210 04 THE DYNAMIC EARTH – FALL 2008



210 04 THE DYNAMIC EARTH – FALL 2008

Instructor:    Dr. Michael Sandy   

E-mail:           michael.sandy@notes.udayton.edu

Phone:          937-229-2952 (office # with voice mail);   

Office:            SC 091 (my office and lab) Office Hours:  11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Appointments:        By arrangement – but easy to set up - talk to me at the end of  class, or e-mail or ’phone me to set up a time to meet. Geology Department: 229-3432; Donna Hess, Administrative Assistant. 

Web pages: – includes a link to this syllabus.

for a short biographical sketch!  Get to this through the Geology page.

CLASS MEETINGS:

Lecture:        Tuesday and Thursday         12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Location:      SC 066

Text:              Earth Science and the Environment third edition by Graham Thompson and Jonathan Turk.

You also have access to Earth Science Now:

Expectations: In this course we will explore and learn more about geology – which deals with the planet we live on. The Earth is important to us all! This course is the second in the Integrated Natural Science Sequence (INSS). It will build on the first course you took: SCI 190.

Can you name the 3 main themes that have been identified through the INSS?

Visit:

            The intent of the INSS is to increase scientific literacy – what does that mean? It’s not a simple answer – but the fact is that science and technology has seen a tremendous and continuing growth during the last few decades. This presents opportunities and challenges. Chances to effect real changes in the human condition; and possibilities to impact and degrade environments and life on a scale never before realized.

            Geology is inextricably linked to society – from the earliest attempts to make arrowheads and tools, and ploughs, the Industrial Revolution, to a consumer society – the earth provides the natural resources. A knowledge of geology is important to an understanding of the world today – and how the control of natural resources is linked to power. Scientific literacy is important because we have to make decisions – informed and educated decisions are hopefully the best kind of decisions – when we understand the issues and their possible consequences (using scientific observations and scientific experiments to predict future events for example). 

            Geology is a Science. But science is not this alien thing that many treat like something to be avoided at all costs – science and scientific principles are part of our everyday lives - for example:

When you are driving you apply the brakes in your car to stop at a stop sign. This behavior is based on prediction – from an experiment you carried out when you first drove a car – you may have previously made the observation many times as a passenger before. So although we don’t think about it as science … so much of our day to day lives follow scientific principles.

Go bake a cake … follow a recipe … and you are following a set of guidelines that infact represent an experiment .. wouldn’t we call this science? It is a repeatable exercise with known outcomes – is this science? One requirement of scientific experiments to support a hypothesis (idea) is that they can be repeated – thereby allowing prediction. Go bake a cake!

 What I hope you get out of this course is that geology and science are important – that they are not a series of static facts – they can be fun to explore and we are continuing to learn – and above all they are important to help us understand the earth and its future.

 CONDUCT IN CLASS: Please do ask questions!

 Assessment of course:

2 tests, 100 points each                                                                  200 pts

In-class activities 100 pts

Attendance and participation; assignments; adherence to computing policy 100 pts

Class presentation 200 pts

FINAL                                                                                                           200 pts

            Total Course Points                                                                      800 pts

 

Attendance: Attendance is expected. Special needs: If you have special needs, a learning disability, or other special requirements during the course please let me know during the first week of the course so that I can accommodate your needs.  Computer use policy: Laptops are not needed during this class. We will be using laptops during a few classes. I will announce by e-mail when these will be needed. Other than that they will not be needed or used during class time. Texting during class will also be considered a violation of this policy. It is of course the behaviour of a few who wish to hold conversations beyond our class during our class meetings that is resulting in this “ludite” policy.

 

This is a Provisional Course Schedule

Readings from the text: Relevant chapters are listed below. I expect you to read them. Where they appear more than once this indicates that the chapter is particularly pertinent to the class

Week        Date                     Topic                                                                 

1          Aug      21         Introduction – Chapter 1 – Earth Systems

2               26         Introduction to the Earth, Earth’s Systems, and Minerals - Chapter 2

                  28     Rocks (Earth Materials!) – Chapter 3 

3        Sep      2        Rocks (Earth Materials!) – Chapter 3 

     4          Campus Geology - fossils

4               9        Assignment

                 11       Assignment

5               16        Geologic Time – Chapter 4        Pulling it all together – Plate Tectonics – Chapter 6

18        Geologic Time – Chapter 4                         

6 23        Earthquakes and the Earth’s Structure – Chapter 7

                        25      Volcanoes!!! – Chapter 8                                                                 

7          30         Pulling it all together – Plate Tectonics – Chapter 6

            Oct       2          Test 1

8                  7       Volcanoes!!! – Chapter 8                                                                 

                          9        NO CLASS - MID TERM BREAK

 9                 14        Mountains – Chapter 9

16        Weathering, Soil, and Erosion – Chapter 10

10            21 Fresh Water: Streams, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetlands – Chapter 11

23 Water Resources – Chapter 12                    

11                28         Geologic Resources – Chapter 5

                        30         Oceans and Coastlines – Chapter 16

12         Nov       4          The Atmosphere – Chapter 17

                        6          Energy Balance in the Atmosphere – Chapter 18

13                11        Test 2

                       13         Climate – Chapter 19; Climate change – Chapter 20

14            18         Climate; global warming

                        20         Presentations and discussions

15            25         Presentations and discussions

                     27         Thanksgiving – no class

16       Dec       2        Presentations and discussions

                  4          Presentations and discussions

 17 9 Last class . . .  and so into the future; models; predictions; natural resources

                                    Review

FINAL:   Thursday Dec 18th, 2008: 10:10 - 12:00 noon

Geologic timescale: 

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