JCCC
General Geology GEOS 130-002 (80940) Fall 2012
Syllabus and Study Guide
Who is my teacher and how do I contact her?
Lynne Beatty
Office Phone:
469-8500, ext 3785
Email:
lbeatty@jccc.edu Please use your JCCC email account when contacting me.
Office:
CLB 302
Office Hours:
9-10 M-F or by appointment
When and where does this course meet?
Meeting time: 10-11:50 am TR in CLB 405 and 12 – 1:20 pm TR in CLB 411
Credit hours:
5
Prerequisites/Co requisites: None
The course outline and competencies are at
http://www.jccc.edu/catalog/credit/fall-2012/outlines/geos/geos-130.html
What topics does this course cover?
In this introductory course you will survey the geologic processes that form and shape the
Earth over geologic time using the models of the Rock Cycle, the Hydrologic Cycle, and the
Tectonic Cycle. In the laboratory you will conduct hands-on activities designed to enhance and
reinforce the geologic concepts you have studied.
What books or other resources do I need for this course?
Tarbuck, E. J., and F. K. Lutgens. 2011. The Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 10th ed. Upper
Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Rutford, Robert H., and James Carter. 2011. Zumbrege’s Laboratory Manual for
Physical Geology, 15th ed. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown.
This must be new! You will be filling out worksheets and drawing on maps that will be turned in each week.
Personal transportation for some lab activities
JCCC Student ID card for access to the Science Resource Center in CLB 112
The Science Resource Center and the JCCC Library Reserve Desk have a copy of a previous edition of your textbook
should you have a textbook emergency.
An excellent Internet resource for this class can be found at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi/
Science Friday airs on KCUR 89.3 FM on Friday afternoons from 1-3 pm. NOVA airs on KCPT and KTWU
public television stations on Wednesday evenings and repeats throughout the week.
There is no additional fee for this course.
Is there anything I should know before deciding to spend the semester in this course?
Yes. You will actually have to attend class and prepare by reading the topical chapters and completing assignments
and tests in order to have a successful experience. You should allow at least 5 hours per week outside of class time to
prepare for this class. If you think the course material is not rigorous enough, please see me for information on the
Honors Program or for additional assignments. The sequence of assignments and the topics covered are subject to
change with notice. Check the schedule in advance in order to prepare yourself for outdoor lab activities, either on or
off campus. Outdoor activities include moving over uneven terrain in a variety of weather conditions. Academic and
student policies and procedures can be found at http://www.jccc.edu/student-handbook/
How do I earn a grade?
A minimum of six lecture exams
A minimum of six assignments, in-class activities, and quizzes
A minimum of three lab exams
A minimum of twenty-eight lab exercises
600 points
170 points
150 points
280 points
The grade for the course will be determined by you. A total of 1200 points is possible for the course. Final grades
are determined as follows:
GRADE
A
B
C
D
F
MINIMUM POINTS
1080 (90%)
960 (80%)
840 (70%)
720 (60%)
less than 720
What are the homework and in-class activities like?
We will graph and use geologic data and images to analyze and discuss trends and to interpret process on Earth in
the past and present. We will study current events, often with real-time data, by using earthquake, volcano, and
river web sites. Crossword puzzles will help you learn the language of geology. If you miss a class, it is your
responsibility to check the Geology envelope outside my office, CLB 302, for any homework assignments.
Homework assignments are due on the due date and can also be submitted by email if you are absent that day. Inclass activities cannot be made up.
What are the tests like?
There will be six lecture unit exams consisting of multiple choice, matching, definitions, listing, diagrams,
short-answer, and essay questions with each exam worth one hundred points. Our class will also have a
Geology email listserve for questions and course-related communication for the whole class. I often send out
practice questions before the test. There will be three lab exams worth fifty points each. Lab exams will consist
of mineral and rock identification, analysis of geologic structures and maps, and interpretation of topographic
maps and photos. Mineral and rock samples are also available for you to review in the Science Resource
Center. Make-up exams, consisting of all essay questions, will be arranged through the Testing Center on the
third floor of the Student Center. Any make-up exams not taken before December 13 will earn a grade of zero.
Is there any extra-credit?
Avoid using a disposable beverage container (styrofoam or paper cup, can, glass bottle, plastic bottle) and earn
5 extra-credit points. You can review a movie with a geologic theme for 10 extra-credit points. If you are
interested in this option, please email me for a list of the possible movies and what you will need to do to earn
the 10 points. There may be additional opportunities depending on community events.
What will happen to me if I do something dishonest?
All JCCC students are expected to follow the Student Code of Conduct
http://www.jccc.edu/policies/student-personnel-300/student-rights-319/student-code-319-01.html
Anyone caught cheating (including plagiarizing) will be subject to any or all of the following: a zero for the
work involved; an immediate “F” in the course; referral to college authorities for further discipline, including
expulsion. The Science Division Dean’s office is CLB 337.
What if I have a disability?
If you are a student with a disability and requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact the
Student Access Center. They will recommend any appropriate accommodations to your professor and the
Academic Director, who will then identify for you which accommodations will be arranged. Students with
disability or health-related problems that require special attention during an emergency evacuation may file an
Individualized Evacuation Statement (IES) through the office of Student Access. Assistance in completing the
IES can be obtained in Student Access (253 Student Center).
Are there any special rules regarding lab?
The chemical hygiene policy is to be enforced by faculty in labs when chemicals or other potentially hazardous
materials are being used. Students must abide by the chemical hygiene protocol for their respective lab or not
be permitted in the lab. Eating and smoking are not permitted in the lab even when lab takes place outdoors.
Withdrawal Deadline
Withdraw with 100% refund – August 27
Withdraw with no refund and no W– September 17
Withdraw and receive a W or request P/F – November 15
What is our tentative schedule for this course?
Unit One: Geology, Minerals, and the Rock Cycle
Aug 21
Introduction to Geology
Ch 1 (T&L)
Earth Materials Lab 1
Minerals (Part 1 in R&C)
Aug 23
Introduction to Geology
Matter and Minerals
Earth Materials Lab 2
Ch 1 (T&L)
Ch 3 (T&L)
Minerals (Part 1 in R&C)
Aug 28
Matter and Minerals
Earth Materials Lab 3
Ch 3 (T&L)
Minerals (Part 1 in R&C)
Aug 30
Igneous Rocks
Earth Materials Lab 4
Ch 4 (T&L)
Minerals (Part 1 in R&C)
Sep 4
Volcanic Eruptions!
Rocks Lab 5
Ch 4, 5 (T&L)
Igneous (Part 1 in R&C)
Sep 6
Volcanic and Igneous Activity
Rocks Lab 6
Ch 5 (T&L)
Igneous (Part 1 in R&C)
Sep 11
Exam 1; Introduce Weathering
Weathering and GPS Lab 7
Outdoors-JCCC
Ch 1, 3-5 (T&L)
handout
Unit Two: The Rock Cycle
Sep 13
Weathering and Soil
Rocks Lab 8
Ch 6 (T&L)
Sedimentary (Part 1 in R&C)
Sep 18
Sedimentary Rocks1
Ch 7 (T&L)
Rocks Lab 9 Outdoors-off campus handout
Lab will meet at the Northgate Access Park for Mill Creek Streamway Trail
off of 119th and Northgate. Map will be provided.
Sep 20
Sedimentary Rocks, Metamorphic Rocks Ch 7 and Ch 8 (T&L)
Rocks Lab 10
Sedimentary (Part 1 in R&C)
Sep 25
Metamorphic Rocks, Geologic Time Ch 8 and Ch 9 (T&L)
Rocks Lab 11
Metamorphic (Part 1 in R& C)
Sep 27
Geologic Time
Time Lab 12
Ch 9 (T&L)
Geologic Column and Time (Part 2 in R&C)
Oct 2
Exam 2; Introduce Structures
Lab review
Ch 6-9 (T&L)
Unit Three: Inside the Earth
Oct 4
Crustal Deformation
Lab Exam 1
Ch 10 (T&L)
handouts and the exercises in (R&C)
Oct 9
Crustal Deformation, Earthquakes
Geostructures Lab 13
Ch 10 and 11 (T&L)
handout; Structural features of sed. rocks
(Part 5 in R&C)
Oct 11
Earthquakes
Geostructures Lab 14
Ch 11 (T&L)
handout; Structural features of sed. rocks
(Part 5 in R&C)
Oct 18
Earth’s Interior
Structural Geology Lab 15
Ch 12 (T&L)
Structural features of sed. rocks (Part 4 in R&C)
Faults and quakes (Part 5 in R&C)
Oct 23
Exam 3; Introduce Plate Tectonics
Quakes Lab 16
Ch 10-12 (T&L)
Use of Seismic Waves (Part 5 in R&C)
Unit Four: The Tectonic Cycle
Oct 25
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics Lab 17
Ch 2 (T&L)
Components of the Earth (Part 6 in R&C)
Oct 30
Divergent Boundaries/Ocean Floor Ch 13 (T&L)
Ocean Lab 18
Volcanic islands and hotspots (Part 6 in R&C)
Nov 1
Convergent Boundaries/Mountains Ch 14 (T&L)
Receive Take-home exam over Ch 2, 13, 14 due next class
Mountain Lab 19
handout
1
Sustainability topics covered: formation of (Marcellus) shale, characteristics of the rock, environment of deposition, subsequent
deformation, issues with drilling process itself.
Unit Five: Action on the Surface of Earth
Nov 6
Mass Wasting
Ch 15 (T&L)
Mass Wasting in Johnson County Lab 20
Outdoors-off campus handout
Lab will meet at the Tomahawk Creek Streamway Park near 119th and Mission. Map will be
provided. Review sheet for lab exam.
Nov 8
Running Water
Lab Exam 2
Ch 16 (T&L)
handouts and exercises in (R&C)
Nov 13
Running Water; Groundwater
Topo Maps Lab 21
Ch 16, 17 (T&L)
Map coordinates, land division,
topo maps (Part 3 in R&C)
Nov 15
Nov 20
.
Groundwater2
Ch 17 (T&L)
Water Lab 22 Outdoors-off campus handout
Lab will meet at the Overland Park Arboretum at 179th and Antioch Rd,
1/2 mile west of US 69 at 179th Street. Map will be provided
Exam 5; Introduce Glaciers
Streams Lab 23
Groundwater Lab 24
Nov 20
Ch 15-17 (T&L)
Geologic Work of Running Water
(Part 4 in R&C)
Groundwater movement, pollution,
geologic agent (Part 4 in R&C)
Thanksgiving Holiday – no class
Unit Six: Action on the Surface of Earth
Nov 27
Glaciers and Glaciation
Ch 18 (T&L)
Glacier Balance/Movement Lab 25 Balance and Accumulation (Part 4 in R&C)
Nov 29
Glaciers and Glaciation
Glaciers Lab 26
Dec 4
Glaciers and Glaciation; Deserts and Wind Ch 18 and Ch 19 (T&L)
Deserts Lab 27
Landforms produced by wind (Part 4 in R&C)
Dec 6
Deserts and Wind; Shorelines
Shorelines Lab 28
Review sheet for lab exam
Ch 19 and Ch 20 (T&L)
Landforms produced by shore processes (Part 4 in R&C)
Dec 11
Shorelines
Lab Exam 3
Ch 20 (T&L)
handouts and exercises in (R&C)
2
Ch 18 (T&L)
Alpine and Continental glaciation (Part 4 in R&C)
Sustainability topics covered: Darcy’s Law, groundwater and surface water contamination from slickwater
Thursday, Dec 13 Exam 6 over Ch 18-20. (Final exam period for this class is 9:30).
Your Study Guide
Your goal is to acquire factual knowledge, explain fundamental principles, and apply those principles to realEarth situations. The learning goals listed for each chapter cover broad concepts. The learning goals are based
on the following:
1. Foundational knowledge – understanding and remembering terms, concepts, and principles
This category is your responsibility as you prepare for class by reading the assignment and completing the
crossword puzzles.
2. Application – using foundational knowledge to analyze a situation or problem
We will accomplish the goals in this category through homework projects and discussions in class.
3. Integration –bringing together ideas
We will accomplish the goals in this category through homework projects and discussions in class.
4. Human dimension – identifying how geology affects humans and vice versa
We will accomplish the goals in this category through homework projects, discussions in class, and personal
reflection.
5. Caring –developing interests and values related to the subject
We will accomplish the goals in this category through homework projects, discussions in class, and personal
reflection.
6. Learning how to learn –carrying this experience onward in life
We will accomplish the goals in this category through homework projects, discussions in class, and personal
reflection.
Unit One: The Rock Cycle
Ch 1 Introduction To Geology
Distinguish between physical and historical geology.
Explain the relationship between geology, people, and the environment.
Discuss the history of geology, including the concepts of catastrophism and uniformitarianism (Hutton).
Contrast relative and radiometric (absolute) dating of Earth materials and explain how geologists used the law of superposition and the
principle of faunal succession to develop the geologic time scale.
Describe the nature of scientific inquiry in terms of its basic assumption and components: observation, hypothesis, testing, theory
Discuss Earth as a system, identify and describe the four spheres of Earth, and identify the major surface features of Earth.
Explain the origin of Earth and the development of Earth’s layered structure.
List the compositional and physical layers of the Earth’s internal structure.
Explain the concept of the rock cycle; sketch a diagram showing its five components and the processes that move components from
one location in the cycle to another, and relate it to the plate tectonics model.
Ch 3 Matter And Minerals
Identify the five characteristics of a mineral.
Name and distinguish among the three basic subatomic particles.
Explain the distribution of electrons based on the octet rule.
Contrast ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding.
Define the physical properties that are useful in identifying minerals.
Recognize the general chemical composition of a mineral group based on its name.
List the eight most common elements of the earth’s crust, their relative percentage, valence, and size.
Describe the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. Explain how tetrahedrons link to form other silicate structures.
Contrast the eight common silicate minerals in terms of chemical composition and silicate structure.
Develop an understanding of what minerals are in the products that you use in everyday life.
Ch 4 Igneous Rocks
Discuss the physical and chemical properties of magma.
Explain the process of crystallization and how it relates to the formation of igneous rocks.
Identify the factors that influence the size of crystals in igneous rocks.
List the six different textures of igneous rocks, describe the appearance of each, and explain the origin of each texture.
Identify the primary minerals composing ultramafic, mafic (basaltic), intermediate (andesitic), and felsic
(granitic) igneous rock types.
Use mineral composition and rock texture to classify the igneous rocks.
Describe the role of heat, pressure, and volatiles in the origin of magma.
Explain how Bowen’s Reaction Series accounts for the mineral distributions.
Use crystal settling, assimilation, and magma mixing to explain how magmas change.
Explain the concept of partial melting and its role in the origin of basaltic, andesitic, and granitic magmas.
Ch 5 Volcanic And Plutonic Activity
Contrast the eruptions of an effusive (fluid) volcano with an explosive (viscous) volcano.
Identify the factors that affect the viscosity of magma and thus eruption style.
Characterize the types of materials erupted from volcanoes.
Recognize and contrast shield, composite, plug dome, and cinder cones as to size, shape, and eruptive style.
Distinguish between the types of calderas in terms of mechanisms that produce them.
Describe the processes of formation of pyroclastic flows, fissure eruptions, flood basalts, lava plateaus, lava domes,
volcanic pipes, and volcanic necks.
Identify the criteria used to classify plutons and use them to identify batholiths, laccoliths, dikes, and sills.
Relate the distribution of volcanic activity on Earth to the plate tectonics model.
Discuss the possible effects of volcanism on climate.
Unit Two: The Rock Cycle
Ch 6 Weathering And Soil
Contrast weathering, erosion, and mass wasting.
Contrast mechanical and chemical weathering.
Describe and recognize types of mechanical weathering and types of chemical weathering.
Discuss the origin and importance of carbonic acid in the weathering process.
Explain what is meant by acid precipitation and why people are concerned about it.
List the products resulting from the chemical weathering of quartz, feldspars, amphibole, pyroxene, and olivine.
List and discuss factors that influence the type and rate of weathering.
List the five basic controls of soil formation and describe how each affects soil formation.
Sketch and label an idealized soil profile.
Explain why clearing of tropical and subtropical forests does not yield productive farmland.
Describe the process of soil erosion and its impact on the land surface, either during the Dust Bowl or now.
Ch 7 Sedimentary Rocks
Explain how weathering, erosion, and sedimentation contribute to the formation of sedimentary rocks.
Compare the abundance and distribution of sedimentary and igneous rocks in Earth’s crust.
Name and describe three ways in which sediments are lithified to form sedimentary rocks.
Contrast the two main groups of sedimentary rocks.
List and briefly describe the origin and chief characteristics of the detrital sedimentary rocks.
List and briefly describe the origin and chief characteristics of the chemical inorganic and organic sedimentary rocks.
Contrast continental, marine, and transitional sedimentary environments.
Recognize sedimentary structures and relate them to sedimentary environments.
Ch 8 Metamorphic Rocks
List three agents of metamorphism and describe the types of alteration each produces in the rocks.
List and describe the textures of metamorphic rocks.
List six types of metamorphic rocks and identify the texture and parent rock of each.
Describe the metamorphic environments in which metamorphism occurs.
Describe the textural and mineralogical changes that occur with increasing grades of metamorphism.
Discuss the relationship between metamorphism and plate tectonics.
Ch 9 Geologic Time
Discuss why geology needs a time scale.
Distinguish between radiometric (absolute) and relative dating of the Earth.
Describe the principles of superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting relationships, and inclusions and apply these
principles to solve problems of relative age dating.
Recognize and contrast disconformities, nonconformities, and angular unconformities.
Explain the concept of correlation and how fossils and physical continuity are used to correlate the ages of rocks.
List conditions that favor the preservation of an organism as a fossil.
List three common types of radioactive decay and indicate the effect of each on the nucleus of the atom.
Calculate an absolute age of a sample given the half-life of a radioactive isotope and the ratio of the radioactive parent and the stable
daughter product.
Recognize sources of error in radiometric dating and explain how these might be overcome.
Describe the general structure of the geologic time table.
Unit Three: Inside the Earth
Ch 10 Crustal Deformation
Contrast stress with strain.
Contrast the three types of differential stress.
Describe the types of deformation that rocks go through when great stress is applied to them.
List factors that determine the behavior of rocks when subjected to stress and describe how each factor affects the way rocks
behave when deformed.
Demonstrate and define strike and dip of a rock layer or fault plane.
Name and label the parts of a fold.
Recognize and describe the types of folds: monoclines, anticlines, synclines, domes, basins.
Recognize and contrast the types of dip-slip faults and strike-slip faults.
Relate the type of stress to each fault and fold.
Compare and contrast faults and joints.
Ch 11 Earthquakes
Explain how an earthquake occurs using the concept of elastic rebound.
Contrast two types of displacement or motion in an earthquake.
Discuss the principle of the seismograph.
Recognize and contrast the three basic types of seismic waves.
Understand the method of triangulation to locate the source of an earthquake.
Describe the world distribution pattern of earthquake activity in belts along the Earth’s surface and with depth.
Contrast earthquake intensity and magnitude and describe the scales for each.
List the factors that influence the destruction from seismic vibrations.
List the other types of destruction associated with earthquakes other than the destruction created directly by seismic vibrations.
Describe attempts at short-range and long-range earthquake prediction.
Chapter 12 Earth’s Interior
List the significant characteristics that relate to the nature of the behavior of seismic waves.
Contrast the behavior of seismic waves traveling through a sphere composed of the same material and one
composed of layers of different materials.
Describe the compositional and physical property layers of Earth in terms of make-up and density.
Explain the seismic evidence that led to the discovery of the Mohorovicic, Gutenberg, and Lehman discontinuities.
Contrast the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.
Explain how meteorites and the presence of Earth’s magnetic field support the model for the Earth’s outer and inner core.
Explain the origin of Earth’s internal heat and how this heat moves within Earth.
Describe Earth’s magnetic field.
Unit Four: The Tectonic Cycle
Ch 2 Plate Tectonics
Outline the evidence that led Wegener to propose the hypothesis of continental drift.
Discuss the main objection to Wegener’s hypothesis.
Describe paleomagnetism and relate it to polar wandering.
Describe the evidence Harry Hess used to propose his sea-floor spreading hypothesis.
Describe geomagnetic reversals and how they support the sea floor spreading hypothesis.
Describe the plate tectonics theory and the three types of plate boundaries.
Describe the phenomena and geologic features associated with each plate boundary. Provide a geographic example of each.
Compare and contrast the three types of convergent plate boundaries.
Discuss the relationship between plate tectonics and earthquake depths.
List driving mechanisms for plate motion.
Relate the plate tectonics model to the assemblage and break-up of Pangaea.
Ch 13 Divergent Boundaries, the Ocean Floor And Its Evolution
Using a map of the seafloor, identify the mid-ocean ridges, seafloor trenches, seamounts, transform faults, and
rift valleys.
Explain the principle of the echo sounder, sonar, and seismic reflection and how they were/are used to map the seafloor topography.
Differentiate between passive and active continental margins.
Identify and describe the three main divisions of the continental margin.
Explain the turbidity current and its relationship to submarine canyons and graded beds.
Identify and describe the main features associated with the deep ocean basins.
Summarize Darwin’s theory on the formation of atolls.
Identify and describe the main features of the mid-ocean ridge.
Explain how ocean crust forms.
Explain the mechanism for rifting (opening of ocean basin) and subducting (closing of ocean basin)
Ch 14 Mountain Building And The Evolution Of Continents
Locate the major mountain belts, continental shields, and stable platforms on a world map.
Describe the basic structural (and volcanic, if applicable) characteristics of mountain belts.
Describe the mechanisms of orogenesis from subduction, continental collisions, fault-block, and continental accretion.
List evidence supporting the concept of crustal uplifting.
Describe the contributions of Everest, Pratt, and Airy to the study of mountains.
Explain the concept of isostasy and the process of isostatic adjustment. Provide an example to illustrate the concept.
Explain the role of mantle convection in movements of Earth’s crust.
Unit Five: Living on the Surface of Earth
Ch 15 Mass Wasting
Describe the relationship of mass wasting processes to weathering, erosional processes, and landscape development.
Identify the controls and possible triggers of mass wasting.
List the criteria commonly used to classify mass wasting events.
Recognize and describe the different types of mass wasting events.
Ch 16 Running Water
Explain the concept of the hydrologic cycle and sketch a diagram of it showing the five locations for water on the
Earth and the processes that move it from one location to another.
List factors that control infiltration capacity.
List the factors that control the velocity in a stream.
Describe the changes that typically occur going downstream in gradient, width, depth, velocity, and discharge.
Define base level and discuss the causes of changes in base level and the effect these changes produce in the stream.
List and describe two ways a stream erodes its channel.
List and describe three ways a stream transports its load.
Distinguish between capacity and competency of a stream.
Recognize and describe the landforms associated with a stream.
Identify and sketch drainage patterns and explain what it indicates about the geology of the area.
Identify the causes of flooding and the methods used to try to control flooding.
Develop an understanding of the risks of flooding in our region.
Ch 17 Groundwater
Explain the importance of groundwater as a resource and as an erosional agent.
Diagram the distribution of water beneath the surface.
Contrast gaining and losing streams and relate them to the water table.
Distinguish between porosity and permeability as they relate to aquifers and aquitards.
Discuss the movement of groundwater including the factors controlling the paths of flow, the importance of Darcy’s Law, and the
rate of groundwater movement.
Describe or diagram conditions that lead to the formation of a spring.
Explain why geysers erupt.
Discuss the effect on the water table of pumping from wells.
List two conditions necessary for an artesian system. Contrast flowing and non-flowing artesian wells.
List three problems associated with groundwater withdrawal and describe why they occur.
Identify sources of groundwater contamination and explain how they occur.
Explain how groundwater erodes, transports, and deposits material and identify the landforms formed in the process known
as KarstTopography.
Unit Six: Living on the Surface of Earth
Ch 18 Glaciers And Glaciation
Contrast valley (alpine) glaciers and continental (ice sheet) glaciers.
Describe the stages in the formation of glacial ice.
Contrast plastic flow and basal slip.
Explain how the advance, retreat, or static position of a glacier relates to the budget of a glacier.
Recognize and describe the erosional processes and erosional landforms associated with glaciers.
Contrast glacial till and outwash (stratified drift) and loess.
Recognize and describe the landforms composed of till and outwash.
Describe how glacial grooves, drumlins and roches moutonnees may be used to determine the direction of glacial movement.
Compare the extent and distribution of glaciers today and during the most recent Ice Age.
List the indirect impacts of Pleistocene glaciation.
Discuss how plate tectonics and orbital variations might explain ice ages.
Ch 19 Deserts And Winds
Describe the distribution and causes of deserts.
Explain what is meant by a dry climate.
Contrast weathering and erosion in arid and humid regions.
Describe the features and characteristics associated with each of the stages of evolution of a mountainous desert such
as the Basin and Range.
Recognize and describe the processes by which the wind erodes and transports sediment.
Describe the formation and migration of sand dunes.
Recognize and describe barchan, transverse, longitudinal, parabolic, and star sand dunes.
Discuss the origin and distribution of loess.
Ch 20 Shorelines
Diagram a water wave of oscillation and label the crest, trough, wavelength, and wave height.
List three factors that control the height, length, and period of a wave.
Contrast orbital waves with waves in the surf zone.
Explain wave refraction and describe its effects along an irregular coastline.
Explain the processes responsible for longshore transport.
Recognize and describe erosional and depositional shoreline features.
Provide a possible explanation for the formation of barrier islands.
Discuss the problem of shoreline erosion, its natural and human causes, and the consequences of hard and soft beach stabilization
structures built to control shoreline erosion.
Contrast the shorelines of the Pacific Coast and Atlantic Coast with respect to plate tectonics.
Compare and contrast emergent and submergent coasts.
Explain the causes for the tides.
Science Resource Center CLB 112
You’ll need a JCCC student identification card to use the Science Resource Center. A set of minerals, rocks,
topo map book, and stereopair book are also available for your use in the SRC. The SRC staff will be able to
assist you if you provide them with my name and your course name, along with what you would like to use.
The cds will hopefully be in a clear blue plastic folder marked Geosciences-Beatty.
Learning About Weather and Climate - by Queue
For students enrolled in GEOS 140 Physical Geography: It explores the temperature and moisture
characteristics of the atmosphere, the movements of air masses, and the formation of cyclones.
Topographic Maps - by Tasa
For students enrolled in GEOS 130 General Geology or GEOS 141 Physical Geography Laboratory: It
offers detailed explanations about the features on a topographic map such as map scale, latitude and longitude,
contour lines, and much, much more. It provides many short exercises that would be especially helpful to you
in your lab work.
Computer Tutorials for Physical Geology - by WCB, publishers
For students enrolled in GEOS 130 General Geology but students in GEOS 140 Physical Geography
will also find the sections on glaciers, rivers, mass wasting, deserts, and beaches useful. It is organized by
topic, including minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, earthquakes, glaciers, mass wasting, rivers, deserts, beaches
and many more. It is not necessary to do them in order. This program introduces the information and then asks
several brief questions as a way to check for comprehension.
Plate Tectonics For students in GEOS 130 General Geology and GEOS 140 Physical Geography. This program presents
information about the various types of plate boundaries, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Emergency Shelter Areas