Geoscience 102: Introduction to Earth Science, Spring 2012
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences,
University
of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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Steve Dutch Laboratory Sciences 463
Phone: 465-2246 e-mail: dutchs@uwgb.edu
Home Page:
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs Course material is NOT on D2L
Syllabus
| Days | Dates |
Lecture Topic | Reading |
|
Part I: The Solid Earth | | | |
|
TR | Jan. 24-26 | How the Earth Works | 1, 7 |
|
T | Jan. 31 | What the Earth is Made of: Minerals | 2 |
|
R | Feb. 2 | What the Earth is Made of: Rocks | 3 |
|
T | Feb. 7 | Soils, Weathering, Ground Water | 4, 5 |
|
R | Feb. 9 | Erosion, Landscape Evolution | 5 |
|
TR | Feb. 14-16 | Glaciers and Ice Ages | 6 |
|
T | Feb. 21 | Earthquakes and Seismology | 8 |
|
R | Feb. 23 | Volcanoes | 9 |
|
T | Feb. 28 | Plate Tectonics | 7 |
|
R | Mar. 1 | Midterm I | |
|
T | Mar. 6 | Mountain Building and Crustal Movements | 7 |
|
R | Mar. 8 | A Brief History of Planet Earth | 10, 11 |
|
| Mar. 11-18 | Spring Break | |
|
T | Mar. 20 | Resources from the Earth | |
|
Part II: The Oceans | | | |
|
RT | Mar. 22-27 | Ocean Currents and Tides | 12 |
|
R | Mar. 29 | The Deep Ocean Floors | 13 |
|
T | Apr. 3 | Shorelines | 13 |
|
R | Apr. 5 | Midterm II |
|
|
Part III: The Atmosphere | | | |
|
T | Apr. 10 | Basic Properties of the Atmosphere | 14 |
|
R | Apr. 12 | Clouds and Moisture | 14 |
|
T | Apr. 17 | Weather Systems and Severe Storms | 15 |
|
R | Apr. 19 | Climate and Climate Change | 16 |
|
Part IV: Earth in the Universe | | | |
|
T | Apr. 24 | The Inner Solar System | 17 |
|
R | Apr. 26 | The Outer Solar System | 17 |
|
TR | May 1-3 | Stars and Galaxies | 17 |
Final Exam: May 8, Tuesday 10:30-12:30 MAC 109
Field trip will be held Saturday, April 14.
Text: Merali and Skinner, Visualizing Earth Science
| Midterm I |
50 points |
|
A |
180+ |
| Midterm II |
50 points |
|
AB |
170-179 |
| Final |
100 points |
|
B |
160-169 |
| Field Trip |
10 points |
|
BC |
150-159 |
| Attendance, Participation |
10 points |
|
C |
140-149 |
| Total |
200 points |
|
D |
120-139 |
Exams are multiple choice, 1 pt. per question.
Because test questions are freely available to all (see below), grade breaks are firm,
especially C/D and D/F.
General Course Expectations
- Keep me in the loop. If you have a problem that will cause an
extended absence, or otherwise affect your performance, let me know.
- Missed exams must be made up within a week of your return to
campus.
- If you need to make up an exam, come talk to me in person.
E-mails can get lost in the shuffle.
- Please, no weapons of mass distraction. No reading papers,
chatting, etc. Please turn your electronic appendages off.
- Class ends at 12:20 or when dismissed. Please do not start
packing before then.
- Disruptive behavior (reading papers, talking, leaving early
without approval) may be penalized up to 5 points per occurrence.
- You are responsible for being aware of any changes in class
schedule or content. If you elect not to attend lecture, you must make
arrangements for finding out about changes.
- You are responsible for checking your campus e-mail account
for messages. Your account can be accessed from anywhere via the campus
home page. I will not send messages to private accounts.
- A credit is defined as three hours of work per week. Count on
spending two hours outside of class to assimilate an hour's worth of
lecture properly. Cramming just does not work. You're better off getting
a good night's sleep before class.
- You are responsible for reading, learning and remembering the
material on this syllabus.
- You are responsible for carrying your Student ID and
memorizing your ID number for exams.
- You are responsible for keeping all course materials and
records until your final grades are in.
Exam Questions
The test bank is available on line. These questions are provided as
a convenience to students who want to know what sorts of questions I ask.
Please note:
- Memorizing answers hardly ever results in a good
grade.
- Use critical judgment. Some obsolete questions are
still there. If you can't find the answer in the text or your notes, the
question will probably not be used.
- How well you do on the exam can be predicted by how
well you study. If you know 2/3 of the questions on the test bank, expect to
get about 66%.
- These questions are provided as a convenience to
students who want to know what sorts of questions I ask, and to prevent
students with old exams from having an unfair advantage. I normally make up
the exams using these questions, but I reserve the right to use other exams,
for example, standardized exams.
Field Trip
Field trips leave from the Green Parking lot at 8:00 on the scheduled date and return
about 4:15 P.M.
General Field Trip Guidelines
- You must join the trip at UW-Green Bay, not at one of the stops.
- Clothing should be casual. Long sleeves and trousers are recommended, along with tennis
shoes. Wear something you can get dirty. There is no strenuous hiking.
- Bring a lunch. There will be rest stops at gas stations where you can buy something.
- Bring plenty of fluids. Even on a cold day you can get surprisingly dehydrated.
- No alcoholic beverages are permitted.
- There are ticks in the brush at a couple of stops. Long sleeves and trousers are
recommended. Check yourself carefully.
- Because of insurance concerns, students may not bring private vehicles on the trip. You
must use the transportation provided.
- Students who live in the Crivitz area may be dropped off there after the field trip is
over. You are solely responsible for your ride arrangements.
- If you are excused from the trip for work or some other valid
reason, I will supply an alternative way to get the field trip points.
This is not a substitute for the trip.
Basic Goals of the Course (What we are Trying to Do)
Information
- Understand the interactions between the solid earth, hydrosphere and
atmosphere
- Know some of the important mineral and rock materials that make up the
surface of the Earth
- Understand how water and ice modify the surface of the earth
- Know why earthquakes occur where they do, and how they endanger human
life and property.
- Know why volcanoes occur where they do, and how they endanger human life
and property.
- Understand how mineral resources form, and understand their finite
extent
- Be able to describe plate tectonics and its connection to earthquakes,
volcanoes, and mountain building
- Understand geologic time and know some of the major milestones in the
evolution of the Earth
-
Understand ocean currents and tides and why they occur
-
Know how oceans affect shorelines and humans that live near them
-
Know the overall makeup of the atmosphere and the meaning of temperature,
pressure, and humidity
-
Know the principal types of clouds and how rain, snow, and hail occur
-
Understand fronts, air masses, severe storms, and the issues involved in the
climate change controversy
-
Understand rocky, gas giant, and ice planets
-
Understand the nature of stars and galaxies and the distance scale of the
universe
Reasoning Skills
- Be able to follow chains of ideas and events
- Be able to connect ideas from several different subject areas
- Be able to learn new material and connect it to previously learned ideas
so that you can recall it
- Understand how geoscientists decipher the history of the earth
- Understand why geoscientists believe the earth is ancient and how they
find the ages of rocks
- Understand why geoscientists believe in plate tectonics
- Understand how astronomers determine the distance to stars and galaxies.
View the Field Trip Guide
View Class notes and Visuals
Access Test Bank
Return to Professor Dutch's home page
Created 15 Dec 1996 Last Update
24 January 2012
Not an official UW-Green Bay site