GEOL 2 – Page
Date Approved:
6/8/89
Date Scanned:
5/17/2005
Inactivated by Curriculum Committee 9/14/07____
College of the Redwoods
CREDIT COURSE OUTLINE
DEPARTMENT AND COURSE NUMBER: GEOL 2
DEGREE APPLICABLE
NON-DEGREE APPLICABLE
FORMER NUMBER (If previously offered)
COURSE TITLE Historical Geology
LECTURE HOURS: 3.0
LAB HOURS: 3.0
UNITS: 4.0
PREREQUISITE: None; Geol 1 recommended
Eligibility for: Engl 150
Math 105
Request for Exception Attached
CO-REQUISITE: None
GRADING STANDARD:
Letter Grade Only
TRANSFERABILITY:
CSUS
UC
Articulation with UC requested
Repeatable
yes
no
CR/NC Only
NONE
Max No. Units
Grade/CR/NC Option
Maximum Class Size 48
Max No. Enrollments
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course studies the basic principles of historical geology and the evolution of continents, oceans and
mountain systems. The geologic significance of natural parks and monuments, development of earth’s
animal and plant inhabitants and laboratory studies of sediments, sedimentary rock, fossils and maps are
also covered.
NOTE: Field trips will frequently be taken to study local historical geology. This course offered alternate
years.
COURSE OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES: List the primary instructional objectives of the class. Formulate
some of them in terms of specific measurable student accomplishments, e.g., specific knowledge and/or
skills to be attained as a result of completing this course. For degree-applicable courses, include
objectives in the area of critical thinking.” Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be
able to:
appreciate the history of the earth and its physical and fossil evolution; better understand the
principles of earth history; identify fossils and utilize concepts and processes of historical geology;
make a thin section of limestone; and interpret historical geologic events based upon their
observations of sedimentary rocks and structures.
GEOL 2 – Page
Date Approved:
6/8/89
Date Scanned:
5/17/2005
Inactivated by Curriculum Committee 9/14/07____
COURSE OUTLINE:
% of Classroom Hours Spent on Each Topic
5.9% each topic
Review of sedimentary rocks and general geology
Two to three weeks on drifting continents
Unraveling the history of the Precambrian
Learning to recognize fossils
The Paleozoic Era, the continental margins and economic products
The Cambrian Period
The Ordovician Period
The Silurian Period
The Devonian Period
The Carboniferous Period
The Permian Period
The Mesozoic Era
The Triassic Period
The Jurassic Period
The Cretaceous Period
The Cenozoic Era
The Pleistocene Epoch and man
GEOL 2 – Page
Date Approved:
6/8/89
Date Scanned:
5/17/2005
Inactivated by Curriculum Committee 9/14/07____
APPROPRIATE TEXTS AND MATERIALS: (Indicate textbooks that may be required or recommended,
including alternate texts that may be used.)
Text(s)
Title:
A Trip Through Time
Required
Edition:
1st
Alternate
Author:
Cooper, et al.
Recommended
Publisher: Merrill
Date Published: 1986
(Additional required, alternate, or recommended texts should be listed on a separate sheet and attached.)
See Attached List
For degree applicable courses the adopted texts have been certified to be college-level:
Yes. Basis for determination:
is used by two or more four-year colleges or universities (certified by the Division Chair or
Branch Coordinator, or Center Dean)
OR
has been certified by the LAC as being of college level using the Coleman and Dale-Chall
Readability Index Scale.
No. Request for Exception Attached
If no text or a below college level text is used in a degree applicable course must have a minimum of one
response in category 1, 2, or 3. If category 1 is not checked, the department must explain why substantial
writing assignments are an inappropriate basis for at least part of the grade.
METHODS TO MEASURE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
Please check where appropriate; however, a degree applicable course must have a minimum of one
response in category 1, 2, or 3. If category 1 is not checked, the department must explain why
substantial writing assignments are an inappropriate basis for at least part of the grade.
1. Substantial writing assignments, including:
essay exam(s)
term or other paper(s)
written homework
reading report(s)
laboratory report(s)
other (specify) _____
If the course is degree applicable, substantial writing assignments in this course are inappropriate
because:
The course is primarily computational in nature.
The course primarily involves skill demonstrations or problem solving.
Other rationale (explain) __________________________________________
2. Computational or Non-computational problem-solving demonstrations, including:
exam(s)
quizzes
homework problems
laboratory report(s)
field work
other (specify)_______
3. Skill demonstrations, including:
class performance(s)
other (specify)____
4. Objective examinations, including:
multiple choice
completion
field work
performance exam(s)
true/false
other (specify)
matching items
5. Other (specify) ____________________________________
NOTE: A course grade may not be based solely on attendance.
GEOL 2 – Page
Date Approved:
6/8/89
Date Scanned:
5/17/2005
Inactivated by Curriculum Committee 9/14/07____
REQUIRED READING, WRITING, AND OTHER OUTSIDE OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS:
Over an 18-week presentation of the course, 3 hours per week are required for each unit of credit. ALL
Degree Applicable Credit classes must treat subject matter with a scope and intensity which require the
student to study outside of class. Two hours of independent work done out of class are required for each
hour of lecture. Lab and activity classes must also require some outside of class work. Outside of the
regular class time the students in this class will be doing the following:
Study
Answer questions
Skill practice
Required reading
Problem solving activity or exercise
Written work (essays/compositions/report/analysis/research)
Journal (reaction and evaluation of class, done on a continuing basis throughout the
semester)
Observation of or participation in an activity related to course content (e.g., play, museum,
concert, debate, meeting, etc.)
Field trips
Other (specify) ____________________________
COLLEGE LEVEL CRITICAL THINKING TASKS/ASSIGNMENTS:
Degree applicable courses must include critical thinking tasks/assignments. This section need not be
completed for non-degree applicable courses. Describe how the course requires students to
independently analyze, synthesize, explain, assess, anticipate and/or define problems, formulate and
assess solutions, apply principles to new situations, etc.
Principles and concepts of historical geology are learned. Students must apply these ideas in the solution
of and better understanding of problems dealing with the physical and biological evolution of earth.
Each week in our weekly three-hour lab, students are presented many problems. These problems require
applications of the principles of historical geology. Students independently analyze problems such
classification of fossils, determination of paleoenvironments, computation of rates of continental drift and
analysis of outcrop photos. We then go on field trips where students are presented similar problems in the
field. They are asked to independently observe and record natural geologic structures, fossils and
historical sedimentary records and to explain how, why, what and when these historical events occurred.
Alternate Textbook:
Lab Studies in Earth History
Brice et al.
Wm. C. Brown