GLG 101 INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOLOGY
Instructor: Prof. Jack Farmer
Office: PSF 550
Office Hours: MWF 2:30-3:00 PM
and by appointment
Telephone: (480) 965-6748
email: jfarmer@asu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Aurora Hinckley
Office:
Office Hours:
email: Aurora.Hinckley@asu.edu
Course Meeting Times and Place:
Time:
Room:
MWF 1:40-2:30pm
PSF166
Textbook:
Title: “Earth: Portrait of a Planet”
Author: Stephen Marshak
Publisher: WW Norton & Company
Course Objectives:
Geology is the study of the Earth. The science of geology is traditionally divided into two broad disciplines:
physical and historical. This course will focus primarily on physical geology through an examination of the
basic structure and composition of the materials that comprise the Earth, and the processes that underlie
major geologic phenomena. The course is divided into the following broad subject areas: Earth’s place in
the Solar System; rocks and minerals (the materials which comprise the surface, crust and interior),
internal processes (volcanic activity, earthquakes, plate tectonics and mountain building); external
processes (physical/chemical weathering, erosion (transport of materials) by gravity, running water, ice and
wind) and the landforms created by the interaction of internal and external processes. Throughout the
course, an emphasis will be placed on how geological phenomena are linked together into large scale
systems and how these systems interact to create the geological features we observe.
Presentation Format:
The course will consist of lectures, in-class discussions, in-class exercises and films or short video clips.
Lectures will be based primarily on readings from the textbook, plus some classroom handouts. Lectures
will be largely digital presentations and will be archived on a class website. Lectures will include interactive
class demonstrations and a Saturday field trip to Papago Park. Students are encouraged to earn extra
credit by researching and presenting short news reports (“Geology in the News”) to the class at the
beginning of lecture. These Geology in the News reports will be selected from short written summaries
handed to the instructor at the beginning of lecture.
Class Website:
Lectures will be archived at the following web address: http://geology.asu.edu/~jfarmer/
General Course Policies
Attendance: Because of the integrative nature of the material covered in the course, regular attendance at
lectures is expected. Attendance will be monitored through participation in homework and in-class
exercises. The history of attendance will be carefully considered when assigning final course grades. \
Classroom Etiquette: The classroom is a place for learning. Talking in class, reading the newspaper, eating
food, or other noisy activities are improper and can distract others. In accordance with University policy,
students who disrupt classroom activities will be asked to leave and if they persist, will be dis-enrolled from
the course.
Exams and Grading
The lecture grade will be based on two midterms and a final exam, plus in-class quizzes and discussion
assignments. In place of one midterm exam, students can hand in a 12-page term paper (plus references
and illustrations). The paper topic must be drawn from materials covered by that course midterm and must
be agreed to by the instructor. The lecture final will emphasize the latter third of the class, but will also
include questions covering the recurrent themes from the first 2/3 of the course. Exams will be closed book
and follow multiple choice, matching and short answer essay formats. The approximate point breakdown
for the course grade is given below:
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Course Final
In-Class Quizzes, Exercises,
“Geology in the News”
Total points for the course
100 points
100 points
100 points
~200 points
~500 points
No early or make-up examinations will be given except for medical reasons, or attendance at an official
ASU-sanctioned sporting event. In all cases there must be official written documentation by a doctor or
University Official before permission for a make-up exam will be granted. Make-up exams are typically oral
exams that last an hour.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has mandated that final exams be given and taken at assigned
times. As a matter of University policy, requests for early final examinations will not be granted by the
instructor.
Students caught cheating on exams will be assigned a failing grade for the course.
Course Schedule: GLG 101 MWF 1:40-2:30 PM Spring ‘03 Prof. Farmer
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
January 20
Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day
No class
21 Classes Begin
22 Course
Introduction by
Video
23
27
Read: Prelude &
Chapter 1
Topic: Earth’ s
Place in the
Cosmos
28
29
Read: Chapter 1
Topic: Earth’s
place in the
Cosmos
30
24 Drop/Add ends
Sunday, 26th
Read: Prelude
Topic: Geology as
a Science
31
Read: Chap. 2
Topic: Earth
Materials
February 3
Read: Chapter 2
Topic: Earth
Materials
4 Unrestricted
withdrawal
deadline
6
10
Read: Interlude A
Topic: Introduction
to rocks
17
Read: Chapter 7
Topic: Intro to
Sediments
24
Read: Chapter 8
Topic:
Metamorphic
Rocks (cont)
11
5
Read: Chaps. 3
Topic: Continental
Drift & Plate
Tectonics (cont.)
12
Read: Chapter 6
Topic: Igneous
Rocks
19
Read: Chapter 7
Topic: Sedimentary
rocks (cont)
26
Read: Interlude B
Topic: The Rock
Cycle
March 3
Read: Chapter 9
Topic: Volcanism
10
Film
4
6
17 Spring Break
18 SB
5
Read: Chapter 9
Topic: Volcanism
12
Read: Interlude C
Topic: Seeing into
the Earth
19 SB
24
Read: Interlude D
Topic: Fossils &
Evolution
25
26
Read: Chap 12
Topic: Age of the
Earth
27
18
25
11
13
20
27
13
20 SB
7
Read: Chapter 3
Topic: Continental
Drift & Plate
Tectonics (cont.)
14
Reading: Chap 6
Topic: Igneous
Rocks (cont)
21
Read: Chapter 8
Topic:
Metamorphism
28
Midterm I
7
Read: Chapter 10
Topic: Earthquakes
14
Read: Chap 11
Topic: Mountain
Building
21 SB
28
Read: Chap 13
Topic: Earth’s
Biography
31
Read: Chapter 14
Topic: Resources
April 1
2
Read: Chaps. 14 &
15
Topic: Resources
3
4
Read: Chapter 15
Topic: Resources
7
Midterm II
8
14
Read: Chapter 17
Topic: Running
Water
15
11
Read: Chapter 16
Topic: Landslides
& Mass Wasting
18
Read: Chapter 19
Topic:
Groundwater
21
22
Read: Chapter 20
Topic: Atmos phere
& Climate
9
10
Read: Interlude E
Topic: Hydrologic
cycle & Geomorph
16
17
Read: Chaps. 17 &
19
Topic:
Groundwater
23
24
Read: Chapter 20
Topic: Atmos phere
& Climate
28
Read: Chapter 21
Topic: Deserts
29
30
Read: Chapter 22
Topic: Glaciers
May 1
2
Read: Chapter 22
Topic: Ice Ages
5
Read: Chapter 23
Topic: Global
Change
12
6 Last Day of
Classes
7 Reading Day
8
9
13
14
Final Exam
2:40 – 4:30
15
16
25
Read: Chapter 18
Topic: Oceans