Syllabus for Earth and Environments Through Time
Spring 2014
Course Description: This course will examine how the earth and its atmosphere and
biosphere have changed over geologic time and whether the modern earth may or may
not be a good example of conditions in times past. We will focus on the data which tells
us how the conditions on earth have changed over time, and how this has impacted the
evolution of life. Labs involve learning to synthesize and interpret a variety of types of
geologic data used to construct ancient climates and environments.
General Themes: Instead of a chronological approach to how the earth has changed
from its origin to the present, we will look at 3 main themes: (1) the record of the earth’s
climate at various times in the past and how that is preserved in rocks and fossils; (2)
how environments have changed over the earth’s surface over time, and the record of
this and (3) how the composition of the biosphere has changed over time, in other
words, the history of life on earth.
Goals for this course:
The overall objective for this course is to enable you to communicate a factually correct
scientific opinion on the degree to which the present earth system is similar or different
from other times in its history. At the end of this course you will be able to: (1)
synthesize a variety of different types of geologic information and reconstruct the earth
history for a region on earth; (2) predict, based on the earth history record, the response
of the biosphere to changes of conditions on earth; and (3) critique arguments which
present alternative theories to evolution.
Field trip: There will be an overnight field trip (Saturday night/Sunday) on April12th and
13th to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. This trip is strongly
recommended but is optional and costs only your lunch money at the Museum on
Sunday. There is however, a $20 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit due on March 20th
(which I will return to you for your use at lunch at the Museum). UVM Geology will cover
the cost of transportation, housing and museum admission. Lab the following week is
cancelled for everyone who went on the field trip.
Grading: There will be two hourly exams, including the final. The exams are worth
60%; 30% each) of your final grade. Labs are worth 20%, the term project is worth
15%, and homework, 5%. Grades will be posted in Blackboard.
Term project: As Einstein said, “time is nature’s way of keeping everything from
happening all at once.” Much information about the earth over it’s 4.5 billion year
history has been presented to you this semester and it is important to take the time to
try and synthesize this material. The term project asks you to take one of the four major
topics we’ve covered (plate motions, climate, environments and the biosphere) and
describe the patterns that have been documented over the past 600 million years. You
will present the results of this work in a summary paper, 3 to 5 pages in length (text; the
illustrations are in addition to this). You will also create a 5 minute powerpoint
presentation of your findings for the final lab of the semester (April 30th and May 1st).
You must have your topic approved by Char before spring break. Your grade for the
summary paper will include written communication as well as content, so you are
encouraged to submit at least one early draft to Char for feedback as well as seek the
help of the tutors at the Writing Center.
SEMESTER CALENDAR
NOTE: THERE IS NO LAB THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL, Jan 13-17th. Labs start
on January 22.
IMPORTANT: Check Blackboard to see what topics/assignments are going to be
covered on a particular day. Assignments for the upcoming week will be posted on the
“Announcements” page by the prior Sunday evening.
Schedule of Topics
Paleogeography of the world
Geologic Time
Paleoenvironments
Paleoclimates
Evolution