Geology 101
 Instructor:
Tracy Furutani
tfurutan@northseattle.edu
Office hours: MTW 11 to noon IB 2328B
 Website: facweb.northseattle.edu/tfurutan
1
GROUND RULES
 Read the textbook and do the homework
- nearly cover-to-cover, see syllabus on the course web
page
for weekly homework assignments
 Attend class
- Hear topical overviews & ask questions
- Do labs & turn in & pick up HW
- Exams & extra credit opportunities
 Go on the field trip
- Saturday, October 12, all day (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
- Vans provided but bring a lunch
 Talk to your classmates (form a study group)
- Labs, group projects, poster project are appropriate
GROUND RULES
While in class, please:
 Silence or turn off phones
 Ask questions
 Adhere to campus safety rules
 Refrain from plagiarizing others’ work
 Learn about the Earth
WHY YOU ARE HERE
Top Five Reasons:
You absolutely LOVE geology (possible major)
You need a science credit to graduate & think
geology is easier than physics &/or need it
NOW to graduate (We feel your pain)
Just curious, might provide some amusement
No idea
It seemed like a good idea at the time
GEOLOGY 101 TOOLS
Geology 101 Learning Tools:
Book – GEOL2 by Wicander and Monroe, 2nd ed. (2014)
- An excellent, up to date review of field
- Nicely-illustrated with good study aids
How to study
- Read the chapter before lecture
- Review class presentations
- Ask questions in class
- Check for terms in glossary given throughout chapter
- Make sure you get the Learning Outcomes (LO)
- Use the CourseMate electronic resources
- Do the homework; review the lab work
Use the book’s Website to:
- Reinforce concepts
- Check knowledge by taking sample quizzes
- Experience virtual field trips
GEOLOGY 101 TOOLS
Geology 101 Learning Tools:
Meet with your Instructor!
- During office hours
- Or, make an appointment
- Use email!
Connect to Geology on a personal level
and try to apply what you are learning.
- Think about how the concepts you are learning
apply in your everyday life as you walk around
on planet Earth!
GOALS FOR GEOL101
 The catalog says:
GEOL& 101 Physical Geology
A survey-level introduction of this
remarkable planet we call home. A
study of the dynamic processes which
drive the geologic world, the materials
they produce, and how they are
integrated in a global context. The
course features a particular emphasis
on the geology of the Pacific Northwest,
which affords some truly spectacular
illustrations of these subjects.
GOALS FOR GEOL101

But also, we have these goals:
To develop critical thinking skills & a basic
understanding of how the science works

Become familiar with some of the observational
methods, reasoning processes and analytical tools
used by geologists to understand the Earth and its
history

Learn the basic scientific concepts and principlesessentially the current paradigm for how the Earth
and its systems interact to produce what we see.

GOALS FOR GEOL101
You will be learning a new language!
Geology is a broad, interdisciplinary science with
a rich vocabulary. The terminology we will use
throughout this course will require that you learn a
new language; in fact, this is true of most
introductory science courses. You will learn nearly
the same vocabulary as a first-quarter foreign
language course.
We will all work together to find ways to become
familiar with this vocabulary and the ideas it is
designed to convey. But more is needed than
simply memorizing terms. You also need to develop
an understanding of the conceptual framework that
the terminology is a part of, and how the words
and concepts relate to each other.
GOALS FOR GEOL101
Application of this new knowledge:
 Enrich your understanding of the planet we
depend upon for our survival.
 Broaden your perspective of the relationship
between humans & their environment.
 Become as more responsible citizen and make
smart investments in your future, and the future
of your children.
 Maybe you will decide to become one of the
true, the proud and the brave and go on to major
in geology!
GOALS FOR GEOL101
Lecture style designed to address the
fact that different people learn
differently:
 Seeing/visual learning
 Reading the written word
 Hearing about it
 Engaging through personal inquiry and
discovery
 Connecting what we learn in the
classroom to what is out there!
GEOLOGY 101 TOOLS
What methods will we need to
succeed in geology?
 An innate curiosity and willingness to ask questions
 Good observational skills to recognize basic patterns
and spatial relationships
 A systematic approach to documenting, analyzing,
and predicting observations
 An ability to visualize in 3-dimensional space, while
integrating the 4th dimension, time.
 Willingness to learn and apply basic scientific principles
from other sciences (physics, chemistry, math)
Time…
Geology deals with complex historical systems that
have evolved and changed over time.
Time is thus a fundamental variable in geology.
Coupled processes, operating over time produce all
that we see.
And just what is Geology?
Geology: The study of the Earth and its systems
You are here!
Nature of scientific inquiry
Basic Concepts:
 Scientific method
 Observation
 Hypothesis
 Test
 Scientific “certainty”
 Paradigms and the nature of
scientific revolutions
 Theory
Nature of scientific inquiry
Science is based on:
assumption that the natural world behaves in
a consistent & predictable manner
Goals of science:
understand underlying patterns in nature
(from careful observations/measurements)
form hypotheses that lead to predictions
Nature of scientific inquiry
Scientific method
gathering information through careful observation
to formulate hypotheses and theories
note: involves insight and creativity to break free
from conditioned accepted views
Nature of scientific inquiry
Four basic steps:
1) collect the facts (observation/measurement)
2) develop hypothesis (one or more)
3) test hypothesis
4) accept/modify/reject hypothesis
Nature of scientific inquiry
Process begins with Observation!
Formulation of Hypotheses:
Construction of a quantifiable tentative explanation
for something observed
Value of multiple working hypotheses
Hypothesis must be falsifiable – that is, there are
observations possible that contradict the theory
Testing hypotheses
Evaluate explanatory power.
Certainty in science and the nature of scientific proof
Science has been described as the orderly accumulation
of rejected hypotheses.
Nature of scientific inquiry
Theory
- well-tested/widely accepted hypothesis that
“acceptably” predicts observed facts.
- also: explains additional observations not used
originally to form theory
- predictive power (repeatable)
- still testable and subject to disproof!
Prelude: Earth Systems
 Atmosphere
 Hydrosphere
 Cryosphere
 Solid Earth
 Biosphere
Atmosphere
Blanket of gases surrounding the Earth
 Protection from Sun’s heat & UV rays
 Weather: due to exchange of energy
between Earth’s surface &
atmosphere
between atmosphere & outer space
 Strongly interacts with surface
Hydrosphere
Water portion of Earth
 Oceans (most prominent)
71% of surface of Earth
 Streams, lakes, glaciers, underground water
 Atmosphere
Cryosphere
Icy portion of Earth’s crust
 Glaciers
 Permafrost and ground ice
 Polar ice caps
 Frozen polar seas
Biosphere
Earth’s
Ecosystems
 Earth’s surface and subsurface to depths of a few
kilometers
 Life occupies an extreme range of environments
 Life strongly interacts with the atmosphere, the
hydrosphere and the solid earth (these interactions
are called ecology!)
Prelude: Earth’s internal structure
3 distinct divisions:
crust
Oceanic 0-6 km (“young”, < 180 m.y.)
Continental 0-34 km (older, up to 3.8 b.y.)
mantle
Upper 34-670 km
Lower 670-2900 km
core
Outer (liquid) 2900-5160 km
Inner (solid) 5160-6370 km
Solid Earth
Interior of the
Earth is losing
heat.
Primary source
of heat:
Radioactive decay
Heat loss drives
convection, based
on density
differences
Hotter stuff is
lighter and rises
Cooler stuff is
denser and sinks.
Prelude: Plate Tectonics
Earth’s dynamic interior and crust
 Heat loss drives plate tectonics
Three types of plate boundaries