Syllabus for (Sedimentology and) Stratigraphy (GEOS 334)
#6983
WM 5:30 – 8:10PM Rossey 617
Dr. Deborah Freile
Office Rossey 613
dfreile@njcu.edu; 201.200.3188
Office Hours: M/W 9-10AM; M2-3PM; W3-5PM or by Appointment
Course Goals:
 Identify and describe sediments and sedimentary rocks based on texture and composition
 Understand the distribution of sediments in both the terrestrial and marine environments
 Familiarization with sediment transport
 Identify and interpret sedimentary structures, depositional environments and sedimentary facies
 Evaluate and interpret local and regional stratigraphic analyses
 Understand how the time scale was developed and how to determine the age of a deposit
Textbooks
Boggs, Sam, 2006, Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, 4th Ed., Pearson Prentice-Hall, 662 pp.
Folk, Robert L., 1980, Hemphill Publishing Co., Austin, TX, 184 pp. (Available as a pdf.file- PRINT & BIND)
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/folkready/folkprefrev.html>
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance: Attendance is strongly recommended. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class period. Excused absences
from class will be granted only upon a written medical or sponsored university activity notification. If the student comes to class late,
it is his or her responsibility to inform the instructor and sign the attendance sheet. Once the instructor leaves the classroom, any
student not appearing on the attendance sheet will be counted as absent. Attendance counts towards class participation points. From
the NJCU catalogue: “Each student is expected to fulfill the attendance requirements as determined by the faculty member. Failure to
attend classes without a valid excuse as determined by the faculty member may be factored into the evaluation of the student’s
performance and achievement for the course. Each student shall be required to take all examinations on the days scheduled for such,
provided these schedules are announced in advance by the faculty member(s) responsible for the course. To ensure compliance with
Federal and State aid requirements, instructors are required to keep such records as will enable them to complete the Monthly
Veterans Attendance Rosters and the Mid-Semester Audit Report Forms and to certify the last date of attendance of students receiving
aid. Financial aid recipients who never attend one or more of their classes or who stop attending all of their classes will be paid a
reduced amount of aid and are subject to forfeiture of their financial aid”.
Methods of Instruction: This course will employ the following pedagogic techniques;
1. Lecture and discussion of material.
2. Audio visual instruction in the form of PowerPoint presentations and/or specific VHS tapes or DVDs
3. Instructor’s Website http://faculty.njcu.edu/dfreile/ look for GEOS 334 Sed & Strat
4. Testing
5. Class oral and poster presentations
6. Written assignments
7. Laboratory assignments
Course Schedule
WEEK 1
(Sept. 02)
WEEK 2
(Sept. 07-09)
WEEK 3
(Sept. 14-16)
WEEK 4
(Sept.21-23)
WEEK 5
(Sept. 28-30)
WEEK 6
(Oct. 05-07)
WEEK 7
(Oct. 12-14)
WEEK 8
(Oct. 19-21)
WEEK 9
(Oct. 26-28)
WEEK 10
(Nov.02-04)
WEEK 11
(Nov. 09-11)
WEEK 12
(Nov. 16-18)
WEEK 13
(Nov. 23-25)
WEEK 14
(Nov. 30-Dec. 02)
WEEK 15
(Dec. 07-09)
WEEK 16
(Dec. 14)
Dec. 16
Chapters
Course Structure/ Introduction/ Weathering
Ch. 1
Weathering/Transport & Deposition
Ch. 2
Phys Prop. of Sed Rocks: Texture/ Database Research Intro at the Library
Ch. 3
Physical Properties of Sed Rocks
Ch.3/4
Physical Properties of Sed Rocks: Sed. Structures/Test #1
Ch. 4
Siliciclastic Rocks- GANJ Field Trip Oct.9-10th
Ch. 5
Carbonate Rocks
Ch. 6
Other Rocks/ Student Present and Posters Sed Struc/ Field Trip CT
Ch. 7
Test #2/Terrestrial Environments
Ch. 8
Marginal Marine Environments
Ch. 9
Siliciclastic Marine Environments
Ch. 10
Carbonate Environments
Ch. 11
Stratigraphy/Thanksgiving Break
Ch. 12, 13
Stratigraphy (Research Papers due)
Ch. 14, 15
Test#3/ Presentations
Class Presentations
Final Exam- Practical (Hands-on)
WEB and Email. I will endeavor to post the any assignments, notes and/or exercises on the my Webpage as soon as they become
available. Any notices that appear on the Website are your responsibility. Check it often. You are held responsible for all
information emailed on your student accounts. Use your NJCU e-mails, you can set them up to be e-mailed to other e-mails.
LABORATORY. Laboratory is essential for applying what we discuss in class. Laboratories will be interspersed with the lectures.
There will be 5 or 6 Labs. Laboratory generally begins with a short lecture. The exercises will usually be posted on the Web or I will
hand them out in advance so familiarize you with the material. Working in teams is encouraged but you will be tested individually on
this material on both the lab practical and examinations so make sure you know it yourself. Finish the work in the time allotted. The
samples will be available in the room at other times for you to finish the lab. Laboratory exercises are due at the start of the next
period unless stated otherwise. You will lose a grade for each day it is late. There are no make-ups for lab. If you know in advance
you will miss a laboratory, you must speak with me. There is NO makeup for the practical exam. Many labs require a calculator,
ruler as well as regular and colored pencils. A hand lens is essential. Come prepared.
FIELD TRIPS. We will have three field trips: 2 of them are weekend trips, one to southern NJ as part of GANJ(also required for
field Methods) (October 09-10th -Date Firm) and a weekend trip to the Connecticut River Valley area (Oct. 24th & 25th as part of
Structure and field Methods). You are expected to participate in all the field trips although arrangements can be made for those
students who are absolutely unable to attend the one of them provided they notify me in writing at least two weeks in advance with a
valid excuse. However, it is to your benefit to attend the field trips, for students who do not attend are held responsible for the
material, and must document this understanding with an additional project. There will be a one day coastal coring field trip on a
Saturday, TBA (Probably Oct. 17th). You are required to write a short write-up of what we accomplished during the field trip.
ASSIGNED READINGS/ QUESTIONS. This course is intensive with a lot of material to cover. You will not do well unless
you do the reading. Make the right decision.
PROJECTS. There are two semester projects: A Sedimentary Structures poster with a very short (5 minute)oral presentation, and a
short (6-8 page) research paper with a longer (15 minute) oral presentation. Both presentations will be peer-reviewed. Detailed
instructions available on the class webpage. For every class period the assignment is late, you will lose one grade. The assignment
will not be accepted after the third late class day. For example, if the paper is due on Monday, you will lose one letter grade for
turning it in on Wednesday, a second letter grade for turning it in on the following Monday, and a third letter grade on Wednesday and
it will not be accepted after the end of that week at 5:30 pm). Poster and presentations due on Wednesday October 21st and research
papers due on Wednesday December 2nd; the longer presentations are due on either December 9 th or 14th.
SPECIAL HELP. My office hours are held for a reason, they are on MW 9-10AM and M 2-3PM or W 3-5PM, or by appointment.
Any student having problems with the material should see me immediately. Please do this BEFORE you get into serious trouble
academically.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Sedimentary structures. Students choose a sedimentary structure from a list and develop a very short (2-3 page-1000 word) paper
using books on reserve in the library and at least one (1) peer-reviewed article. Using PowerPoint, students will develop a small
poster for distribution to the class and a short (5 minute) presentation as well as a larger poster 24”x 34” for display, if they desire.
This project is a much smaller scale version of the posters used to present data at scientific meetings. I will aid in development of the
paper and the design of the poster. Look around the department at posters from the previous (Fall 2007) class.
Paper: students will be asked to write a research paper on a Sedimentary Basin. Students will present the information to the class in an
oral presentation 15 minutes in length, along with a summary handout. I encourage you to start early, as documents may need to be
ordered from other libraries as Interlibrary loans. We will go as a class to the library for a class on “how to use library resources” on
Wednesday September 16th. You NEED to be able to search for peer-reviewed literature for both the paper and sedimentary structure
poster.
Paper Guidelines: 6 to 8 page typed paper with full references, tables and figures; structured and organized in a manner consistent
with scientific writing. The first draft of the paper is due on November 2nd or you will forfeit 10 points on the paper. The final paper
is due on November 30th.
Length:
Sources
6-8 pages, doubled spaced with a one-(1) inch margin and a 10 or 12 point font size.
The paper must contain at least 5 pages of text.
At least 7 peer-reviewed (scientific journal) references must be used. You may use more references, but you cannot
use more than 2 textbooks or 2 Internet sources as references. The internet sources must be .edu or .gov or .org, NO
Wikipedia or Encarta or on-line dictionaries.
Formatting:
Proper formatting (non-MLA) must be followed; see below (follow Geological Society of America format)
Grading Criteria:
Content
30%
Clarity and fluidity
10%
Structure: Introduction; body; conclusion and appropriate headings and subheadings
Proper formatting
Tables, figures and charts
Bibliography
Grammar and spelling
10%
10%
15%
15%
10%
This paper has to be written in a scientific manner. This means following the APA style, not MLA. A handy book to obtain is A
Pocket Style Manual 2nd. Ed., by Diana Hacker (Bedford Books). References should be cited within the paragraphs for an idea that is
not yours [i.e. According to Smith (1995) the concentration of sulfur in............. or The concentration of sulfur was determined to be
........ (Smith, 1995)]. Several figures should be included in your paper to illustrate your points. Do NOT take paragraphs out of books
or articles ‘as is’, always paraphrase or summarize the information and reference it. I do not want to see a string of quotes from other
writers linked together with ‘and’, ‘while’, ‘however’, and other such conjunctions. Do not use footnotes. They are not used in the
sciences. At the end of the paper provide a bibliography of all material used and cited. The following format should be used when
writing the bibliography:
In case of an article in a journal:
Author last name, First name, date. Title of article (small letters; except for proper nouns), Journal (italicized) vol., number, pages.
[i.e.: Smith, John, J., 1995, Sulfur determinations in natural waters, Journal of Hydrology, vol. 32, no. 4, p. 34-56.]
In case of a book:
Author last name, First name, date. Title of Book, Edition, Publisher, City, Total pages.
[i.e.: Smith, John, J., 1995, Geochemistry of Natural Waters, Second Edition, Mark University Press, Harmony, MN, 295 pp.]
If you have any questions, regarding these or other instructions please ask
Evaluation Components and Grading Scale
Tests: There will be 3 Exams (lowest grade will be dropped-but you MUST take ALL exams). Make-up exams will not be
given under any circumstance. EXAMS. If you cannot make the exam you must notify me at least 1 week in advance; if it is an
emergency situation, you should notify me that day by telephone and e-mail and must make up the exam within 1 week (if it is an
excused absence). Car trouble is not a valid excuse.
Exams will consist of the following types of questions- Definitions, fill in the blanks, short answer, and diagrams to label or
photographs to interpret. All tests will contain an extra-credit question for bonus points.
GRADING
Class
Two exams
(2 x 15 )
Laboratory
Sedimentary Structures project
Research Paper
30.0%
40.0%
12.5%
17.5%
100
Laboratory:
Grading Scale
95-100 A
90-94 A-
Laboratory exercises
Field Trips with write-ups
GANJ (5%)
Hartford Basin (7.5%)
Coring (2.5%)
Lab Practical
87-89
84-86
B+
B
80-83
77-79
BC+
10
15
15
40
74-76
68-73
C
C-
58-67
D
Participation: Class participation is an important part of the learning process. Participation in class is highly encouraged and
variations in points of view are welcomed. Attendance to class counts towards class participation
Academic Dishonesty: Students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity at all times. NJCU condemns cheating and
plagiarism in any form. Plagiarism is defined as intentionally using the ideas, knowledge, words, and/or visual images of another
individual as if those were original to the writer or speaker (INCLUDING THE IMPROPER CITATION OF THOSE WORKS
USED); and any other forms of deceit in relation to the student’s affiliation with and commitment to the university. [According to the
Student Rights and Responsibilities: Code of Conduct- Some specific activities that are not to be tolerated on the campus are: (7).
Fraud in any for, whether it be altering or changing University records, or cheating in any form. Prohibited activities include (12).
Academic dishonesty (a). Plagiarism, cheating (b). Use of term papers or reports not completely prepared by the student. In this
course any student caught cheating on any test or plagiarizing any work will receive an ‘F’ for the entire course.
Withdrawal: Please note that November 16th is the last day to withdraw from a course with a grade of “W”.
Cell Phones and Pagers: Please turn OFF all cell phones and pagers. If a phone rings during class time the student will be asked
to leave and counted as absent for that day.
Use of cell phones, I Pods, MP3 players or any other electronic device is PROHIBITED during class or EXAMS. Any student
using the device will be asked to LEAVE immediately and if taking an exam the exam grade will result in a zero (0).
ACADEMIC SKILLS WORKSHOPS
FALL 2009
TIME MANAGEMENT
--Learn better management of time, quantitatively and qualitatively.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 1 P.M.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 5 P.M.
STUDY SKILLS & NOTE TAKING
--Increase your retention of what you read in your textbooks and hear in your class lecture. Learn to simply and effectively
take notes in class.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 1 P.M.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 5 P.M.
TEST TAKING
--Learn better test preparation and proven techniques for taking objective (multiple choice, true or false, matching) and
essay tests.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 1 P.M.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 5 P.M.
TEST ANXIETY
--Learn easy, effective techniques for reducing anxiety and achieving better grades on your exams.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009 1 P.M.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009 5 P.M.
Location: All workshops will be presented in the Gilligan Student Union Building-Room 310
For more information contact the NJCU Counseling Center at 201-200-3165 or visit us on the web at
http://web.njcu.edu/dept/counselingcenter