Monday-Wednesday
10-11:15
Lab Tuesday 2:30-5:20
| Instructor: | David M. Dobson | Course Objective: This course covers the history of the Earth and of life. Pretty bold aim, you say? The meaning of time, the origin and evolution of life, the growth and destruction of mountain ranges, the motions, rifts, and collisions of continents, and the beginnings of human life are all fair game. Our only record of these topics is the rocks of the Earth, some of them billions of years old. We will learn how to inspect and interpret this record and to apply these skills to studying the history of our planet. We will also develop an understanding of how scientific knowledge is generated and of the particular difficulties of geology. Geology, and especially historical geology, explores the development of Earth on superhuman scales of time and space, only rarely allowing for testing of ideas in the laboratory. Above all, the course should give perspective to human life and culture. Understanding the planet's processes and our place in its history provides a clearer view of the time and place in which we live. This perspective will also influence how we think about ourselves, those around us, and about the meaning of life itself. |
| Office: | Frank 215-C | |
| E-mail: | ddobson@guilford.edu | |
| Phone: |
316-2278 (office) 286-0337 (home - no calls after 10 p.m.) |
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| Office Hours: | Mon 12-3, Tues/Thurs 10-11, or by appointment |
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Text: The Earth Through Time, Harold Levin, 8th edition. Several other reading assignments will be made available on reserve at the library or on the world-wide web. Labs: Attendance at one laboratory session per week is mandatory. Laboratories provide a vital hands-on learning experience; many include short field trips to local sites of geological interest. Labs during the first few weeks of the semester will cover paleontology, including topics such as fossilization, fossil identification, ages of fossils, and interpretation of paleoenvironments. There will be a lab quiz on fossils at the end of this section of the labs. The principal project for the semester involves research into the geology of the "Quaker Quadrangle", an imaginary tract of land about 16 miles wide, 26 miles long, and 5 miles deep. Students work in teams of 2-3 conducting an open-ended investigation using outcrop data, drill-hole data, maps, and cross-sections. At the end of the semester, each team of students prepares and submits a report on the geologic history of the Quaker Quadrangle. An outline for the report and information on geologic interpretation of maps and cross-sections are contained in the laboratory manual for the Quaker Quadrangle. Lab work accounts for 45% of your course grade (see below). One-third of the lab grade is based on subjective evaluations of your participation in the Quaker Quadrangle exercise and the associated field trip. This evaluation represents the combined judgment of the instructor and the student lab assistants. Criteria for participation include your presence in lab, your contribution to your team, your commitment to the challenge, your understanding of geologic concepts and your ability to apply them to the task of data interpretation, and finally, your level of imagination, creative thought, and conceptual sophistication which you bring to bear on the subject. |
Quaker Quadrangle Click here to access the QQuad (on campus only) Course Documents Guide to Phylums - Fossil Labs Topics for review - Test No. 1 - 2007 Topics for review - Test No. 2 - 2007 Field Trip Map - Google Maps (wait a bit for loading after you click) Final Exam Review Topics (also book chapters 13-17) |
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Field Trip: There will be a class field trip to the Virginia Appalachians, probably on April 10-11. We will leave on Friday at about 1:30 p.m. and return late Saturday evening. We will visit a number of nearby sites and examine first-hand the geologic record of the surrounding region. A journal must be kept on the field trip and will be required for full credit. Fees and facilities will be announced as the date of the trip arrives. Unfortunately, the proposed time for the trip interferes with two religious holidays. If these holidays will affect your attendance on the field trip, please let me know as soon as possible. Exams: There will be two hour exams and one final exam in this course. The final exam will cover all topics covered but will emphasize the final four weeks of the course. Attendance: If you miss more than five lectures, you will be asked to drop the class. Attendance is REQUIRED at ALL lab sessions. Grading: Grades in this course will be determined as shown in the tables below. Grading will be on a straight scale with a supporting curve. For example, a student who scores 85% of the total available points is guaranteed a B. However, if that student is in the top 15% of the class, she will get an A- or A instead. |
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