Earth History 870:035
Fall 2007
4 Semester Hours
Instructor:
John Groves
Office:
124 Latham
Phone / e-mail:
273-3072 (office)
273-2759 (Dept. office)
john.groves@uni.edu
Office hours:
M, W, F
1:00–5:00pm
Text:
Stanley, S. M. 2004. Earth System History, 2nd Edition. W. H. Freeman &
Company, New York.
Laboratory manual:
Groves, J. R. 2002. Laboratory exercises in Earth History. Individual chapters
available for download as pdf’s at http://faculty.cns.uni.edu/~groves/
Objectives: The objectives of this course are: (1) to establish basic principles
for interpreting ancient physical and biologic events; (2) to review evidence for
the main physical and biologic events in Earth’s history; and (3) gain an
appreciation for the interdependence among Earth’s physical and biologic
systems over the past 4.6 billion years.
Tests and Grading:
Four 100-point lecture exams…………..………………………...
Laboratory exercises and exams..……………………………….
Term paper………………………………………………………….
Total
400 points
200 points
100 points
700 points
Grades will be determined roughly as follows: 100–90% = A; 89-80% = B; 79–70% = C; 69–60%
= D; 59% and lower = F. Favorable consideration will be made for students who attend class
regularly, who demonstrate a positive attitude, and who clearly possess a better understanding of
the subject matter than might be reflected by their point total.
Important info:
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Lecture and lab attendance is required. A full letter grade will be deducted for 4 or more
unexcused absences.
No make-up exams, unless student receives instructor’s prior consent.
Students with disabilities may arrange for special accommodations by contacting Jane
Slykhuis, Coordinator of Disability Services, UNI Counseling Center, in Rm 213 of the
Student Services Center (273-2676).
Course includes an optional Saturday field trip to Devonian Fossil Gorge or Rockford
Fossil and Prairie Preserve. Participants will receive 10 bonus points.
Students can earn up to 20 bonus points by attending and summarizing Earth Science
seminars (offered Monday afternoons throughout the semester)!
Please, no food or drinks in classrooms or labs.
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Course outline:
Date:
Lecture topic:
Lab Topic:
Week 1
Aug 20–24
Chapter 1:
Earth as a system
Exercise 1: Rock review (10 pts)
Week 2
Aug 27–31
Chapter 3:
The diversity of life
Exercise 2: Relative and absolute
dating (10 pts)
Week 3
Sep 3–7
Chapter 5:
Sedimentary environments
Exercise 3: Siliciclastic sediments
(10 pts)
Week 4
Sep 10–14
Chapter 6: Correlation and dating
Exam I (100 pts)
Exercise 4: Facies relationships
(10 pts)
Week 5
Sep 17–21
Chapter 7: Evolution and fossils
Exercise 5: Biostratigraphy (10 pts)
Week 6
Sep 24–28
Chapter 10: Major chemical cycles
Exercise 6: Fossil preservation; trace
fossils; stromatolites
Week 7
Oct 1–5
Chapter 11: The Archean Eon
Exercise 7: Trilobites, graptolites
archaeocyathids, nautiloids
Week 8
Oct 8–12
Chapter 12: The Proterozoic Eon
Exam II (100 pts)
Exercise 8: Sponges, bryozoans,
brachiopods
Week 9
Oct 15–19
Chapter 13: The early Paleozoic world
Fossil Identification Exam I
(70 pts)
Week 10
Oct 22–26
Chapter 14: The middle Paleozoic
world (GSA week)
Exercise 9: Rugose and tabulate
corals; ammonoids; belemnites
Week 11
Oct 29–Nov 2
Chapter 15: The late Paleozoic world
Exam III (100 pts)
Exercise 10: Crinoids, blastoids,
fusulinids, plants
Week 12
Nov 5–9
Chapter 16: The early Mesozoic Era
Exercise 11: Gastropods, bivalves,
scleractinian corals
Week 13
Nov 12–16
Chapter 17: The Cretaceous world
Fossil Identification Exam II
(70 pts)
Week 14
Nov 19–23
No class
(Thanksgiving)
No lab
Week 15
Nov 26–30
Chapter 18: The Paleogene world
Exercise 12: Diatoms, radiolaria,
planktonic foraminifera
Week 16
Dec 3–7
Chapter 19: The Neogene world
Exercise 13: Hominid evolution
(10 pts)
Week 17
Dec 10–14
Finals Week: Exam IV (100 pts)
Wednesday, Dec 12, 10:00-11:50am
No lab
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Term papers: The deadline for turning in term papers is Monday, November 12 at
5:00pm. Students may turn in a draft on or before October 22. Drafts will be edited,
graded and returned to authors, who may then revise their papers and resubmit them for
a higher grade.
Papers should be 6–8 pages in length (1” margins on all sides; double-spaced; 12 point
font). Illustrations are highly encouraged, but they will not count toward the minimum
page limit. A well organized and concise 6-page paper will receive a better grade than a
poorly written 8-page paper. No fluff please.
Students must cite literature references. Acceptable references include journal articles,
scientific magazine articles and scientific books. Unacceptable references are television
shows, websites and any other non-refereed material.
Papers must be organized as follows. Deviation from these guidelines will result in
an automatic 30 point deduction.
__________________________
TITLE
AUTHOR
ABSTRACT
The abstract is a very short summary of the main conclusions of the paper. It is not an outline of paper.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the introduction is to introduce the topic, establish the significance of the topic, and briefly
review previous literature on the topic. Cite references as necessary: for example (Smith 1997). Internet
sources are unacceptable.
MAIN HEADING(S)
This is where you actually discuss your topic, including any illustrations that may be appropriate. Cite
references as necessary: for example (Wilson 1975). Internet sources are unacceptable.
REFERENCES CITED
You must list the references cited within the introduction and main body of text. List references
alphabetically according to authors’ last names. Use the following format:
Smith, J. S., 1997. What I did on my summer vacation. Journal of Meaningless Stuff, 16:39-47. [an
example of a journal article]
Wilson, A. B., 1975. Volcanoes I have known and loved. Freeman Publishing Company, Chicago, 285 p.
[an example of a book]
Other stuff:
 Do not use the MLA format (this will result in point deductions).
 Contact the instructor if you have questions about how to organize your paper, how to cite
references, how to list references cited, or anything else.
 You are strongly encouraged to visit Rod Library and consult a recent issue of the journal Geology
to see how your paper should be organized and formatted.
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Term papers must be written on some aspect of Earth History. Papers whose main focus
is meteorology, astronomy, anthropology, or any non-geologic field are not acceptable.
You may not turn in a paper written for another class. Plagarism will result in 0 points for
the paper and disciplinary action from the University Administration.
The following are some ideas, but students may choose another topic with the
instructor’s approval.
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Ice ages / continental glaciations
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Biostratigraphy
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Mineral resources
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Development of geologic time scale
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Radiometric dating
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Continental drift and biogeography
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Origin of life
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Precambrian fossils
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end-Cretaceous mass extinction
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end-Permian mass extinction
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Burgess Shale fauna
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Midcontinent rift
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Origin and/or extinction of dinosaurs
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Catastrophism vs. Uniformitarianism
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Cladistics and phylogeny reconstruction
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Origin of coal
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Assembly and break-up of Pangaea
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Forensic geology
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Geophysics / seismic geology
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Evolution of atmospheric composition
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Asteroid impacts
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Recent geologic catastrophies
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Origin and extinction of mammals
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History of plate tectonics
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Geologic hoaxes, fakes, and pseudo-science
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Biography of a famous geologist
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Environmental geology of a selected area
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Geology and public policy
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Isotopes in geology
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Plant evolution
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Convergent evolution and iterative evolution
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Fossil preservation
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Paleomagnetism
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Depositional environments
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Stromatolites
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Paleoclimatology
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Snowball Earth
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Banded iron formations
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