Geo101 Syllabus
Introductory Geology 01:460:101
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Course Information and Syllabus, Fall Semester, 2015
Course Lectures (Fall, 2015):
Location: WL-Auditorium
Time: 3 hours per week, Monday / Wednesday 3:20-4:40 pm
Note: Please try to get to class on time.
Office Hours:
Location: Room 339B, Wright Labs, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Busch Campus
Time: Mon. / Wed., before class and by appointment
Contact Info:
Prof. Feigenson e-mail: feigy@rci.rutgers.edu (Please list your e-mail subject as Geo101)
telephone: We hardly ever pick-up the telephone!
class web site: https://sakai.rutgers.edu
Textbook: recommended
Text 1: Understanding Earth, 6th Edition, 2010, by Grotzinger, and Jordan / book website
http://whfreeman.com/Catalog/product/understandingearth-sixthedition-grotzinger
Text 2: Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 4rd Edition, 2012 by Stephen Marshak / book website
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Earth/
Note on the attached Course Syllabus
The course syllabus should be used as a general outline of the course. The syllabus may be modified during
the semester if needed due to unforeseen absence as a result of unscheduled appointments or severe weather
conditions. Modifications will be discussed in class and posted on the SAKAI course website.
A few other things that shouldn’t have to be said, but I’ll say them anyway:
* Please make every effort to arrive to class on time
* If you need to leave class early, sit at end of an aisle to minimize class disruption
* Enrollment, class attendance, taking exams, and quizzes are not mandatory (however, my giving you a
passing grade is also not mandatory!)
* Please do not use cell phones, PDAs, i-phones, blackberrys, etc, no text messaging, web browsing, games,
etc. in class…please turn off ringers!
* Cheating and plagiarism are not acceptable!
* On the EPS website, I have posted Rutger’s Policy on Academic Integrity. If you are not familiar with this,
I highly recommend you look it over.
**Please send an email to your lab TA if you will be late to lab, or cannot attend, prior to the lab meeting.
Geology Lab / Recitation Sections: All lab sections meet in Wright Labs, Room 339
There is no Lab the first week of classes !
Sec.
Day
Time
Lab TA
01
Tuesday
3:20 – 6:20 PM
02
Wednesday
8:40 – 11:40 AM
Weimin Si
03
Thursday
8:40 - :11:40 AM
Michael Klaser
04
Friday
1:40 – 4:40 PM
Lee Terry
Cesar Sequeira
TA e-mail
lee.terry@rutgers.edu
weimin.si@rutgers.edu
michael.klaser@rutgers.edu
c.sequeira@rutgers.edu
Lab Textbook: Lab Notes / Handouts
Grading and Exams
Possible Points
Exam I
100
Exam II
100
Exam III (Final)
Labs
100
Weekly 10 pts
AMNH / Assignment
100
60
Geology in the News, write-up presentation
50
Question of the Day 5pts
100
Total Class Points
TBA
600 ±
Grading and Grades:
Course grade will be based on total accumulated points (lecture and lab), curved according to overall class
point distribution… if history has any bearing on this semester, you will need an overall score of 90% or greater
to get an A.
All Exams will be given in class during the regular scheduled class period. Dates for exams are indicated
below and on the syllabus, but may change due to unforeseen events. Pop quizzes may given during lecture
periods and will consist of short questions pertaining to the current or prior lecture.
Exams and quizzes are based on materials presented in lecture and from assigned readings. Exams may / will
include a variety of question formats including multiple choice, matching, true - false, fill in-the-blank, short
answers and ESSAY!! questions.
Makeup exams will be scheduled only for students with official University excuses (generally medical) and
MUST BE APPROVED PRIOR TO TEST DATE.
Course Syllabus, Fall Semester, 2015
September
Wk 1 Wed 9/02 Introduction
Course syllabus, lecture themes, textbook, exams, term paper, quizzes, grading
Earth as a system
Lecture Slides / Notes
Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 1-23
Wk 1 Lab
No Lab
Wk 2 Tues 9/08 (note change of day!) The Cosmos and the Origin of it All
Grotzinger: Chapter 9 (part): 215-243
Wed 9/09 The Structure of Matter…a bit about the basics: elements, atoms, ions, and isotopes
Grotzinger: Chapter 3: 57-59, Appendix 3 Chemical Reactions
Wk 2 Lab
Wk 3 Mon 9/14
Some basics: chemistry, density, and more
Minerals: the building blocks of the Earth
Grotzinger: Chapter 3: 55-72, Appendix 4: Mineral Properties
Wed 9/16
Making rocks
Grotzinger: Chapter 3: 72-87
Wk 3 Lab
Minerals
Earth’s primary rocks: Igneous rocks…Solids from melts
Wk 4 Mon 9/21
Grotzinger: Chapter 4: 89-105
Wed 9/23
The formation of a differentiated planet
Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 9-13, Chapter 9: 219-222, 14: 369-391
Wk 4 Lab
Wk. 5 Mon 9/28
Igneous Rocks
How old is the Earth and how do we know that?
Lecture Notes
Grotzinger: Chapter 8: 202-208
Wk 5 Lab
Wed 9/30
Google Earth and Landforms
Earth’s Core: the Geodynamo System
Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 9-15, Chapter 14: 369-391
October
Wk 6 Mon 10/05
Wed 10/07
Exam I
Earth’s Mantle and Crust; the Plate Tectonic System
Interactions: Earth’s Plate Tectonic System
Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 9-15, Chapter 2: 25-53, 14:369-391
Wk 6 Lab
Wk 7 Mon 10/12
Plate Tectonics
Lithospheric movements: Earthquakes
Grotzinger: Chapter 13: 297-323
Wed 10/14
Lithospheric movements: Earthquakes
Grotzinger: Chapter 13: 297-323
Wk 7 Lab
Wk 8 Mon 10/19
Earthquakes
Crustal Processes: Sedimentary rocks
Grotzinger: Chapter 5: 113-145
Wed 10/21
Interpreting Earth’s crust: Principles of stratigraphy
Grotzinger: Chapter 6: 147-165
Wk 8 Lab
Wk 9
Mon 10/26
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic rocks: Transformation of a solid state
Grotzinger: Chapter 8: 191-213
Wed 10/28
Venting of the Earth: Volcanoes
Grotzinger: Chapter 12: 305-335, 4: 104-111
Wk 9 Lab
Maps and Sections
November
Wk 10 Mon 11/02
Wed 11/04
Exam II
Mountain building: Deforming, folding, faulting and orogeny
Grotzinger: Chapter 7: 167-189
Wk 10 Lab
Wk 11 Mon 11/9
Metamorphic Rocks
Evolution of Continents & Oceans: Interactions among plates: First 4 GA
Grotzinger: Chapter 10: 245-273
Wed 11/11
Evolution of Continents & Oceans: Interactions among plates: Phanerozoic
Grotzinger: Chapter 10: 245-273
Wk 11 Lab
Wk 12 Mon 11/16
Structural Geology
Climate
Grotzinger: Chapter 20: 245-273
Wed 11/18
Global Warming
Grotzinger: Chapter 11: 275-303
Wk 12 Lab American Museum of Natural History
You do not need to attend lab this week. This week is set aside for you to visit the museum on
your own time.
Wk 13 Mon 11/23 and Weds 11/25: no class Thanksgiving: no labs this week
Wk. 14 Mon. 11/30
Geology of New Jersey
Grotzinger: Chapter 15: 393-419
December
Weds 12/02
Solar System I
Grotzinger: Chapter 16: 421-453
Wk 14 Lab
News Presentations/turn in American Museum of Natural History
lab
Wk 15 Mon 12/07
Solar System II
Grotzinger: Chapter 23: 550-579
The Earth as a Planet: the “Goldilocks” effect
Grotzinger: Chapter 9: 222-243
Course Notes
Wed 12/9
Exam III
Wk 15 No lab