geology 101

North Seattle Community College Winter 2006

Geology 102: Environmental Geology

Course meeting times: MWTh, 10:00 – 11:50 a.m.; T, 10:00 – 10:50 a.m.*

*Tuesday meetings vary in length; please see the schedule on the back page.

Lectures, discussions and labs will be held in Room 1623

Text: You will borrow an environmental geology textbook for the quarter

Additional equipment: e-mail account you will check regularly, a calculator (4 function OK, trigonometric functions ideally), for field trips, jacket and waterproof boots (optional, if you enjoy cold wet feet) and clipboard

Course purpose: This course will introduce you to the surficial Earth processes, which roughly speaking, falls under the heading of geomorphology. You will see how the lithosphere (rocks), atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water) and biosphere (life) conspire to produce the landforms you see today and the hazards, such as huge earthquakes and tsunamis in Puget Sound, and the resources, such as Licton Springs, associated with these landforms. I would hasten to add that you should know how to use a four-function (add, subtract, multiply, divide) calculator and how to read a graph, in order to maximize what you get out of this class. We will also be taking some in-class field trips to view some sites.

Instructor: Tracy Furutani Office: 2328B

Phone: 528-4509 Office Hours: MWTh, noon – 1 p.m.

e-mail: tfurutani@sccd.ctc.edu

website: http://faculty.northseattle.edu/tfurutani/

Grading: Group projects, 2 at 50 pts. each 100

Mineral resource project display case, 50 pts. 50

Mineral resource project abstract, 10 pts. 10

Site evaluation, 50 pts. 50

Labs, best 10 of 11 at 10 pts. each 100

Weekly assignments, best 9 of 10 at 10 pts. each 90

Midterm exams, 2 at 50 pts. each* 100

Final* 100

Total 600

*The greater of the final score or the sum of the two midterm exams will count towards both grades.

Grades will be assigned as follows:

Your total points: 570 - 600 Your grade: 4.0

540 - 569 3.7

510 - 539 3.3

480 - 509 3.0

450 - 479 2.7

420 - 449 2.3

390 - 419 2.0

360 - 389 1.7

330 - 359 1.3

300 - 329 1.0

< 300 0.0

This schedule is subject to a minimal amount of change.

Group project: There will be two group projects, one (at the beginning of the quarter), the other (at the end of the quarter) in which you will use the principles of this class to construct a town plan. You will work, for the duration of the projects, in teams (to be assigned by me) and, on the following day, each team (through a team representative) will make a short oral presentation. Your group members will all receive the same grade; some points will be earned during the project and some will be earned at the presentation.

Labs: There will be eleven lab exercises, designed to help you understand geological concepts, summarize in-class field trips, etc. These labs can be turned in at the end of class, but are most definitely due at the beginning of the class meeting following the general discussion of the lab.

Weekly assignments: Since there is no textbook for the course, I am trusting you to keep up with appropriate reading in the borrowed textbook; I cannot assign a particular chapter number, since everyone has different textbooks, but I will state the topic. In addition, the weekly assignments will direct your reading as you answer the questions. The weekly assignment due dates are given on the calendar.

Exams: There will be two fifty-minute long, short answer plus essay question quizzes during the term. They are based on the questions found in the covered chapters, as well as the lab questions. The quiz is a diagnostic tool; a good score means that you have kept up with the reading and exercises. The final exam is similar in structure, longer and comprehensive.

Mineral resources project: You may work on this individually or with a partner. The project will be the creation of a display case for the North Seattle Lapidary and Mineral Club 52^nd Annual Rock and Gem Show, to be held March 18 and 19 at the Lake City Community Center. The contents of the case should be informative as well as visually appealing, but you are constrained to the space of the case. In addition, it is a rock and gem show put on by folks who like to do lapidary and jewelry, so they won’t care about water quality or landslide hazards. The topic of your display must be an economically interesting mineral or rock. We will hold our own “show” on

In addition to the display and prior to the display session on March 8, you will turn in an abstract (a summary) of your display; I will give you a handout on writing abstracts. Ideally, you will turn in this abstract by e-mail.

The field trip and the site evaluation: There will be one field trip during class (either February 2 or February 3; you may go on either day as the trips are identical) to various environmentally interesting sites nearby. Be prepared on these days for walking short distances (less than half a mile) in rain and mud, writing in the rain (a covered clipboard is useful). The trip will last from 10 a.m. (be prompt) to 3 p.m.

From the class labs or from this trip, you will choose a particular site at which to do a site evaluation (this may involve testing water quality, assessing slope stability, evaluating earthquake hazard). The site evaluation will require you to go back to a particular site, perform some tests, analyze the results and then write a three-page (or so) report of the hazards and/or resources at the site; the exact assignment will be explained in class.

Cheating: Don't. I will use the policy outlined in the Student Conduct section of the Student Handbook. Remember, a group project is the result of a roughly equal sharing of ideas from each member of the group. Collaboration is absolutely essential. Collaboration is also important during labs. A quiz or exam, however, is an evaluation of what each individual understands. Please do not collaborate on these endeavors. On the poster project especially, don't plagiarize; cite the references you used to write or illustrate your report.

Chemical sensitivities: Due to the increasing numbers of individuals developing chemical sensitivities and the increasing awareness of such conditions, everyone who attends this class is asked to refrain from wearing any fragrance or perfume. The greatest feasible efforts will also be taken to ensure a fresh air environment free of not only the above-mentioned fragrances but also potentially harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, carpet odor, organic solvents, etc. Individuals who are unsure of the importance of this policy should see the Dean of Math, Science and Social Sciences for additional information.

Attendance: I will not take attendance during the quarter, but it is imperative that you attend every meeting. You may have personal reasons for missing class and to accommodate this, most of the components of the final grade (see above) drop the lowest score. For this reason, I will not offer makeup labs or exams, except under extreme circumstances.

Cell phones and pagers: Please turn these devices off or switch them to “vibrate” mode during class.

Dates to remember:

Last day to withdraw without a W January 17

Last day to drop course February 24

Last day of instruction March 16

Final March 22, 10:30 a.m.

Tentative calendar: the topics are listed in the calendar; it is your responsibility to find the appropriate chapters in the textbook you borrowed. This is a provisional calendar and topics/dates are subject to change. Note that all in-class field trips are repeated the next day.

January 2

3 (one hour)

Welcome and lab 1; plate tectonics; assignment 1