Geology 101 Online
Geology of the Planet Earth
Spring 2016
Instructor: Karen Savage
Office: Live Oak Hall, Room 1214
Phone: (818) 677-2511
Email: karen.savage@csun.edu
Textbook:
(This is the way it looks on the Mastering Geology website, when you choose the text for this class.)
Tarbuck / Lutgens / Tasa
Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 11/e
and Mastering Geology (online accompaniment to text) see note below.
Office Hours: 9:30-10:30am TuTh or by appointment. During these times, I will be in my physical office in Live Oak
Hall (room 1214) if you wish to see me in person. (I am not on campus on M, W, or F.)
Meeting time: There are no required meeting times for this class. The course will be online and the only meeting
time is if you would like to talk to me during my office hours, online or in person. As discussed below, there are
deadlines you must meet, but when you do the work for the class is entirely up to you.
Course Objectives:
Geology of planet Earth is a general survey course on the science of the Earth. The course is intended to provide
you with a basic understanding of your natural surroundings so that you may better enjoy them and make
informed decisions about the myriad of problems facing your physical environment. When you have completed this
course you will have gained a basic understanding of Earth materials (minerals and rocks) and of Earth processes
such as plate tectonic theory. You will have learned about resources derived from the environment (fossil fuels and
mineral ores) and hazards inherent in that same environment including earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides.
You will understand how Geology applies to you as a resident of southern California and the world. The level of
difficulty of the material presented is appropriate for a college freshman who is not a science major, thus anyone in
the course should be able to earn a C or better if willing to put in the necessary study time. Most students find that
they earn better grades when they participate in study groups and complete extra credit activities.
Geology is experiencing a boom-time growth surge in the areas of engineering geology, environmental
geology, and groundwater geology, and there are many jobs available here in southern California and other places.
The twin issues of energy and environment are critical to the world and are likely to remain so for many years to
come. So if this course interests you, you may want to consider geology for your future career.
Considerations for online learning:
Technical Requirements for the class includes:
Mac or PC not more than 3 years old with current operating system and current browser (Internet Explorer 10 or
later, or Mozilla Firefox).
Internet connection, broadband (DSL speeds) preferred, 56k modem will work
Recommended Skills for the class includes:
Basic computer skills (use of word processor, email and file management)
Basic internet skills (use of browser, searches, uploading and downloading files
Access to websites:
Moodle – you will automatically have access to this when you register for the course. You will need a CSUN email
account as your user ID and the password that goes with it. You will see our class website available to you after
you login. Moodle is the only Learning Management System supported by the University. At this web address, you
will find information about how to use Moodle (it is quite easy and straightforward)
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Student_FAQ. There is also a very useful survey you can take to see if you are a good
candidate for online learning located on the home page of Moodle.
Mastering Geology- access to this website is critical, as this is where 90% of the work for this course is done. The
nice thing about this site is you have full access to the text and it costs $74.95 when you buy it directly from
Pearson at http://www.masteringgeology.com or use the link on the Moodle course page for Mastering Geology.
The course ID is GEOL101SAVAGE16115. If you purchase the text through the bookstore, it will include access to
the Mastering Geology website. In any case, you will need the course ID above and sign up for the correct textbook
(This is why I have included a picture (above) of how it looks online.) The quizzes, exams, and homework part of
the course will be accessed on this website. An alternative is to buy the text somewhere else for a less and just buy
access to Mastering Geology. There is an option for that and that costs $43.95.
General Information about the running of the course:
Every four weeks or so there will be an exam covering the chapters assigned for that period. Quizzes must be taken
before you take the exam. Some of the exam questions will come from the quizzes. There are 16 quizzes, one for
each chapter. This will account for 20% of your grade. For each of these quizzes, you will have 2 attempts for each
question (except the true/false, you will get a second chance but it will not change your score). Each quiz is 10-15
questions and you are allowed 30 minutes to take it. You will find these quizzes under “Assignments” on the
Mastering Geology course site. (This is where you will find most of the graded work for the course.) I am expecting
you to use all sources of information on the quizzes and exams, in other words OPEN BOOK.
A note on due dates: I have divided the course into 4 sections. The final due date for the quizzes and exams is as
follows: Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4/5 quizzes and Exam #1 are due on Feb 19 (Exam only available from Feb 12-19). The
other sections are scheduled below with the corresponding deadlines. The reason for this is that I am allowing you
to schedule the class as your time permits, giving you a little more freedom to do the work when you have time.
However, these are hard deadlines and I do not suggest that you do all the work the last week of their availability,
that is also why I have given you a suggested schedule below.
Homework On Mastering Geology there are activities under “Assignments” called “Dynamic Study Modules”.
These are completed for homework credit. You go through the module and learn as you go, though I would
suggest doing this after you have read the chapter and answered review questions found at the end of the chapter.
When you complete all of these, you will have earned 10% credit toward your final semester grade. This is also an
excellent prep for the quizzes and exams, that’s why I have assigned it.
Class Participation is required. You will earn the first your 10 percentage points for this by providing your profile
on the Moodle course website and secondly taking the orientation quiz on Moodle. The orientation quiz is about
the syllabus. I will use this quiz to answer questions or clear up misunderstandings for the course. The link to your
profile is found on the left side of the Moodle page. The remaining credit for class participation will come from
discussion questions for each chapter posted on the Moodle course site. When you answer/post to these you will
receive credit towards class participation. You are required to respond to at least 8 of these questions (you are not
required to respond to other students), as well as post your profile on Moodle and take the Orientation quiz to
earn the total credit of 10% to your semester grade.
The four exams will cover only the 4 chapters that precede them in the schedule. The final is not cumulative. They
will follow the same format as the quizzes and will be available on Mastering Geology according to the dates found
below.
One thing I would like to emphasize is that I do not penalize you for technical difficulties. If you have a problem
with the quizzes or exams, let me know immediately via email and I will fix the problem for you, if I can. The most
common problem is being kicked out of the program or off of the internet while you are taking a timed quiz or
exam. I will reset the quiz or exam for you (you will have to start over, so make a note of your answers to save time
and energy when you retake it). This does not include you waiting until the last minute to extend the deadline for
any particular assignment!
Suggested Schedule:
Week 1
Jan 25
Week 2
Feb 1
Week 3
Feb 8
Week 4
Feb 15
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Feb 22
Feb 29
Mar 7
Mar 14
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Mar 21
Mar 28
Apr 4
Apr 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 15
Apr 18
Apr 25
May 2
May 9
May 16
Chapter(s)
1
2
3
4, 5
Introduction to Geology
Plate Tectonics
Atoms and Minerals
Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
Exam 1, Available Feb 12-19 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4/5)
Weathering (Ch 6 omit soils) and Sedimentary Rocks
6, 7
Metamorphic Rocks
8
Crustal Deformation
10
Earthquakes
11
Exam 2, Available Mar 11-18 (Chapters 6/7, 8, 10, 11)
Spring Break
Running Water
16
Ground Water
17
Shorelines
20
Exam 3, Available Apr 15-22 (Chapters 16, 17, 20)
Global Climate Change
21
Energy and Mineral Resources
23
Geologic Time
9
Review
Exam 4, Available May 16-20 (Chapters 21, 23, 9, and cumulative material)
Exam schedule and breakdown of semester grade:
Exam 1
Feb 12-19
15%
Exam 2
Mar 11-18
15%
Exam 3
Apr 15-22
15%
Exam 4
May 14-20
15%
Quizzes
20%
Homework
10%
Class participation (discussions)
10%
100%
Grading- Please do your best with each assignment, as I do not offer extra credit. If you wish to get an A in the
course, please give your best all semester long, do not expect to be rescued near the end of the semester with
extra credit or extensions on assignment deadlines. I use the plus/minus grading system. Grades will be assigned as
follows:
100-93.5=A, 93.4-90=A-, 89.4-86.5=B+, 86.4-83.5=B, 83.4-80=B-, 79.4-76.5=C+, 76.4-73.5=C, 73.4-70=C-,
69.4-66.5=D+, 66.4-63.5=D, 63.4-60=D-, ≤59.4=F
Dropping - Read the Schedule of Classes. If you decide that you don’t want to continue with this course, you must
drop the class– you will not be automatically dropped if you simply stop doing the work.
Additional InformationI adhere to CSUN’s policy on academic dishonesty. Cheating and plagiarism will result in the
assignment of a zero for the exam and notification to the Office of Vice President of Student
Affairs which may result in disciplinary action. Plagiarism is knowingly representing work done
by others as one’s own.
Other Key Points–
It is the responsibility of each student in this course to know and follow all written guidance given by the instructor
in this class.
Grades are not negotiable. Grades are earned by the student per the breakdown above and may be kept up with
during the semester. I will be glad to meet with you if you have concerns about your grade during the semester,
but by the last couple of weeks it is too late.
These policies and schedules are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.