Integrated Earth Science GEOL 201 - 4 credit hours; Fall, 2013.
Instructor: Karin L. Willoughby, Office #207, Science; karinw@usca.edu; #641-3379.
Office Hours: Tue. 3:05 - 4:00pm; Wed. 11:45 -12:15pm; TH 1:00 -1:30pm; or by appt.
Course Times: Lecture -- Room 327: 1:40 – 2:55 pm,
Lab -- Sec. 001 Wed. 9 –11:40 am; Sec. 002: Wed. 1:00 – 3:40 pm.
Required Texts and equipment: Visualizing Earth Science by Merali and Skinner; and
Integrated Earth Sciences (GEOS)
This course explores a holistic view of the earth. The atmosphere, lithosphere (solid
earth), hydrosphere (oceans, surface fresh water and groundwater) and the solar
system will be studied as specialized systems with identifiable internal compositions,
natural processes and behavior patterns. The interactions among these systems and
the biosphere are also investigated. Examples of such interactions include tides,
waves, weather, climate, global change, plate tectonics and energy resources.
Students are expected to acquire knowledge about what these systems are, how
they work and how they interact; build individual ability to understand the implications of
earth systems' effects on the future of earth and human beings; and practice
communicating that knowledge and understanding to others in written and oral form.
Grading: Lecture -- 75% of class grade
Maximum possible points: 360 points (120 pts. each) on 3 exams
50 pts term paper
45 pts on homework (3 assignments)
100 pts semester project
30 pts oral presentation
35 pts attendance and in-class questions
__130 pts final
750 pts Subtotal
Laboratory -- 25% of class grade*
Maximum possible points: 176 pts on 11 lab reports (16 points each)
60 pts on 1 quiz
14 pts on second quiz
250 pts Subtotal
Total possible points = 1000; Course grade will be based on: 900 or more points = A.
800 - 899.9 pts. = B. 700 - 799.9 pts. = C. 600 - 699.9 pts. = D Below 600 pts. = F.
* NOTE: Laboratory must be passed in order to pass course.
If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability that might affect your
performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services B&E 134,
(803) 643-6816 as soon as possible. The Office of Disability Services will determine
appropriate accommodations based on documentation.
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Classroom Behavior: It is the instructor’s right to remove from the classroom any
student who disrupts or disturbs the proceeding of the class. Use of non-authorized
electronic devices is considered a disturbance. In extreme cases the faculty
member can request assistance from University Police. If the student who has been
ejected causes similar disturbances in subsequent meetings of the class, he/she may
be denied admittance to the class for the remainder of the semester and assigned a
grade of F.
Policy for Portable Electronic Devices: The use of any portable electronic
devices, including cell phones, pagers, MP3 players, iPods, etc., during class is not
allowed for any reason unless prior approval has been given to a student from the
instructor or unless required for the course. If you are planning to have any of these
devices in class, they must be turned off and stowed away for the duration of the class
period. If you use a portable electronic device during a test, quiz, or other assessment,
you are eligible to receive a failing grade on that assignment.
GEOL 201 Tentative LECTURE Schedule
August
Reading Assignment
Text Chapter
1
22 Introduction to course
27 Earth in Space; semester project
29 Minerals
September
October
3 Minerals cont’d
5 Rocks; Weathering
2
3&4
10 Weathering, Soils and Mass Wasting
12 Water; HOMEWORK #1 is DUE
5
17 Water cont’d
19 Deserts and Glaciers and Ice Sheets
6
24 EXAM #1 (Ch. 1-4 with Take Home Critical Thinking essay)
26 Plate Tectonics
7
1
3
Plate Tectonics continued
Earthquakes and The Earth’s Interior
8
8 Quakes cont’d and Volcanoes
10 Volcanoes cont’d; and Geologic Time
9
10
15 Geologic Time cont’d
17 - 18 FALL BREAK
November
22 History of the Earth
24 Oceans
11
12
29 EXAM #2 (Ch. 5-9 with Take Home for Ch. 6)
31 Oceans and Ocean Meets Land; HOMEWORK #2 is DUE
13
5 Oceans and Atmosphere
7 Atmosphere
14
2
12 Atmosphere cont’d; PROJECT NOTEBOOK IS DUE
14 Global Circulation and Weather
15
19 Global Climates Past and Present; TERM PAPER is DUE
21 Earth’s Place in Space; Sun
16
17
26 EXAM #3 (Ch. #10 – 13 with Take Home for Ch. 11)
27-29 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
December
3 Solar System and Universe cont’d; HOMEWORK #3 is DUE
5 Universe cont’d and review
10 FINAL EXAM (Ch. #14 -17 + general review) (2 – 5 pm)
The student project and oral presentation requires thorough research on a
selected topic. The project is a notebook containing several written and visual
products. The notebook is DUE November 12. The oral presentation (on Nov. 6) must
be about 7-9 minutes long and discuss in detail one or more facets of the major
research topic.
Tentative LAB Schedule
Aug. 28
Sept. 4
Sept. 11
Sept. 18
Sept. 25
Oct,
2
Oct.
9
Oct. 16
Oct. 23
Oct. 30
Nov. 6
Nov. 13
Nov. 20
Nov. 27- 29
Dec. 4
Introduction; Critical and Scientific Inquiry
Labor Day Holiday
Planets Lab; Introduce Minerals
Complete Minerals and start Rocks
Complete Rock Lab and practice for quiz
Volcanoes; Practice Rocks and Minerals
Earthquakes; Practice Rocks and Minerals
LAB QUIZ on Rocks and Minerals (60 pts.)
Correlation and Geologic Time
Oceans
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Wind and Atmosphere
Wind and Atmosphere cont’d; LAB QUIZ (14 pts.)
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
Planetarium
Punctual and regular attendance is essential for full participation in class. The
instructor reserves the right to give an automatic “F” to any student that misses 9 or
more lectures, even if absences are excused. There will be no instructor directed
make-ups available for missed labs. The student is responsible for obtaining notes to
missed material. Make-up lecture exams or lab quizzes will be given only for
documented emergencies considered acceptable to the University (death of close
relative, religious holiday, jury duty, being ill with Dr.’s excuse) and approved by the
instructor. The student is still responsible for missed material.
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Homework Assignments:
(Worth 15 points each; must be typed or neatly printed)
Due September 12 (minimum 1 page, typed, double-spaced)
1. Answer the first “Critical and Creative Thinking” question on p. 31. Include
additional research related to the answer you give. A References or Works Cited
page must be included.
Due October 31
2. Get a paper plate or cut a large circle from thick paper, pasteboard or
cardboard. Do the experiment described and illustrated on the handout. Do the
experiment twice, drawing a line for both a clockwise and a counterclockwise motion
of your circle, from the edge of the circle, toward the center. Correctly label both
lines by the motion of the plate, not the direction the line curves. Also, label your
starting points. Find and print the definition of the Coriolis Effect on this circle that is
used in this handout. Turn in your experiment with the lines you drew as you (or a
friend) spun the plate clockwise and counterclockwise.
3. Due November 26 (minimum 1 full page typed, doubled-spaced)
Define and introduce what weather is. List, define and discuss the main variables of
weather in the mnemonic: WATCH. How do these variables interact with each
other? Are the variables independent of each other? Give examples of how a
specific change in each of the five variables (ex. Temperature cools) would change
another variable (ex. when temp. cools, relative humidity rises). (Don’t use this
example in the paper.) Explain the relationship that causes the 2nd variable to
change relative to the first variable, in each example. Also, consult a current
weather map on TV or internet, or in a newspaper, being careful NOT to look at the
weather predictions and then make your own weather predictions for the next week.
TERM PAPER is DUE November 15 (Worth 50 points)
Prepare a minimum of a five page typed paper on the subject of biological
evolution from the scientists’ viewpoint. Define evolution scientifically.
Explain what Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is. Discuss the scientific evidence
that proves that evolution occurs. You will need additional references beyond
the textbook. Some good places to start are: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/;
www.Museumoftheearth.org/outreach.php and then click on “The Evolution
Project”; and www.talkorigins.org/faqs/evolution-fact.html. A References
or Works Cited page must be included with your paper.
PROJECT NOTEBOOK is DUE November 12.
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