GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus. For August 26.
Class Hours: 4:30 –7:10 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays Place: Room 216, Science Building
page 1 of 6 pages
Mr. Ralph Willoughby, instructor
Daytime telephone: (803) 564-7010
Email: KRALPH3L@PBTCOMM.NET
Office Times:
3:30 - 4:15 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays, Room 207, Science Building.
Immediately after class. Other times by appointment or when I’m around the Science building.
PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE to contact me to discuss a problem that relates to this class. Really.
University Policy: If you have a physical, psychological and/or learning disability which might affect your performance in this class,
please contact the Office of Disability Services, 126A B&E, (803) 641-3609, as soon as possible. The Disability Services office will
determine appropriate accommodations based on medical documentation.
University 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.
ON THE OTHER HAND 1: This instructor encourages the use of digital electronic visual media for required class presentations.
Just document and show (or tell) your sources for the information you present. Keep a record of what you cite (Plan Ahead!), and cite
your sources in class. You may use your cell phone camera as an aid in making lab drawings or for study purposes. RHW.
ON THE OTHER HAND 2. The ready availability of digital media could make it easy (hypothetically) for an unscrupulous,
unethical student to plagiarize. Be scrupulous and ethical. Do not plagiarize. The same easily-accessed digital media make it possible
for an instructor or professor to compare digital keystrokes against much other digitally accessible information. For written projects,
students will provide a paper copy and a digital version of the report (as a disincentive to plagiarism).
Prerequisite: BIOL A121 (Elementary Biology) or GEOL A101 (Physical Geology)
“Recommended precursor” (it sure would be nice if you have had this course): GEOL A102 (Historical Geology)
Required text: Michael J. Benton and David A. T. Harper, 2009, Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record.
Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, England, U.K., and Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A. Softcover edition, 592 pages.
Supplementary Textbook: John R. Nudds and Paul A. Selden, 2008, Fossil Ecosystems of North America. University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Softcover.
Calendar for Paleontology [GEOL 311] at USCA, Fall Semester 2013
Required material for all laboratory drawings: unlined white 8½” x 11” paper, pencil and eraser.
GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall Semester, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus.
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Field Trips: Attendance on all field trips is mandatory.
Field Trip 1: Trace Fossils. Visit a nearby exposure with the trace fossil Ophiomorpha nodosa in upper Eocene sediments.
Dress for field work. Bring a pocket knife. We will make this field trip during the first part of a scheduled meeting.
Date: During the first, second, or third week of class. September 4?
Field Trip 2: Paleocene Plant Fossils at an exposure in central South Carolina. Dress for field work and hiking. We will hike to the
locality. Bring water or drinks; I’ll bring the cooler. We will make this trip on a weekend day, in the first part of the course. Date: To be
arranged.
Field Trip 3: Eocene Fossils in a limestone quarry in central South Carolina. Dress for field work. Bring water or drinks; I’ll bring the
cooler. We will make this trip on a weekend day, later in the course and after the weather cools down somewhat. Date: To be arranged.
Other Requirements:
Attendance in class and laboratory sessions is required. If an absence is unavoidable, contact the instructor.
Only documented University approved excuses will be allowed. Missed material is the responsibility of the student.
Turn in all laboratory drawings in pencil on unlined white paper.
Laboratory drawings are due two lab periods after the last day of a lab assignment (most lab assignments are two meetings).
Remark: The text is a guide to the subject matter and will be supplemented by lectures and additional material. Read the assigned
chapter before you come to class. Reading assignments in the text will be tested. Material presented in lecture will be tested. Class
assignments, class exams, lab assignments, weekly lab assignments and field trips are all important parts of the course.
Student Projects:
Assignment 1. Find a print or online article (newspaper, print magazine, online news source, online magazine, any other nonprofessional media) about some aspect of paleontology that reaches public attention. Read your article carefully. Identify, to the extent
possible, the original source for the information. Summarize the information in the article. Present the information from the article aloud
before the class. Cite your source, and cite the original source as well. Answer questions from other students and from the instructor
about your article. 3 to 5 minutes, spoken presentation. Before your presentation, give the instructor a photocopy or a typed reference
for your article.
Presentation Date for Assignment 1: Monday, September 9.
Assignment 2. The instructor will assign an article in a professional journal. Read and summarize the article. How much of the
article did you understood? What parts of the article did you not understand? Give the instructor a photocopy of the title page from the
article. 3 to 5 minutes, spoken presentation. Presentation Date for Assignment 2: Monday, September 16.
Assignment 3. The instructor will assign you to read the commendations and responses from two recipients of awards by the
Paleontological Society. Read the awards and responses. Summarize the article. How much of the article did you understood? What
parts of the article did you not understand? Give the instructor a photocopy of the title page from the article. 3 to 5 minutes, spoken
presentation.
Presentation Date for Assignment 3: Monday, September 30.
GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall Semester, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus.
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Short Paper 1. The instructor will assign a topic in paleontology and one introductory article on that topic from a professional
journal. Research the topic. Find some other articles or books, etc. that relate to your topic. Write a Short Paper on your topic. Your
Short Paper will have at least three full, typewritten, double-spaced pages and no more than four full, typewritten, double-spaced pages
(including references) about the topic assigned. Unless your typewritten page ends exactly at the bottom line of a page, your Short Paper
will have either FOUR or FIVE paper pages. Give the instructor a paper and a digital copy of your article.
Due Date for Short Paper 1: October 7.
Short Paper 2. Select a topic in paleontology and a published article on that topic from a professional journal. Consult with the
instructor about your choice of topic. Research the topic. Find some other articles or books, etc. that relate to your topic. Write a Short
Paper on your topic. Length of Short Paper, as before. Give the instructor a paper and a digital copy of your article.
Due Date for Short Paper 2: October 16.
Term Paper. Consult with the instructor and select a topic in paleontology. Find recent articles or books that relate to the topic.
Your Term Paper will have at least five full, typewritten, double-spaced pages and no more than six full, typewritten, double-spaced
pages (including references) about the topic assigned.
Due Date for Term Paper 1: October nn.
References will include recent publications. DO NOT cite Wikipedia as a primary reference for any assignment.
Meeting
Date
no.
Aug 26 (Mon) 1
Aug 28 (Wed) 2
Class
Text
Topic
Chapter
Welcome to class. Introduction to Paleontology.
Elementary Geology. Geologic History
Lecture & handouts
History of the Universe
The Big Bang
The Speed of Light and Doppler Shifts
The Origins of Elements
Precursor Galaxies, Recycled Galaxies
History of the Solar System
Geologic History
class notes or any good text
How the Earth formed
text in historical geology
Lab
number
Lab 1
Lab 1
Lab
Subject
Trace Fossils and Stromatolites
Trace Fossils and Stromatolites
GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall Semester, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus.
Aug 28 (Wed)
2
Sept 2 (Mon)
Sept 4 (Wed) 3
Sept 9 (Mon) 4
Sept 11 (Wed) 5
Sept 16 (Mon) 6
Sept 18 (Wed) 7
Sept 23 (Mon) 8
Sept 25 (Wed) 9
Sept 30 (Mon) 10
Oct 2 (Wed)
11
Oct 7 (Mon)
12
Oct 9 (Wed)
13
Φ
Thu, Oct 10
Oct 14 (Mon) 14
Oct16 (Wed)
15
Oct 17-18 (Thu-Fri)
Oct 21 (Mon) 16
Oct 23 (Wed) 17
Oct 28 (Mon) 18
Oct 30 (Wed) 19
Nov 4 (Mon)
20
Nov 6 (Wed)
21
Nov 11 (Mon) 22
Nov 13 (Wed) 23
Nov 18 (Mon) 24
Nov 20 (Wed) 25
Nov 25 (Mon) 26
Elementary Geology. Geologic History
Lecture & handouts
Time in geology (geologic time)
Rocks, strata, sediments, and stratigraphy
Fossils
Isotopes
The Geologic Time Scale
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
Labor Day. Holiday. No Classes. USCA will be closed.
Paleontology as a science.
Chapter 1
Fossils in time and space
Chapter 2
Taphonomy and the fossil record
Chapter 3
Paleoecology and paleoclimates
Chapter 4
Macroevolution and the tree of life
Chapter 5
Fossil form and function
Chapter 6
CLASS EXAM ONE (chapter1 1-5)
(none)
Mass extinctions and biodiversity loss
Chapter 7
The origin of life
Chapter 8
Protists
Chapter 9
Origin of the metazoans
Chapter 10
Midpoint in the semester. (Not a meeting day for Paleontology).
The basal metazoans: sponges and corals
Chapter 11
Spiralians 1: lophophorates
Chapter 12
Fall Break. No classes. No effect on Paleontology.
Spiralians 2: molluscs
Chapter 13
Ecdysozoa: arthropods
Chapter 14
Deuterostomes: echinoderms and hemichordates Chapter 15
CLASS EXAM TWO (chapters 6-13)
(none)
Fishes and basal tetrapods
Chapter 16
Dinosaurs
Chapter 17
Mammals
Chapter 17
Fossil Plants
Chapter 18
Fossil Plants
Chapter 18
Trace Fossils
Chapter 19
Diversification of life. Human evolution.
Chapter 20
Lab 1
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Trace Fossils and Stromatolites
Field Trip 1
Local Trace Fossils.
Lab 2
Taphonomy
Lab 2
Taphonomy
Lab 3
Microfossils
Lab 3
Microfossils
Lab 4
Sponges
Lab 4
Sponges
Lab 5
Cnidarians
Lab 5
Cnidarians
LAB EXAM ONE (Labs 1-4)
Lab 6
Arthropoda
Lab 6
Lab 7
Arthropoda
Lophophorata
Lab 7
Lab 8
Lab 8
Lab 9
Lab 9
Lab 10
Lab 10
Lab 11
Lab 11
Lab 11
LAB FINAL
Lophophorata
Echinodermata
Echinodermata
Chordates
Chordates
Plant Fossils
Plant Fossils
ICW Locality and
Digital Imaging of Fossils
ICW Locality and
(Labs 5-10)
Nov 27 (Wed)
Dec 2 (Mon)
Dec 4 (Wed)
27
28
29.
Thanksgiving Holiday. USCA closed.
Last Required Lab Meeting. Lab 11.
Last Day of Paleontology Class. Review. Chapter n
Lab Makeup
GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall Semester, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus.
Digital Imaging of Fossils
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Dec 6 (Friday)
CLASSES END.
Dec 9 - 13 (Mon - Fri) - Final exams
Dec 9? (Mon?) - 30
FINAL EXAM IN PALEONTOLOGY. (chapters 14-20; comprehensive on concepts)
Class:
750 points
Event Cumulative points
Overall
Assignment 1
10
10
Assignment 2
15
25
Class Exam 1
150
240
Assignment 3
15
40
Short Paper 1
50
90
Short Paper 2
50
290
Class Exam 2
150
430
Term Paper
90
530
Final Exam
220
750
750 points
Laboratory: 250 points
10 Individual laboratory exercises 100
100
Field Trip 1
10
110
Lab Exam 1
40
160
Lab Exam 2
35
195
Field Trip 2
35
230
Group Lab (Lab #11)
20
250
250 points
Overall:
1000 points
Grading System:
A
90-100%
900 – 1000
B
80 - 89%
800 – 899
C
70 - 79%
700 – 799
D
60- 69%
600 – 699
F
<60%
<600
Date of event, or Due date
September 9
September 16
September 25
September 30
October 7 or before
October 16
October 30
November 18
December 6?
various
September 4?
October 7
November 25
To Be Arranged
December 2
GEOL 311: Paleontology, Fall Semester, 2013, University of South Carolina – Aiken. Syllabus.
YOUR GRADE IN PALEONTOLOGY
ITEM
POINTS AVAILABLE
ASSIGMNENT 1
10
ASSIGNMENT 2
15
CLASS EXAM 1
150
ASSIGNMENT 3
15
SHORT PAPER 1
50
SHORT PAPER 2
50
CLASS EXAM 2
150
TERM PAPER
90
FINAL EXAM
220
LAB 1
10
LAB 2
10
LAB 3
10
LAB 4
10
LAB 5
10
LAB 6
10
LAB 7
10
LAB 8
10
LAB 9
10
LAB 10
10
LAB 11
20-
YOUR POINTS
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SIGMA YOUR POINTS
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