GEOL 101 - The Dynamic Earth

Syllabus for Spring 2004

 

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Richard Williams

phone 974-6169

 

office 205 G&G Building

email rick@tennessee.edu

 

lecture time - 11:10-12:25 TR

 

 

office hours - 12:30-1:30 TR or by appointment

 

TEXT: Understanding Earth, 4th edition, by Frank Press, Raymond Siever, John Grotzinger, and Thomas H. Jordan.

WEB SITES:  There is a web site for this course, which will be used for course lecture notes, an online question-and-answer forum, and other information relevant to the lectures.  The entry point is http://tanasi.gg.utk.edu/courses/101. 

COURSE GOALS: The main goal of this course is to provide students who have had little or no science background with an understanding and appreciation of geology. It is intended for students who have not previously had a geology course, in either college or high school.

FORMAT: 4 semester hours credit. 2 lectures and 1 lab per week. There are 6 different lab sections, each taught more-or-less as a separate course by a geology graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Gray Dean oversees teaching in the labs. If you have a problem with the lab that you cannot solve by talking to your TA, you should discuss it with me or with Gray.

If your lab is on Wednesday, the first meeting will be on January 21. Thursday labs will meet for the first time on January 22. You will need to purchase a lab manual, and take it with you to the first lab meeting.

COURSE GRADE: 2/3 of your course grade (67 points) will be based on the lectures; 1/3 of your grade (33 points) will be based on the labs. The following scale will be used to assign letter grades:

 

A

93-100

 

B+

89-92

 

B

84-88

 

C+

80-83

 

C

75-79

 

D

66-74

 

F

65 and below

LECTURE GRADE: There will be four exams in the course including the final exam. If you have excused absences, see me as soon as possible to make arrangements to make up the missed work.

The point score used to determine your course grade will be based on the following:

 

First lecture exam

15

 points

 

Second Lecture Exam

15

 

 

Third Lecture Exam

15

 

 

Final Lecture Exam

22

 

 

Lab

33

 

 

Total for Course

100

 points

NEW!! The worst score out of your first three exams will be dropped. The value of the remaining two exams will be increased to make up the difference, i.e., your two best exams will count 22 1/2 points each toward your final grade.

SAVE YOUR PAPERWORK!! Tabulating grades for this course involves handling lots of pieces of paper, and grades that must be recorded in a computer spreadsheet. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. Your exams will be returned, usually in the following lecture.  Save them!  I strongly suggest that you keep track of your grades, and compare your scores to the ones that I post from time-to-time during the semester. If you think there is a mistake, see me and bring all your old scores. Mistakes will be cheerfully corrected, but I will need to have the exam returned to me.  If you choose not to save your old exams, you will have to live with the numbers I have in my records.

LAB GRADE: Your lab TA will explain his/her grading system to you. At the end of the term, your TA will report your lab grade to me, as a number between 0 and 33. If your lab score is 21 or less, your grade for the course will be an F, regardless of your lecture grade. All this means is that you have to pass the lab in order to get a passing grade in the course. The lab involves a lot of work, possibly more work than the lecture, even though it only accounts for 1/3 of the total course grade. Most students do well in the labs, and lab grades tend to be better than the lecture grades.

CHEATING: I depend my students to abide by The University of Tennessee Honor Statement. I will assign an F in the course for any cheating, on one of the exams, or in the lab. If you are caught cheating, you will receive a letter from me, with a copy to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, 409 Student Services Building, for possible additional action. That office will help in arranging for a hearing, and provide you with full information as to your rights.

OFFICE OF DISABILITY SERVICES:  Any student who has a disability that requires accommodation(s) should make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services (974-6087) to discuss his or her specific needs, as well as schedule an appointment with me during my office hours.

Last modified February 24, 2004