Untitled document
Provides the student with the theoretical, descriptive, and
methodilogical experiences required to successfully understand general
historical geology and its related concepts. Students participating
in this course will have the opportunity to analyze the natural
processes that governed and shaped the earth through geologic time and
be able to answer questions specifically related to the major geologic
time and be able to answer questions specifically related to the
major geologic concepts. Students completing this course should be
able to domprehend and demonstrate some knowledgeability of historical
geology through lecture discussions, reading assignments, written
assignments, and examination.
Untitled document
Course content will include but not be limited to the following areas
stated on the course outline.
Geologic time: The nature of the records of the rocks; time units and
measurement of geologic time; rates of weathering, erosion, deposition,
uranium, and carbon 14.
The rock record: Rock units; time-stratigraphic units; correlation.
Reconstructing the past: Uniformitarianism; finding ancient lands.
Environments of deposition: Marine, transitional and continental.
Concepts of plate tectonics: Plates and plate boundaries; trenches
and subduction; mantle hot spots, and rows of volcanic islands.
Current topics of plate tectonics in relation to crustal deformation
and mountains. The break-up of Pangaea.
Unraveling the history of the Precambrian: Origin of the continents;
the Precambrian shields, the Superior Province; Churchill Province;
Central Province; the Grenville Province; Beartooth Mountains; the
Beltian System; Precambrian of the Grand Canyon; Lake Superior region.
The origin of life: First indications of life on earth; fossils;
learning to recognize fossils.
Early Paleozoic: A study of the interpretation of epiric seas; further
studies of tectonics and paleogeography.
Middle Paleozoic: Time of reefs, forests, and salt deposits.
Late Paleozoic: A tectonic climax and retreat of the seas. The
forming of Pangaea; the Appalachian Orogeny; minor mountain building
in the western United States.
Mesozoic Era: Age of reptiles and continental break-up; the beginning
of mountain building in western United States; the Nevadan Orogent and
the Laramide Orogeny.
Cenozoic History: Threshold of the present: The final uplifting of
the western mountains.
The Pleistocene Epoch: Unraveling the physical and glacial history;
the coming of man.
Untitled document
Evaluation of student performance will be determined through
examination (written and/or objective) and through at least one of the
following written assignments: Comprehensive research paper,
analytic essay, report and book reviews, extra credit reports, or field
assessment. Students will be required to master textbook and research
material independently outside of class.
| Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing. | Writing
25 - 50% |
| Reading reports, Lab reports, Essay exams, Term papers | |
| Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills. | Problem Solving
10 - 30% |
| Lab reports, Quizzes, Exams | |
| Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams. | Skill Demonstrations
0 - 0% |
| None | |
| Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams. | Exams
25 - 50% |
| Multiple choice, True/false, Matching items, Completion | |
| Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories. | Other Category
0 - 0% |
| None | |
Untitled document
Dott: EVOLUTION OF THE EARTH
Peterson: EVOLUTION OF NORTH AMERICA
Stern: GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF NORTH AMERICA
Brice: LABORATORY STUDIES IN EARTH HISTORY