Earth History
GEOL 2110
Exploring the 4th Dimension
Introductions
Instructor: Assoc. Professor Jim Miller
Office: 211 Heller Hall
Phone: 726-6582 (UMD), 391-5320 (cell)
Email: mille066@umn.edu
Office Hours: 11:30 – 1 AM MW (211 HH), and by appointment
______________________________________________________
Lab Teaching Assistant: Sarah Sauer, MS Candidate
Phone: 660-441-5055
Email: sauer184@d.umn.edu
Office: HH 112
Office Hours: M 11:00-12:00, Th 1:00-2:00, or by appt.
Undergraduate Lab Assistant: Kate Wehrs
Textbooks
Lecture
Evolution of the Earth (8th ed.), by
Prothero and Dott, McGraw Hill, 2010
Lab
Deciphering Earth History – Exercises in
Historical Geology (4th ed.) by Gastaldo,
Savrda, and Lewis, Contemporary
Publishing Co of Raleigh, 2006
CLASS WEBSITE
Field Trips
Two field trips will be offered toward the end of the
semester.
A one-day trip on Sunday, April 19 will focus on Paleozoic
geology of the Twin Cities metro area.
A one-day trip on Sunday, May 3rd will focus on the
Precambrian geology of the Ironwood, Michigan area
(weather permitting!).
Students will be required to attend at least one of the two
trips. Students attending both field trips will be awarded
5% extra credit to their total class grade.
Field trip grades will be assigned based on engagement
during the trip, the content and quality of notes
recorded during the trip, and a two-page summary of the
geological history of the areas visited.
Weekly Quizzes
A weekly quiz, consisting of 10 multiple choice
questions, will be given at the beginning of
class on Mondays or Wednesdays. The
questions will pertain to the reading
assignment for the coming lecture(s). Your
total quiz grade will be based on your best 10
out of 13 scores – in other words, you get to
throw out your lowest three scores of the
semester. There will be no provision for
making up missed quizzes.
Exams
Two mid-term exams are scheduled for normal lecture
periods for Friday, February 20th and Friday, April 3rd.
The midterm exams will include material covered in
the lectures and reading assignments since the last
exam and may include some quiz questions.
A two-hour final exam is scheduled for Monday, May 11th
from 8:00-9:50 AM in the lecture classroom (Cina
308). Half of the final exam will include new material
covered since the second mid-term and the other half
will involve material from the first two-thirds of the
class.
The midterm and final exams will be a combination of
multiple choice, matching, and short essay questions.
Make-up exams (but not quizzes) will only be
scheduled with a previous arrangement.
Grading
Midterm Exam 1 (15%)
Midterm Exam 2 (15%)
Weekly Quizzes (Best 10 of 13 scores) (10%)
Final Exam (25%)
Lab (25%)
Field Trip (10%)
Extra Credit
Up to 10% extra credit may be earned in three ways:
1) participating both field trips (up to 5%),
2) attending and commenting on the NOVA videos
shown on lecture days 2/23 and 4/24, and
3) attending and commenting on semi-weekly geology
department seminars held on Thursdays at 4:00 PM in
Marshall W. Alworth Hall (MWAH) Room 191.
Seminar topics will be announced in class and posted
on the webpage.
You can earn 1% extra credit for each video or
department seminar you attend. To receive credit, you
must submit a half-page summary of what you learned
from the video or seminar topic on the following lecture
day.
Back to the Webpage
TIME – The 4th Dimension
Zooming in on Geological Time
Eon
Era
Period/Epoch/Stage
Age
Zooming in on Geological Time
Distribution of Time on the Continents
Distribution of Geological Time In
North America
Why are Old Rocks Rare?
Next Lecture
Scales of Time
And
Rates of Change
Reading – Ch. 1