; the British have a quite different meaning for "billion").
How to do well in Geology 101/211
Many students, through lack of organization, waste effort and spend more time on this course than is necessary. Here is my opinion as to the best way to spend your time on this course. For each lecture:
- Read and print out the objectives for the topic.
- Read the chapter, making notes as you go on the "answers" to the objectives.
- Attend lecture, taking notes on only those facts which were not covered in your note-taking from the textbook.
- Copy over your notes, making sure you thoroughly understand the information.
This program serves a number of useful purposes, not the least of which is that it gives you a set of really good notes from which to study for exams. As a side note, I believe that step four (thoughtful copying over of notes) is the single best thing a student can do in order to excel in college courses.
Online resources
This document is available online, as are many others revelant to the course (linked below, in part). You can get to the course's home page by http://www.davehirsch.com (click Geol 101/211 in lower-left). Some of the most important online resources are these:
- The tentative schedule 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.
- I have posted an anonymous feedback 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.
- You can check your course scores online, interactively!
Email
You know how to contact me via email; I must be able to contact you as well. You can make this happen in one of two ways:
- Use your WWU email address on a regular basis. For those of you who require web access, there is a web email interface that is part of MyWestern. However, I realize that many of you prefer to stick with your old email addresses, or just don't like the MyWestern email.
- Forward your WWU email to your current email account. This will probably be the best option for many of you. There is an easy way to do this, in the email section of MyWestern. I've made a brief guide to help you with this (it may be a bit out-of-dat now, but the option is still there).
Lab
- Dave will run the 101 labs, and Nikki will run the 211 labs.
Grades - 101
- No credit will be given for work submitted after the day it is due, except by prior arrangement with the instructor, or when emergency circumstances intervene. All exams will be taken at the assigned times (no early exams). Make-up exams will not be offered except by prior arrangement with the instructor and must include an official excused absence from Student Support Services (OM 100, x3844), the Health Center (x3400), or your coach. Make-up exams may differ from the regular exam.
- 25% of the grade (250 points) will be based on your laboratory score.
- Because the laboratory and lecture sections are largely separate, you should speak to your TA about how this portion of your grade is calculated. However, you must score at least 50% on the laboratory grade in order to pass the course! Note that lab offers extra credit, and this applies to the lab score, not to the total course score.
- 30% of the grade (300 points) will be based on the final exams.
- The final exams will be comprehensive, but will emphasize the portion of the course after the second midterm. There will be two final exams, each one hour long. The individual final exam will be worth 200 points, and the cooperative final exam will be worth 100 points. The two exams will have the same questions, but the cooperative final will be answered in groups of up to three students. More information on this will be provided in the final few weeks of the quarter.
- 30% of the grade (300 points) will be based on midterm exam
- 15% of the grade (150 points) will be based on the field trip writeup, quizzes (generally unannounced, at the beginning of lecture) and homework.
- The exam grades will be curved if necessary, by multiplying all grades by a value necessary to raise the mean grade to 72%. If the mean grade is greater then 72%, then the grade for that exam will not be curved.
Grades - 211
- No credit will be given for work submitted after the day it is due, except by prior arrangement with the instructor, or when emergency circumstances intervene. All exams will be taken at the assigned times (no early exams). Make-up exams will not be offered except by prior arrangement with the instructor and must include an official excused absence from Student Support Services (OM 100, x3844), the Health Center (x3400), or your coach. Make-up exams may differ from the regular exam.
- 40% of the grade (400 points) will be based on your laboratory score.
- Because the laboratory and lecture sections are largely separate, you should speak to your TA about how this portion of your grade is calculated. However, you must score at least 50% on the laboratory grade in order to pass the course! Note that lab offers extra credit, and this applies to the lab score, not to the total course score.
- 30% of the grade (300 points) will be based on the final exams.
- The final exams will be comprehensive, but will emphasize the portion of the course after the second midterm. There will be two final exams, each one hour long. The individual final exam will be worth 200 points, and the cooperative final exam will be worth 100 points. The two exams will have the same questions, but the cooperative final may be answered in groups of up to three students. More information on this will be provided in the final few weeks of the quarter.
- 20% of the grade (300 points) will be based on midterm exam
- 10% of the grade (150 points) will be based on the field trip writeup, quizzes (generally unannounced, at the beginning of lecture) and homework.
- The exam grades will be curved if necessary, by multiplying all grades by a value necessary to raise the mean grade to 72%. If the mean grade is greater then 72%, then the grade for that exam will not be curved.
- Based on the above distribution, the maximum number of points possible will be (1000). Letter grades will be assigned by reference to the scale below. Depending on the distribution of scores, the scale can, at my discretion, be made more generous, you could get the grade listed below or any higher one, given your score.
| Points earned |
Minimum grade assigned |
| 920 |
A |
| 900 |
A- |
| 880 |
B+ |
| 820 |
B |
| 800 |
B- |
| 780 |
C+ |
| 720 |
C |
| 700 |
C- |
| 680 |
D+ |
| 620 |
D |
| 600 |
D- |
Other Important Notes
- Attendance
- Because of the structure of this class, attendance is not only recommended, it is effectively mandatory. There is overwhelming evidence that there exists a positive correlation between attendance and academic success.
- Studying & Time Expectations
- A standard benchmark for studying for a college science class is 2-3 hours of work outside of class for each hour in class. This means that for our 5-hour class, you should plan to spend 10-15 hours outside of class. Part of that time you will be reading the textbook chapters. Some of the time will be spent working on WarmUps or laboratory prep work.
- Papers
- Do not give a peer or a professor any kind of paper unless you have kept a copy! The professor reserves the right to ask for a second copy of anything you have handed in.
- As a general rule, all writing assignment must be typed. I will inform you of any exceptions. Do not use binders or folders. Make a cover page with your name and the title of the project. One staple in the upper left corner is best. Some submissions in Geology 101/211 will be electronic via the course web site.
- Group work & Academic Honesty
- 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 in lab, or on homework) 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. I am serious - don't cheat; it's not worth it. 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.
