GLY 2010

EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH

3 Credits

 PREREQUISITES: None. This is an IFP course, and meets the requirement for a science course with laboratory.

TERM AND LOCATION: Summer 3 Semester, 2013, Section 57633, Science 417, Monday, Wednesday, 10:30 - 1:40 P.M., with a 10 minute break around noon

DATES: June 24, 2013 to August 5, 2013

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. David L. Warburton

Science 466

Office Hours: Mondays, 1:45 - 4:45 p.m., Wednesday, 1:45 - 4:45 p.m., or by appointment

(561) 297-3312

E-mail - warburto@fau.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Covers environmental and physical geology, how planet Earth works, and the role of humans in sustaining the natural environment. Designed to convey the excitement of recent geologic discoveries and evaluate concerns in the news about diminishing resources, natural hazards and the fate of the Earth. Emphasis is on the applications of geology and its influence on contemporary trends in business, education, engineering, social science and the humanities. Slide-illustrated lectures. This is an IFP course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students successfully completing GLY 2010 will have a broad general knowledge of the physical processes that are active on planet Earth. The purpose of the course is to introduce the subject of physical geology to majors, potential majors, and to other students needing a science elective and interest in geology. The course provides background for all higher level courses in geology.

COURSE EVALUATION: One midterm examination will be given. The midterm is worth 20% of the final grade. A comprehensive final examination will be given. The final examination will be worth 25% of the total grade. No more than 15% of the final examination questions will be review from earlier examination. The lectures are supplemented with slides, charts, diagrams, and short video clips. There will be questions concerning this material on the examinations. Attendance will be work 10%, and written assignments. These written assignments will consist of a handout sheet with questions on it, and will be given out each period at the end of class. Your answers, on the original sheet, must be submitted at the beginning of the next class. These assignments will be worth 20%. Work submitted even a few minutes late will be penalized. The laboratory will be worth 25%.

Students are expected to attend all classes. The easiest path to success in the course is attendance at all classes, and a careful reading of the assigned material. Scheduling two overlapping courses, taking personal vacations in mid-semester, taking a friend to the airport, doctor, etc. will have a strong negative influence on the students grade. Students turning in assignments at the beginning of class, leaving for any substantial period of time, and then coming in just before the end of class, will receive no credit for attendance at that day’s lecture. At the instructor’s discretion, they may also not be allowed to receive the new written assignment.

GRADING: The grading scale is given below. Attainment of the lowest grade in any category is sufficient to insure that the student will receive that grade.

The grading scale used is as follows:      

Geoscience majors must have a grade of C or better in order to receive credit toward the degree

LATE WORK AND MISSED EXAMINATIONS: Each examination will be announced at least one week in advance. It is the student's responsibility to be present at each examination. If, as the result of very unusual circumstances, or university-approved activities (athletic or scholastic teams, musical or theatrical performances, debates, or participation in religious observances) you cannot be present at an examination, contact the instructor prior to the examination to arrange an alternative. If the instructor is not contacted and an examination is missed, the grade is zero. Exception: A verifiable emergency, beyond the student’s control, which prevents the student from taking the examination. Under such circumstances a makeup examination, consisting entirely of essay questions, will be given.

Grades of Incomplete “I” will be given only when a student is unable to complete the course within the semester due to unforeseen circumstances, with a considerable impact on the student’s life, and beyond the student’s control. Students must be passing the course when the event occurs. Such events are rare. Therefore, incomplete grades are rare.

Attendance at the laboratory sessions is mandatory, and is essential for satisfactory performance in the course.

EXAMINATION SCHEDULE:

There will be one midterm and a comprehensive final examination for the lecture part of the course. Exams will be announced at least one week in advance. The laboratory work will also be tested. The following is a tentative examination schedule, subject to revision.

Midterm: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 10:30-11:30

Final examination: Monday August 5, 2013

CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE:

In order to enhance and maintain a productive atmosphere for education, personal communication devices such as cellular telephones, are to be disabled in class sessions. (University policy which applies to all classes - see http://www.fau.edu/academic/registrar/catalog/academics.php) Any use of these devices during a quiz or examination will be considered to be cheating, and will be penalized accordingly. Communication devices (cell phones, laptop computers, etc.) must be turned off and out of reach during all examinations.

DISABLED STUDENTS:

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). students who require special accommodation due to a disability to properly execute course work must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) - in Boca Raton, SU 133 (561-297-3880); in Davie, MOD 1 (954-236-1222); in Jupiter. SR 117 (561-799-8585); or at the Treasure Coast, CO 128 (772-873-3305) - and follow all OSD procedures.

HONOR CODE POLICY STATEMENT:

Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards, because it interferes with the university mission to provide a high quality education in which no student enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the university community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity and individual responsibility. Harsh penalties are associated with academic dishonesty. For more information. see University Regulation 4.001 at

http://www.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.001_Code_of_Academic_Integrity.pdf

TEXTBOOK:

            Essentials of Geology, 11/E, Frederick K. Lutgens, Edward J. Tarbuck, Dennis Tasa, ISBN-10: 0321714725, ISBN-13: 978-0-321-71472-5, Prentice Hall. Prentice -Hall web site is http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0321714725 Textbook is available from the publisher for $118.00. A loose-leaf version is available for $76.73. (ISBN-10: 0-321-74091-5) There are various options for access to on-line sites. While these may be useful, none of them are required for this course. As of May 7, 2013, Amazon was selling the books on-line at $83.84 for the paperback and from $44.00 used for the paperback. The book can be rented from Amazon for $44.80

A separate textbook is required for the lab portion of this course. See the lab syllabus for information.

HOLIDAY: Independence Day, July 4, 2013, which does not affect this class

WEB PAGES: This is a web assisted course. Students should check the web site before every class. A great deal of information pertinent to the course is maintained on the web pages, including a frequently updated activity sheet, access to the PowerPoint presentations shown in lecture, word lists for upcoming examinations, and keys to the examinations (posted after the exam, of course). The web pages for this section may be found at:

http://www.geosciences.fau.edu/Resources/CourseWebPages/Summer2013/GLY2010_E13/index_2010_E13.htm

COURSE FORMAT: GLY 2010C is a combined Lecture and Laboratory course.. Students must take both parts of the course. The Geosciences Department feels very strongly that the laboratory is an essential part of the course. Students may register for any laboratory section. Laboratory classes are held in the Science building, room 431. Attendance at laboratory sections is mandatory. Grading for the laboratory and lecture sections is combined. Please note that advisers in other departments or colleges ARE NOT authorized to exempt a student from either the laboratory or the lecture portion of the course.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTA’s) for the laboratory are as follows:

Section 57634, M - W 8:00 - 10:10 A.M. GTA: Chris Makowski

Science, Room 472

Office Hours: TBA

(561) 297-3250

E-mail: Christopher Makowski <cmakowsk@my.fau.edu>

Section 57635 M - W 2:00 - 4:10 P.M. GTA: Troy Bernier

Science, Room 420

Office Hours: TBA

(561) 297-3250

E-mail: Troy Bernier <tbernie1@my.fau.edu>

Lab sections will meet beginning Monday, June 24, 2013.

COURSE TOPIC SUMMARY: The course topic summary on the next page is for planning purposes only. The on-line activity sheet will be updated after every lecture, and should be consulted for an up to date schedule.

COURSE TOPIC SUMMARY