ESCI 110 Introduction to Earth Science Syllabus Summer 2012 Cerritos College Earth Science Department

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1 ESCI 110 Introduction to Earth Science Syllabus Summer 2012 Cerritos College Earth Science Department Instructor: Mr. Tor Björn Lacy, Cerritos College Earth Science Instructor Class Times: Monday through Thursday 12:30-5:00 PM, PST Web address: Phone: (562) x2662 Office PST-142, Physical Sciences Building Office Hours: Tues. 11:30-12:30 PM, Weds. 11:30-12:30 PM, Thurs. 11:30-12:30 PM Required Materials Tarbuck and Lutgens, Earth Science, 13 th Labs obtained from instructor website: A pack of Scantron test answer sheets (882-E), pen, pencil, and calculator (cell phone and other communication devices are unacceptable). Welcome to an introductory course in earth science. In this course you will be learn about the materials that comprise the solid earth, atmosphere, and hydrosphere, as well as the processes that shape these physical realms. We will also take a look outside our planet at the objects within our solar system. This is a lecture/lab combo course, in which you can earn 4 units of credit that is transferable to CSUs and UCs. It is recommended that you have ENGL 100 clearance and have passed MATH 40, as you will be required to do college level writing and to solve basic algebraic and geometric problems. If mathematics is a problem for you, it will be your responsibility to seek help outside of the classroom, either by utilizing my office hours or those of your math instructor, or the on campus Math Learning Center (MLC). This could be a challenging course for some of you. Succeeding in this class by earning a C grade or higher will require your undivided attention throughout each 4.5 hours class session. It will require critical thinking during laboratory activities and exams. In addition, you should expect to spend another 20 hours studying outside of class each week. While I truly believe that any student enrolled in this class can earn a passing grade, the reality is that many students are not mentally and/or emotionally prepared for the academic rigor of a college-level science course. However, Cerritos College has instituted the ifalcon Habits of Mind program to help students achieve their academic goals. The Habits of Mind Focus on the work to be done. Advance your skills and education by always improving. Link Up with other like-minded students, faculty, and campus services to help you along your educational path. Comprehend your course material instead of just memorizing it. Organize your life to reach your goals. Try New Ideas to accelerate your learning and improve your skills. Be curious, seek out new perspectives and skills, and transfer concepts to new contexts in order to solve problems. Classroom Conduct 1. Cell phones/ipods/etc. will remain off while in class. Your lap texting is obvious, disrespectful, and will result in you being asked to leave class for the day. 2. Arrive on time and ready to work. Arriving late could cause you to miss quiz/exam material, and homework review. 3. Use the bathroom before class begins. Unless you have a genuine medical condition, do not get up during class; it interrupts the professor and distracts other students. Plan to sit through the full class or until a break is provided. And if you do have a medical condition, make arrangements with your professor in advance. 4. Plan to miss no classes during the semester--every absence is a problem. For every class missed, expect your grade to drop because you ve missed important class material. 5. Scheduling medical appointments, job interviews, family errands, or other activities during class time is not acceptable. If you are serious about academic success, your priority is being present for every class. 6. Avoid side conversations in class. Your whispering is obvious to everyone and disrespectful. 7. Review the class syllabus and the course schedule weekly. Understand all class requirements and expectations. 8. Talk with me. Ask questions during class or after class. Utilize office hours.

2 9. Dropping the class is your responsibility. If you forget to drop the class formally, you will receive an F grade. 10. Cheating will result in a failing class grade (refer to 2011 Summer Class Schedule) Attendance Policy Attendance will be taken after 1 hour on the first day of the term. Students not in attendance (either wait listed or enrolled) will be dropped as a no-show. During the first 2 days of the term (or as long as there are wait-listed students) any single absence by an enrolled student will be considered as excessive and the student will be dropped from the course. After the initial 2 days of the term students will be dropped for excessive absences after they have 3 unexcused absences. An absence is excused if you have notified me ahead of time AND I have excused you. You may make up a quiz, test, or lab ONLY if you inform me of the absence ahead of time via or phone message. If your excused absence prevents you from turning in an assignment on its due date then you must turn in the work at the beginning of the next class you attend. Reading, Laboratory, and Worksheet Assignments In order to succeed in this class, reading should be considered an ongoing homework assignment. Completing reading assignments will prepare you for lectures, labs, and exams. It is assumed that you possess the textbook, Physical Geology: An Introduction to Physical Geology, and that you will bring this book with you to class each day. This textbook is also available on reserve in the Cerritos College Library. The sections of each chapter that are most valuable for this class on are posted on my website. The reading of these pages should be completed BEFORE the class session that will be covering that topic. You are also expected to pre read all laboratory assignments. If you have not, it is possible you feel lost and will fall behind those that were more responsible. This in turn may lead to frustration, a less than enjoyable lab experience, and lower grade on quizzes or exams. In addition to reading assignments, you are expected to complete laboratory and worksheet assignments. Worksheets will be assigned inconsistently throughout the semester when reinforcement of lecture and lab curriculum seems necessary. It is imperative that you complete these assignments with 100% comprehension as quizzes and exams will be designed to assess your degree of understanding of homework and lab work. If you are having difficulty with the laboratory exercises it is up to you to ask questions and seek help from your tablemates or the instructor. Expect your tablemates to be switched up as the semester progresses. Worksheets and laboratory exercised are grading according to the following criteria: = Accurate and complete - = Incomplete and/or significant errors and/or pre-lab work incomplete 0 = Not done/very incomplete/many errors Lecture, lab, and reading will generally follow the tentative course outline below. Note: Due to 2 Monday holidays this schedule may be modified during the semester. Week Date Topic Reading Chapters Lab Exercises * 1 6/25 Intro to Class; Measurements and Conversions 1 Place Name Geography Exercise; Scientific Method and Measurements Exercise 2 6/26 Intro to Earth /27 The Solar System 1, 3 4 6/28 Exam 1; Topographic Maps 7 Lab 7 5 7/2 Plate Tectonics 9 Graham Cracker Lab; Plate Tectonics Wrksht. 6 7/3 HOLIDAY- NO CLASS 7 7/4 Volcanoes 20 & Venn Diag. 8 7/5 Volcanoes; Exam /9 Mountain Building /10 Earthquakes /11 Minerals (Field Trip?) /12 Minerals; Exam /16 Igneous Rocks /17 Weathering 4

3 7/ 7/18 Mass Wasting Landslides 15 7/19 Mass Wasting; Exam /23 Streams/Groundwater 3 22 & 23 (?) 17 7/24 Sedimentary & Metamorphic 6 10& 14 Rocks 18 7/25 Glaciers, Deserts, Wind 23 & 24 7/26 Exam 5 16; 20 7/30 Intro to Atmosphere; Earth-Sun 4 Relations; Climate 7/31 Atmospheric Processes Intro to Atmos.; 30 8/1 Clouds; Storms 17; 18; 19 Atmos. Moisture; Atmos. Pressure Pres & Wind 8/2 Exam 6 * expect schedule to vary slightly and for additional labs/worksheet to be added as needed. Notes Through Power Point and the chalkboard I will provide you with an outline of key ideas for each class. I will verbally expand on these ideas during the lecture. You should elaborate on this outline according to verbal explanations by the instructor or your classmates. You are expected to further expand your notes as you read the textbook. In other words, you may be tested on material that I did not literally write down during lecture and/or that part of the assigned reading. Exams Four exams will be given, each worth 20% of your grade. Exams will be based on lecture, lab, and assigned reading. You may not make up any exams (unless cleared with me beforehand). If you arrive late, you will not be given extra time to complete the exam. Exams will typically be announced one week beforehand. Your study guide will be the unit objectives that I post at the beginning of each new PowerPoint presentation. If you would like additional help focusing on what you need to know for the exam, please see me during office hours or me with specific questions. Grading Note: the points and percentages given are approximations and may vary slightly Total points Total % Labs/Worksheets: ~ 4 points each ~ 100 ~ 20% Exams: 100 points each % Total Points/Percentage possible % A = 90%-100% B = 80%-89% C = 70%-79% D = 60%-69% F = < 60% Academic Dishonesty (from Cerritos College Class Schedule) Academic Dishonesty is defined as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Examples of academic dishonesty would include, but not be limited to the following: Copying, either in part or in whole, from another s test or examination; Discussion of answers or ideas relating to the answers, on examination or test when the instructor prohibits such discussion; Obtaining copies of an exam without the permission of the instructor; Using notes, Cheat sheets, or otherwise utilizing information or devices not considered appropriate under the prescribed test conditions; Altering a grade or interfering with the grading procedures in any course; Allowing someone other than the officially enrolled student to represent the same; Plagiarism, which is defined as the act of taking the ideas, words or specific substantive material of another and offering them as one s own without giving credit to the source. The faculty member may take options to the extent that the faculty member considers the cheating or plagiarism to manifest the student s lack of scholarship or to reflect on the student s lack of academic performance in the course. One

4 or more of the following actions are available to the faculty member who suspects a student has been cheating or plagiarizing: 1. Review-no action. 2. An oral reprimand with emphasis on counseling toward prevention of further occurrences. 3. A requirement that work be repeated. 4. A reduction of the grade earned on the specific work in question, including the possibility of no credit for the work. 5. A reduction of the course grade as a result of item 4 above, including the possibility of a failing grade for the course. 6. Referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs for further administrative action, such as suspension or expulsion. Student Learning Outcomes Below are some of the SLOs for this course. Minerals and Rocks SLO for Igeous Rocks and Minerals: Be able to use the physical properties of minerals and rocks to accurately identifiy specimens in lab and on exams. SLO for rocks: be able to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks in hand sample and describe the processes and possible environment of formation for each. SLO for Igneous Rocks: Demonstrate knowledge of magma formation, explain magmatic differentiation (including crystal settling and the formation of secondary magmas), and relate magma composition to its appropriate plate tectonic setting. Plate tectonics SLO for Plate Tectonics: Describe the relative movement of Earth s tectonic plates at each of the 3 types of plate boundaries and the type of crust involved, provide examples of landforms created near each type of boundary, and locate on a map where each boundary could be found on Earth; recognize the connection between plate tectonic processes and constructive geologic processes, such as mountain building, volcanic activity, and magma generation; and describe how plate tectonics is both a constructive and destructive force. Volcanoes SLO for Volcanoes: Compare and contrast among the 3 types of volcanoes, including information such as: plate boundary/intraplate setting, eruptive style, rock type produced, physical characteristics, and site a real world example of each. SLO for Volcanoes: Describe how volcanic activity is a constructive process. Weathering, Mass Wasting, and Erosion SLO for Weathering: Describe the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering and explain how agents of each destroy Earth s crust. SLO for Mass Wasting: Visually identify different forms of mass wasting and correlate different triggers with real-life mass wasting events. SLO for Erosion: Describe how different agents of erosion shape Earth s crust and create landforms. SLO for Streams, Groundwater, and Glaciers: Identify erosional and depositional landform features in photographic images and on topographic maps, and make geologic interpretations using this data. Glaciers SLO for Glaciers: Define the budget of a glacier and discuss the causes of short and long-term glacial cycles. Earthquakes SLO for Earthquakes: Describe how earthquakes are generated and discuss the relationshiop between earthquakes and plate boundaries; Use seismographic records in order to locate the epicenter of an eathquake. Mountain Building SLO for Mountain Building: Discuss the geologic processes that form each of the 4 types of mountains and describe the geologic history of specific mountain range. Constructive vs. Destructive Forces SLO for Constructive vs. Destructive Forces: Differentiate between the constructive and destructive forces that shape Earth s topography, and discuss the internal and external processes that drive these forces. Topographic Maps

5 SLO for topographic maps: Use topographic maps to interpreting topographic and geologic features, calculate gradient, and identify erosional and depositional landforms.