GEO 460:101 – INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University

Prof. Carl C. Swisher III Fall Semester, 2009

Earth is a complex system of interacting components. It is a planetary system that evolves through interactions with the external forces of the cosmos, and internal interactions amongst its own geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. In this course, we will look at how Earth was formed, how it has evolved and how the various components or subsystems of the Earth System interact. To this end, we will explore basic concepts, principles and processes in the geosciences; chemistry, physics, and biology of the Earth; the Earth’s structure, composition and evolution; and the nature of the processes that resulted in Earth’s formation and its present state.

GEO 460:101 is a requirement for all Geosciences majors and minors, a course for those majoring in the “sciences”, and a course for those just a bit curious about the planet upon which we reside.

Course Lectures (Fall 2009):

Location: WL - Auditorium

Time: 3 hours per week, Tuesday / Thursday 1:40-3:00 pm

Note: Please try to get to class on time. I will make every effort to finish the presentation of any materials 5 to 10 minutes early.

Office Hours:

Location: Room 345, Wright Labs, Dept. of Geological Sciences, Busch Campus

Time: Tues. / Thurs., immediately after class and by appointment

Contact Info:

e-mail: cswish@rci.rutgers.edu (Please list your e-mail subject as Geo101)

class web site: http://rockbox.rutgers.edu/~cswish/

Textbook:

Text 1: Understanding Earth, 5^th Edition, 2007, by Grotzinger, Jordan, Press and Siever (book website http://bcs.whfreeman.com/understandingearth5e/)

Text 2: Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3^rd Edition, 2008 by Stephen Marshak (book website: http://www2.wwnorton.com/students/titles/geo/earth3/)

i-Clicker will be used in class for quizzes

New Jersey Books will sell them for $30.50,

Rutgers bookstore presumably for $35 (their normal markup)

Please remember to bring them to class!

Exams, Quizzes and Dates to Remember: Possible Points

Exam I                              TBA                                100

Exam II                             TBA                                100

Exam III TBA 100

i-clicker quizzes …usually Thursdays 80 ±

Term paper due Friday, Dec. 5^th 50

Total Class Points 430 ±

There is No Final Exam !

Grading and Grades:

Course grade will be based on total accumulated points, curved according to overall class point distribution… if history has any bearing on this semester, you will need an overall score of 90% or greater to get an A.

Exams will be given in class during the regular scheduled class period. Dates for exams are indicated on the syllabus, but may change due to unforeseen events. Quizzes will be given during lecture periods and will consist of short questions pertaining to the current or prior lecture. Typically quizzes will be given on Thursday.

Exams and quizzes are based on materials presented in lecture and from assigned readings. Exams may / will include a variety of question formats including multiple choice, matching, true - false, fill in-the-blank, short answers and ESSAY!! questions.

Makeup exams will be scheduled only for students with official University excuses (generally medical) and MUST BE APPROVED PRIOR TO TEST DATE.

There are no make-up quizzes! I will automatically drop your lowest 2 scores or 2 missed quizzes due to absence, forgotten i-clickers, etc.

Labs:

All labs meet in Wright Labs Room 339

Lab Section 01 Tuesday   3:20 – 6:20     

Lab Section 02 Wednesday   8:40 –  11:40      

Lab Section 03 Thursday      8:40 –  11:40     

Lab Section 03 Thursday      1:40 –  4:30     

Lab Textbook: Lab Notes / Handouts

Optional Ref: Busch and Tasa, Lab Manual in Physical Geology, 5^th Ed

Some things you will need for lab…

- a medium sized 3-hole binder for lab handouts

- a few colored pencils

- $10 for lab copies (to save you $60 for a lab book!)

(please bring this to your first day of lab !)

A few other things that shouldn’t have to be said, but I’ll say them anyway:

* Please make every effort to arrive to class on time

* If you need to leave class early, sit on the end of an aisle to minimize class disruption

* Enrollment, class attendance, taking exams, and quizzes are not mandatory (however, my giving you a passing grade is also not mandatory!)

* Please don’t use cell phones, beepers, etc, during class….please turn off ringers

* Cheating and plagiarism are not acceptable!

* On our website, I have posted Rutger’s Policy on Academic Integrity. If you are not familiar with this, I highly recommend you look it over.

Note on the attached Syllabus

The attached course syllabus should be used as a general outline of the course. The syllabus may be modified during the semester if needed due to unforeseen absence as a result of unscheduled appointments or severe weather conditions. Modifications will be discussed in class and posted on the course website.

Introductory Geology 460:101 Earth and Planetary Sciences

Fall Semester, 2009

Course Syllabus, Fall Semester, 2009

THES DATES ARE NOT UPDATE YET FOR Fall, 2009

September

Tues 9/02 Introduction

Course syllabus, lecture themes, textbook, exams, term paper, quizzes, grading and grades

Earth as a system

Lecture Slides / Notes

Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 1-17

Thur 9/04 Earth as a planetary body

Lecture Slides / Notes

Grotzinger: Chapter 9 (part): 189-199

Marshak: Chapter 1: 14-35

Tues 9/09 Elements, atoms, and isotopes

Grotzinger: Chapter 3: 46-50, Appendix 3

Marshak: Appendix A: 1-11: Atoms, bonds and elements

Thur 9/11 Building blocks of the Earth: Minerals and rocks

Grotzinger: Chapter 3: 45-75, Appendix 4: Mineral Properties

Marshak: Chapter 5: 121-143 Interlude B, Rock Groups: 144-151/

Tues 9/16 Earth’s primary rocks: Igneous rocks…solids from melts

Grotzinger: Chapter 4: 77-99

Marshak: Chapters 6: 152-174

Thur 9/18 The formation of a differentiated planet

Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 6-9, Chapter 9: 192-195, Chapter 14: 325-336

Marshak: Chapter 2: 36-55

Interlude D, Seeing Inside the Earth: 350-361

Tues 9/23 How old is the Earth and how do we know that?

Lecture Notes

Grotzinger: Chapter 8: 180-184

Marshak: Chapter 12 (part): 432-444

Thur 9/25 Exam I

Tues 9/30 Earth’s Core: The Geodynamo System

Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 13-14, Chapter 14: 337-345

Marshak Chapter 2: 50-52, Interlude A (part): 77-84

October

Thur 10/02 Earth’s Mantle and Crust; The Plate Tectonic System

Interactions: Earth’s Plate Tectonic System

Grotzinger: Chapter 1: 12-13, Chapter 2: 19-43, 14:328-337

Marshak: Chapter 2: 49-50, Chapter 4: 85-117

Tues 10/07 Venting of the Earth: Volcanoes

Grotzinger: Chapter 12: 270-295

Marshak: Chapter 6:174-182, Chapter 9: 266-302

Thur 10/09 Lithospheric Movements: Earthquakes

Marshak: Chapter 10: 303-349, Interlude D (again): 350-361

Grotzinger: Chapter 13: 297-323

Tues 10/14 Crustal Processes: Sedimentary rocks

Grotzinger: Chapter 5: 101-129

Marshak: Chapter 7: 183-227

Thur 10/16 Interpreting Earth’s crust: Principles of stratigraphy

Grotzinger: Chapter 8: 169-187

Marshak: Chapter 12: 415-448

Tues 10/21 Mountain building: Deforming, folding, faulting and orogeny

Grotzinger: Chapter 7: 150-167

Marshak: Chapter 11: 362-399

Thur 10/23 Metamorphic rocks: Transformation of a solid state

Grotzinger: Chapter 6: 130-149

Marshak: Chapter 8: 228-256

Tues 10/28 Evolution of Continents and Oceans: Interactions among the plates

And a little about New Jersey

Grotzinger: Chapter 10: 215-239

Marshak: Chapter 4: 76-1, Interlude C: 257-263, Chapter 18: 620-659

Thur 10/30 Exam II

November

Tues 11/04 Earth’s Climate System: Interactions with the solid Earth

Grotzinger: Chapter 15: 346-369

Marshak: Chapter 20:692-729

Thur 11/06 The Geobiological System

Grotzinger: Chapter 11: 240-269

Marshak: Part of Chapter 12: 377-405, Chapter 13:406-435

Tues 11/11 Interactions between climate and tectonics

weathering, erosion and mass wasting

Grotzinger: Chapter 16: 370-399

Climate extremes: Deserts to Glaciers

Grotzinger: Chapter 19: 452-471, Chapter 21: 504-529

Marshak: Chapter 21 730- 756, Chapter 22: 757-800

Thur 11/13 Evolution of the Earth: A condensed biography

Marshak: Chapter 13: 448-483

Tues 11/18 The state of the Earth: Global change in the Earth System

Grotzinger: Chapter 23: 550-579

Marshak: Chapter 23:801-832

Thur 11/20 The Earth as a Planet: the “Goldilocks” Effect

Course Notes

Grotzinger: Chapter 9: 195-213

Tues 11/25 The Economy of Nature: Energy

Grotzinger: Chapter 23: 550-579

Marshak: Chapter 14:486-521

Thur 11/27 No Class / Thanksgiving

Grotzinger: Chapter 17: 400-424

Marshak: Chapter 19: 660-691, Interlude F: 550-553

December

Tues 12/02 No Class / Room need for Chemistry Lecture

Thur 12/04 Course Review / Discussion

Tues 12/09 Exam III