Geology of the Planets (Geo Sci 120)
Spring 2016
Online lecture equivalents: Posted twice a week, divided into ~10-15 minute “topics.”
Online labs: One/week, divided into a “pre-lab” and “lab” exercise, typically due Tuesday and
Friday, respectively. Designed to be the equivalent of 2-3 additional hours/week.
Professor: Dr. Lindsay McHenry
Email (preferred): lmchenry@uwm.edu
Phone (if needed): 414-229-3951
Teaching assistant: Abuduwufu Patiman (Fatimah)
Email: apatiman@uwm.edu
Course web page: login to D2L at http://d2l.uwm.edu/
Textbook: None. We will use sections of the online resource Astronomy Notes at
http://www.astronomynotes.com/ along with individual pdf chapters (on D2L) and other online
resources (mission webpages, etc.) instead. If you really prefer a hard copy, you can purchase a
physical book at http://www.astronomynotes.com/purchase.htm
Other needs: reliable access to a computer (PC or Mac) and the internet (on campus, at home, or
both). You will need access to software including a modern web browser (e.g. Firefox, Chrome,
IE9+, or Safari), Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), a variety of (free)
media players, Adobe Acrobat reader, and Google Earth. These programs should be available in
campus general-use computer labs, and are available for download (for free or at reduced student
prices) under “Links” on the course D2L page.
You will occasionally need access to some means of taking pictures and uploading them (e.g. a
smartphone, camera, tablet/laptop with camera) to document the results of lab activities. Note:
the UWM Media and Reserve Library allows for short-term digital camera or iPad borrowing.
Some labs will require easily acquired materials that you may already have, or may need to
borrow or purchase (e.g. rulers, round objects, flour, sand, colored pencils). One lab will require
more specialized materials (brine shrimp eggs), available at pet/aquarium stores or online (e.g.
Amazon).
Learning Objectives
From the rocky planets of the inner solar system to the “interplanetary worldlets” of the asteroid
belt to the dynamic (or long dead) moons of the outer solar system and the icy worlds beyond
Neptune, the principles developed as “Earth Sciences” can be applied to answer questions
beyond our own planet. The investigation of worlds beyond our own sheds light on the Earth’s
formation, its history, and potential future. The last decade has brought us an unprecedented
volume of geological data from Mercury, Venus, Mars, Titan, the moon, asteroids, and comets,
with more yet to come! The major goal of this course is to give you access to the information
that the geological processes on other planets can provide to help us better understand our own
planet’s unique characteristics. You will gain skills in interpreting planetary data and knowledge
of the resources used to obtain this information.
This general goal can be broken down into more specific objectives. By the end of this course,
you should be able to:
1. Understand the tools and data that we use to study the geology of planets beyond
our own.
2. Analyze simple experimental data and remotely sensed images to address questions
about the compositions and processes that occur on planetary surfaces.
3. Understand the overall composition of the solar system and its likely history.
4. Compare the geological features of the Earth, moon, and other terrestrial planets to
help understand how the Earth’s characteristics make it uniquely suitable in the
solar system for the long-term existence of life.
Assessment: Assessment in this course (determining whether students have met the assessment
goals) will occur via quizzes (assessing knowledge), lab activities (assessing students’
understanding of and ability to apply the scientific method and assess data quality), and online
discussions and group presentations (assessing students’ abilities to synthesize scientific
information and communicate it to their peers). Frequent, low-stakes assessment activities will
allow the instructor to adjust the course to the needs of the students.
GER Statement: Learning Outcomes for this Course
This course meets the UWM General Education Requirements in the division of Natural
Sciences. All Natural Sciences courses have the following learning outcome: “Students will be
able to understand and apply the major concepts of a natural science discipline, including its
breadth and its relationship to other disciplines” (Natural Sciences (NS) criterion 1). In addition,
this course addresses the following learning outcomes: “Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the process of generating and testing data, and apply this knowledge to the
solution of problems” (NS criterion 3) and “discuss and assess the limitations of data and the
possibility of alternative interpretations” (NS criterion 4). This course additionally addresses two
of the UW System Shared Learning Goals, namely (2) Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
and (3) Effective Communication Skills.
The activities in this class will address these criteria. Students will acquire a sound understanding
of the principles and techniques employed in planetary geology, learning about the
interconnectedness of geology, physics, astronomy, and chemistry and how they can be
combined to answer big questions (NS criterion 1).
Planetary geology is not about memorizing facts about each body in the solar system, but rather
about learning how we know what we know. To this end we will conduct experiments and use
tools similar to those employed by spacecraft to illustrate both the scientific method and how we
analyze data. We will explore how our understanding of the geology of the planets has evolved
over time as new data became available. Students will also learn how to access and interpret
images of geological features on other planets collected by spacecraft (NS criteria 3 and 4).
Through participating in weekly online activities including labs, discussions, quizzes, and lecture
equivalents, students will acquire a sound understanding of the principles and techniques
employed in planetary geology, and their limitations.
Your Role in the Course
Geo Sci 120 requires a team effort. YOU are part of this team. I need your steady participation
over the course of the semester, your collaboration with each other, and your input about what
can help you learn.
Input: I value your input and you can provide it in several ways. For issues that need immediate
attention, send me an email. If you think your questions are of general interest, or if you think
your peers might be able to help you resolve them, you can post them to the general class D2L
discussion forum. If there are topics that you would like to learn about, just ask!
Collaboration: UW-Milwaukee has excellent students. In Geo Sci 120, expect to learn from
your peers as well as from me. You will have an opportunity to work together: during online
discussions and in preparing an online group presentation, where you will work (virtually) in
groups of 5-7 students. Your future professions will almost certainly require teamwork and this
course will help you to develop the communication skills that you will need. However, except
where group submissions are explicitly requested (e.g., the group presentations), you are required
to submit your own, original work.
Participation: Your steady efforts are needed. As this is a three-credit course, expect to dedicate
around 9 hours a week to it in the form of background readings, lecture equivalents, completing
lab and other online assignments, participating in online discussions, and studying for (and
taking) quizzes.
Learning Accommodations
I believe it is both important and appropriate go make accommodations that facilitate and
improve the learning environment for all students. If you will need accommodations in order to
meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible. We may want
to consult the Student Accessibility Center (229-6287; http://sac.uwm.edu/) to help assist in
devising an appropriate solution.
Accommodations for Religious Observance
Accommodations will be made if you need to miss class or a required assignment for a religious
observance. Please inform me in advance so that I can make arrangements.
Teaching Policies
As a student in this course you are responsible to abide by the Department of Geosciences
teaching policies and all University established policies. Scholastic dishonesty of any type will
not be tolerated. Scholastic dishonesty, a breach of the standards of academic integrity, includes,
but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and any act designed to give unfair academic
advantage to the student. In this course, the work you hand in for credit must be entirely your
own work, except when group work is specifically permitted. Even if you work with others, you
are expected to hand in individual assignments written in your own words. You are welcome to
discuss any course related issues with me or with your TA. My goal, and that of the department,
is to create a productive learning environment for all students.
Grading
Most of your grade is based on your performance on the lab activities and quizzes. The
assignments require some group and some individual work. The breakdown of the learning
assessment on which your grades will be based is as follows:
Online quizzes:
Online labs:
Online discussions:
Group presentation:
Online final:
25%
50%
10%
5%
10%
Total:
100%
Letter grades (note- I do not give out minus grades. I think they are mean).
<60%: F. 60-65: D. 66-69: D+. 70-75: C. 76-79: C+. 80-86: B. 86-89: B+. 90+: A.
• Assignments and quizzes need to be completed and turned in on time: typically a week after
they are assigned but check D2L for exact submission dates and times. Late assignments may be
accepted with a penalty, unless prior arrangements have been made. All work will be submitted
via D2L.
• There will be frequent, low-stakes quizzes covering the material presented in the online lectures
and assigned readings. Each quiz will have 10 questions (pulled from a larger question bank),
and you get two 15-minute tries on each one, with only the highest score considered for your
grade. Your lowest two quiz scores will be dropped.
• There will be a lab exercise every week starting with week 2, except for the weeks when there
is an online discussion or group presentation instead (see detailed schedule). Note that while this
is an online course, this does NOT mean that all of the labs can be accomplished sitting in front
of a computer. Some will require preparation, experiments, and observations of the natural
world. Most labs will have an associated pre-lab due earlier in the week, to allow your TA to
provide feedback before the final lab is due.
• There will be two formal online discussions, one on disaster movies and one on the planetary
status of Pluto. You will be responsible for posting one well-reasoned initial post, responding to
posts from fellow classmates, and responding to their responses.
• Your assigned group of 4-6 will prepare a PowerPoint presentation on a NASA (or other)
mission to tell the class about. Each group will be assigned a mission, in part based on an
optional interest survey. Presentations will be posted on D2L for all of your classmates to see,
and each student will provide feedback on the presentations of two other groups.
• The online final exam will consist of long-answer questions that ask you to synthesize what
you’ve learned. You can refer to your notes, and lecture, assigned reading, and online or other
resources but NOT your classmates- this is meant to assess your individual performance. Your
answers need to be phrased in your own words.
• If at any point during the term you have a question or a concern about your grade, please
contact me, or your TA. I will try to keep the D2L grade book up to date.
Preliminary Lecture and Lab Schedule
Wk
1
Day
1/26
1/28
Lecture topics
Intro to the course
Introduction to planetary
geology, the history of
“our place in the
cosmos,” and the
scientific method
2
2/2
2/11
Formation of the solar
system
Planetary interiors/
geophysics
Lab 1: Scale of the solar
system
Materials of the solar
system
Asteroids and meteorites
2/16
Lab 2: meteorites vs.
meteorwrongs
Geochronology
2/4
3
4
2/9
2/18
5
2/23
2/25
6
3/1
3/3
7
3/8
3/10
The Moon
Lab 3: Geochronology
Remote sensing and
spectroscopy
DAWN at Vesta, Ceres,
Rosetta at comet 67P
Lab 4: Planetary
spectroscopy
Magma and melting
Planetary volcanism
Lab 5: Planetary
Volcanism
An introduction to Mars
The Mars exploration
rovers
Lab 6: Google Mars
Spring Break
Reference
syllabus
Reynolds 2013, Ch 19
http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/s3.htm#A2.4
http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/s4.htm#A3.3
http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/s6.htm#A4.3
http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/s7.htm#A5
http://www.astronomynotes.com/scimethd/chindex.htm
Hartmann 2005, Ch 5
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s11.htm
www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s8.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/chapter1/s2.htm
Reynolds 2013, Ch 4 (part)
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s2.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s3.htm
http://meteorites.wustl.edu/meteorwrongs/
Dalrymple 2005, Chapter 4
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s4.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s13.htm#A9.1
http://www.astronomynotes.com/light/chindex.htm
http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/
Cowen 2012, Nature; Hand 2014, Science
http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/igneous.htm
Wilson 2009, Nature Geoscience
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s10.htm
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
TBD
March 13 - 20
8
9
3/22
Curiosity at Gale Crater
3/24
Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter
Lab 7: Disaster movies!
MESSENGER at
Mercury
Impact craters
3/29
3/31
10
11
4/7
Lab 8: Impacts 1
Plate Tectonics: Unique
to Earth?
Venus
4/12
Lab 9: Impacts 2
The Galilean Moons
4/5
4/14
12
4/19
Lab 10: Missions
Planetary atmospheres
4/21
New Horizons at Pluto
13
4/26
4/28
14
5/3
5/5
15
Icy worlds of the outer
solar system
5/10
Lab 11: Is Pluto a
Planet?
The “Goldilocks” effect
Astrobiology
Lab 12: Astrobiology
and the Drake Equation
The geology of
exoplanets
Resources of the solar
system
www.nasa.gov/msl/
Grotzinger 2014, Science
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mro/
TBD
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/
Blewett 2011, Mercury.
www.nasa.gov/lro/
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s8b.htm#A71
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s8c.htm#plates
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s8b.htm#A74
Head 2014, Geology.
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s9.htm#A2.1
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/
Coates 2011, Science (Io)
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s14.htm
www.nasa.gov/cassini
stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
Kerr 2013 Science
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s15.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s16.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s7.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s8.htm
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s3.htm
(Note: read the whole chapter on atmospheres: click
“next page” and read all sections until the summary).
Stern et al., 2015, Science
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/
TBD
http://www.astronomynotes.com/lifezone/chindex.htm
www.nasa.gov/kepler/
http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s12.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post/is-moonssci-fi-vision-of-lunar-hel-2009-06-12/?id=is-moons-scifi-vision-of-lunar-hel-2009-06-12
Lab 12, continued
The future of space
exploration
This syllabus is subject to change!