Great Basin College
Physical Geology – Geol 101 Section E01
Fall 2010 - 4 Credits
Instructor Caroline R Bruno
Phone
775-753-2204
Office
Lundberg 109D
E-mail
WebCampus
Office Hours
T,Th 8:30am-9:30am
Th 1:30 am-3:30pm
Lecture
Lab
T, Th 9:30-10:45
Tuesday1:00-3:45
Text:
Lecture: Physical Geology. 13th edition. Plummer, Carlson and Hammersley. McGraw Hill. 2010
ISBN: 978-0-07-337671-4
Catalog Description:
Fundamental principles of geology including tectonic and surficial processes, oceans, atmosphere,
environmental applications, and resources.
Course Description:
This course will provide a broad overview of the science of geology. Topics include minerals,
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, geologic time, plate tectonics, landforms, streams
and groundwater, glaciation, environmental and resource issues, and an overview of the geology
of Nevada.
Geology is a qualitative AND quantitative science. Qualitatively, geology is an observational and
descriptive science and an understanding of terminology must be generated and maintained in
order to communicate ideas and concepts clearly. Quantitatively, results of geologic processes
can be expressed in stream flow measurements, sieve analysis, half-life calculations, etc.
Objective:
The objective of this course is to provide students with an appreciation and understanding of the
physical environment of planet earth; an understanding of how the earth works; the vastness of
geologic time; an awareness of natural resources; and a background for appreciation and
evaluation of natural hazards, disasters, and societal decision-making regarding the natural
environment.
Page 1
Method of Instruction:
This course is primarily a lecture course (Tuesday and Thursday) with a full lab per week (Mondays).
Lectures coincide with assigned reading material in the text, and add clarification and examples
to the material in the text. The lab is scheduled to coincide with the lecture to add emphasis and
“hands-on” experience doing science.
Learner Outcomes and Measurement:
Learner Outcomes
Measurement
Solve problems using the scientific method.
Carlin Canyon Field Trip Report and exams.
Comprehend and explain plate tectonics and
Exams 1,2,3 and 4
other important geologic concepts.
Identify rocks and minerals and comprehend
Mineral Identification quiz, Rock Identification
their formational environments.
Quiz, Exam 1
Synthesize the components of the Rock Cycle.
Field Trip Reports, Exam 2
Describe weathering and soil development.
Exam 2
Recognize the importance of geologic time.
Exam 2
Discuss basic geomorphological processes.
Lamoille Canyon Field Trip Report, Exams 2 and
3, writing assignments: 1, 2, 3, and 4
Discuss and analyze structural and geophysical
Geologic Maps Lab, Geologic Maps Quiz and
forces and structures.
Exam 4
Identify and synthesize the basic elements
Exam 4
related to the formation of the Basin and
Range.
Evaluation:
Tests:
There will be four tests during the semester. The tests will relate to the material covered in the
course segment prior to the test. The tests are generally short essay with some questions relating to
diagrams. If you must miss an exam due to illness, call your professor immediately to make proper
arrangements. In case of an unexcused absence, make-up exams are not given.
Writing Assignments:
Four one page writing assignments based on case studies are required throughout the semester.
The goal of these writing assignments is to strengthen student reading comprehension, writing and
communication skills. Additional information about the writing assignments will be distributed two
weeks prior to the due date.
Lab:
A full lab is required for this course. The topics of the labs are listed in the course schedule. Lab
assignments include quizzes, lab exercises and field trip reports. Students are required to attend
and complete every lab to pass the course. Classroom laboratory assignment must be turned in at
the end of each lab period. Field trip reports are due a week following the field excursion.
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Grading:
Grading will be based on tests, quizzes, and assignments. All scores will be added together at the
end of the semester, and the percentage of the total possible points will determine the grade.
Grades will be based on the following divisions:
A
95-100%
A-
90-94%
B+
87-89%
B
84-86%
B-
80-83%
C+
77-79%
C
74-76%
C-
70-73%
D+
67-69%
D
64-66%
D-
60-63%
F
<59%
A student may receive a “W” grade only if withdrawal occurs before the end of the thirteenth
week of the semester (November 26, 2010). To withdraw, the student must inform the instructor
verbally or in writing why the withdrawal is taking place, and must formally withdraw through
student services. Anyone who does not formally withdraw and does not complete the course will
receive an ‘F’ grade. ‘I’ grades for ‘incomplete’ will be given only under the most extenuating
circumstances, and only with the prior approval of the instructor.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance for lecture is highly recommended, although not required. Students MUST attend and
complete every lab to pass the course.
If you are ill, don’t be a hero. Keep your germs at home instead of passing them
on to your classmates and instructor. If you must miss class or lab due to an
illness, meet with your instructor to make up the work.
Cell Phones:
Turn off cell phones during lecture, lab, quizzes and exams. Text
messaging is prohibited.
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Hints for Success:

In order to pass this course you MUST actively participate in your education and study!

Take good notes during class!

Ask questions if you don’t understand the material.

Attend study groups offered by your instructor.

Read the helpful hints (located on the last page of the syllabus) from previous GEOL 101
students/
Additional Course Information:

The instructor will reply to WebCampus emails during posted office hours. If you have an
urgent question requiring a timely response during school hours, call the instructor directly
at 775-753-2204 or stop by Lundberg 109D.

Extra credit opportunities are not available.

To maintain articulation with the University of Nevada, Reno core curriculum requirements,
two field labs and two labs with controlled variables are included in the schedule.
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Student Conduct Policy:
Students are expected to follow the Student Conduct Policy for students in the Nevada System of
Higher Education (NSHE) outlined on pp. 28-32 of the 2007-2008 GBC Catalog. Because this is a live
class enhanced with WebCampus, students will specifically be held accountable for behaving in a
civil and respectful manner toward other students and the professor in all communications in class
and online.
The college catalog states, “Messages, attitudes, or any other form of communication deemed to
be outside the bounds of common decency/civility as judged by common standards of classroom
behavior (determined, as they would be in a regular classroom, by the instructor) will not be
tolerated” (29).
Pay particular attention to those last four words. Any student who behaves rudely to another
student or to the instructor will be dropped immediately. During the first week of class, students will
be required to respond to an email from the instructor acknowledging that they have read the
Student Conduct Policy and understand that they will be dropped from the class for violating it.
Academic Honesty Statement:
Academic dishonesty, in any form, such as, cheating and plagiarism, will not be tolerated by the
instructor AND Great Basin College. Academic dishonesty can result in failing the class, academic
suspension, or expulsion. All tests, quizzes, laboratories, and other assignments must be the
student’s OWN work. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s word, ideas or data as one’s own.
When a student submits work that includes the words, ideas, or data of others, the source of that
information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific references; and if
verbatim statements are included, through quotation marks as well. In academically honest
writing or speaking, the students will acknowledge the source whenever:



Another person’s actual words are quoted
Another person’s idea, opinion or theory is used, even if it is completely paraphrased in
the student’s own words
Facts, statistics, or other illustrative materials are borrowed, unless the information is
common knowledge
ADA Statement:
The college catalog states, “Great Basin College is committed to providing equal educational
opportunities to qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and
regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A qualified student must furnish current verification of disability. The ADA
Officer, located in Berg Hall, will assist qualified students with disabilities in securing the appropriate
and reasonable accommodations, auxiliary aids, and services. For more information or further
assistance, please call 775.753.2271” (36).
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GEOL 101 Course Schedule:
Week
Topics and Lecture Exam Dates
1 –Aug 29
2 – Sept 5
3 – Sept 12
4 – Sept 19
5 – Sept 26

Introducing Geology

Atoms, Elements, and Minerals

Minerals

Igneous Rocks
Min Identification

Igneous Rocks
Mineral Quiz

Volcanism and Extrusive Rocks

Volcanism and Extrusive Rocks

Exam 1 (Thursday, September 23)
Weathering and Soil

Sedimentary Rocks
6 – Oct 3

Metamorphism
7 – Oct 10

Glaciers and Glaciation

Exam 2 (Tuesday, October 19)

Time and Geology

Streams

Groundwater

Mass Wasting

Deserts and Wind Action

Exam 3 (Tuesday, Nov 9)

No class on 11/11/2010 Veteran’s
9 – Oct 24
10 – Oct 31
11 - Nov 7
13 – Nov 21
November 26
Course Drop

Geologic Structures

Waves, Beaches, and Coasts (?)

Geology of Nevada

No class on 11/25/2010
15-Dec 5
Reading,
Assignments
Ch1, Ch2
Ch 2, Ch3
Ch 3, Ch4
Field Trip to Lamoille
Canyon (Report
Ch4
Required)
Field Trip to Carlin
Canyon
Ch 5, Ch6
(Writing
Assignment #1)
Ch 7
Metamorphic Rocks
Rock Quiz
Ch 12
TopoMaps
Ch 8
Lab Quiz on Topo
(Writing
Maps
Assignment #2)
Water Resources
Ch10, Ch11
Lab-Sieve Analysis
(Report Required)
Ch 9, Ch 13
Ch 14
Ch 15
Geologic Maps
(Writing
Assignment #3)
Lab Quiz on
Geologic Maps
Earthquakes

Earthquakes
Field Trip (Report

Earth’s Interior

The Sea Floor Plate Tectonics

Mountain Belts and Continental
Required)
Crust
16-Dec 12
Igneous Rocks
Thanksgiving
Deadline
14 – Nov 28
Identification
Geologic Time Quiz
Day
12 - Nov 14
Lab Safety and Min
Min Id Process Quiz

8 – Oct 17
Labs and Quizzes
Ch 16, 17
Ch 18, 19, 20
No lab
(Writing
Assignment #4)
Finals Week- Exam 4: Tuesday, December 14, 9:30am-10:45am
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Substantiation of the Incorporation of the General Education Objectives into Geology 101:
Communication Skills (strong component):
Most test questions are short essay in nature, requiring clear communication of the understanding
of geologic processes. The use of appropriate sketches and graphs in communicating ideas is
promoted. In the lab, written descriptions of the rocks that students identify are required. Also, two
complete lab write-ups on quantitative investigations (following the format of scientific
investigation) are required. Writing assignments, 1, 2, 3 and 4 promote scientific writing. Class
discussion is encouraged.
Critical Thinking (strong component):
Quantitative Ability (significant): Several of the labs specifically require measurement,
mathematic manipulation of the data, and the creation of graphs. Quantitative relationships are
used in creation of topographic maps through interpolation of survey points and in the creation of
topographic cross sections. Students learn latitude and longitude (with an introduction to GPS) and
the use of the Land Office Grid System (section, township, range). Students are introduced to the
use of the Brunton compass in the geologic maps labs, the measurement of planar orientation with
strike and dip. The difference in arrival times of p and s waves generated from earthquakes is used
to determine the location of earthquakes from seismograph data. Quantitative ability will be
measured in many of the laboratory assignments and on exams.
Reasoning and Independent Thought (significant): All lab exercises require reasoning and
independent thought based on the interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative information.
For mineral and rock identification, observations and simple physical tests must be made to
determine the unique physical properties and compositions. This information is then interpreted to
correctly identify the mineral or rock. There is more reasoning in this exercise than most students
realize. The interpretation of landforms represented on topographic maps and geologic structures
represented on geologic maps both require reasoning. The written labs require the use of the
scientific method format, where appropriate conclusions must be drawn from the data and
calculated results. Many test questions require reasoning taken from the understanding and
application of the processes of geology, not just the memorization of terms (though of course, they
must know the meanings of the terms too). Students are required to provide reasoning and thought
for responses in writing assignments 1,2,3 and 4.
Scientific Understanding (significant): All principles taught in this course are based on
scientific reasoning. All interpretations are given as they are based upon facts. The lab introduces
the use of the scientific method and the use of both observational and quantifiable facts in its
application. The underlying effects of energy from gravity, stream velocity, internal and solar heat,
and other sources are discussed. The chemical nature of rocks and minerals is shown. The scientific
basis for evolution shown in the fossil record is reviewed, and its application to the geologic time
scale is emphasized. Geologic time and the position of the earth within time and the universe is
reviewed. Students are taught that every feature of the earth is the result of specific processes that
can be understood and interpreted by those who are knowledgeable of these processes.
Scientific Understanding will be measured in laboratory exercises and exams. Scientific reasoning is
required for responses to writing assignments 1,2,3 and 4.
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Personal and Cultural Awareness (moderate component):
Sense of the Individual in Society (considerable): This objective is also reflected under the
“Sense of Accountability” objective below. We discuss the right of the individual to build anywhere
one desires versus societies’ willingness to compensate the individual for losses incurred from
natural disasters, especially when a high likely-hood of the disaster is known (examples: building on
flood plains or barrier islands in hurricane prone areas, etc.). Laboratory exercise cover land use
and potential avenues of pollution. A global view of geological processes is given that shows that
they have no deference to any race, creed, or cultural factor. Different social attitudes to
geologic hazards in different cultures are reviewed. Sense of the Individual in Society will be
measured in the Water Resources Laboratory and Exams 3 and 4.
Sense of the Past (considerable): This class lives deeper in the past than most would
probably like to accept as the goal of this objective. We show human history as only a tiny blip on
the screen of time. What can be emphasized is the sharp impact of humans on the surface of the
planet in a short period of time, but we can also show how insignificant we are at the same time. In
addition, the historical basis for the development of important geologic ideas is presented.
Examples include the constancy of interfacial angles of crystals being an early evidence of atomic
structure, the history of the interpretation of ice ages, the role of geology in the development of
evolutionary theory, the development of new technology advancing the state of knowing (such as
using radiometric age dating), etc. Finally, the development of human societies, arts, and industry
are all intimately related to the utilization of mineral resources through past ages, thus the terms
“Stone”, “Bronze”, “Iron”, and “Atomic” ages. The impact of fossil fuels on modern society is
discussed. Laboratory exercises, the Geologic Time quiz and exams (particularly Exam 2) require
students to demonstrate their knowledge regarding geologic time and the past.
Sense of Accountability (significant): A common theme throughout much of this course is
the interaction between humans and nature, and the personal and social consequences of these
interactions. These interactions range from geologic hazards (floods, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, mass wasting, etc.) through resource utilization (minerals, fossil fuels, ground water
utilization, etc.) through the effects of pollution on natural systems (pollution of ground water,
global temperature change, etc.). The acts of individuals and society through building and land
use planning are discussed, using examples of costs to tax payers (through government
reimbursement after “disasters”) when individuals build in flood plains, low coastal areas
susceptible to hurricanes, earthquake-prone areas, etc. The question of what rights society has to
regulate activities in these kinds of areas is posed. Laboratory exercises, particularly the Water
Resources Laboratory and exams require student to demonstrate their knowledge regarding
accountability.
Appreciation of Fine Arts (some degree): The development of the fine arts in some areas
parallels to development and use of mineral resources, and this type of information is presented
during the course of the class. Examples are found in the history of pigments and paints (mineral
and petroleum based) and the development of ceramics. Modern sculpture relies on mineral and
rock resources. Examples of Greek, Roman and Egyptian Art is discussed throughout the chapter
Page 8
on weathering. Appreciation of Fine Arts will be measured using Exam 2, relating to chemical
weathering through acid rain and sculpture degradation.
Personal Wellness (some degree):
Personal safety is considered in the discussion of geologic hazards (first reactions to earthquakes,
safe places to build or buy homes, etc., are examples). Potential sources of groundwater pollution
are shown. Exam questions concerning water resources and earthquakes will measure this
component.
Technological Understanding (some degree):
Internet links are shown to sites giving current earthquake reports, past flood data for the United
States, etc. GPS units and their use are going to be incorporated into the labs on maps and
location. The class is internet enhanced and students will access course materials online. This
component will be measured in laboratory exercises.
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How to Succeed in Geology 101 - By previous Geology 101 students

‘A positive attitude and a willingness to learn is all it takes….keep your ears and eyes at
attention when she teaches.’

‘Study at least 2 hours a week.’

‘1. Take good notes. 2. Don’t wait until the night before a test to study, start at least 3
days out. 3. Try not to miss a class. 4. Don’t skip school on lab days (usually relates to text
and provides a visual on what is taught in class. 5. Understand Bowen’s Reaction Series.’

‘Read the chapters, pay attention to lecture, take good, thorough notes from lectures,
participate in reviews, print out study guides and keys, Study, Study, Study, talk to Carrie if
you need to.’

‘I can say only one word – STUDY!!! If you don’t study you will struggle in this class. Her
tests are not very easy. Don’t study the book, study the notes and really pay attention,
because she gives the tests on notes and lecture, not the book!!’

‘Take extremely good notes during lectures. Study notes and then refer to book if more
explanation is needed. Ask questions if lost. Go to class every session, you will miss out a
lot on the notes and what was said in class.’

‘Don’t procrastinate! Read the chapters and understand the pictures. Learn all the
geology terms and how to use them.’

‘To not get overwhelmed – make sure you keep up. Read the chapters and have an
interest to want to be in here.’

‘To succeed in geology, it is vital that you pay attention in class! Taking notes during the
lecture is very helpful, because most of the information covered in class is directly on the
exam. Also, study the diagrams!’

‘Have fun. Work hard. If you don’t understand, ask the teacher to help you. Go to the
study groups.

‘Pay attention to the lectures!!!’

‘Take advantage of every single learning or studying opportunity available. Learn how
geology relates to your life and world --if it is interesting to you, you will learn more readily.’

‘Form a study group. ‘

‘Read your book.’

‘Stay awake and come to class.’

‘Take good notes. Study your notes. Learn your notes.’

‘Study more (rock and mineral) samples than those provided in lab.’

‘Read the chapters thoroughly and take good notes on the PowerPoints.’

‘Review your notes several times, study hard, and ask questions. Then study some more!!’

‘Study like crazy every week!’

‘Come to class everyday and take really good notes.’

‘Get involved with study groups outside of class.’

‘Study groups are extremely helpful!’

‘This class will be easier for you if you take notes and read the book.’

‘Ask questions.’

‘A simple way to succeed in geology is to study. ‘

‘Take interest in the class.’
Page 10