This Syllabus:

Consider this syllabus to be a source of answers to Frequently Asked Questions. It is the student's responsibility to read and comprehend this entire document.

Text:

Physical Geology (Tenth Edition), by Plummer, McGeary, and Carlson (2005), WCB/McGraw-Hill. This is the third term that the tenth edition of this text has been available and so many of you may have brand-new books. Just inside the front cover and flyleaf you will find a page printed on card stock with the word "IMPORTANT" in large type at the top. Follow the instructions on the page, using the unique Registration Code on the tear-off bookmark on the right margin, and you will be able to access the publisher's webpage for this text. It contains a huge amount of information relating to the text and includes online quizzes from which I occasionally mine questions for exams. If you have a used text, access to the publisher’s webpage may be obtained by going to www.mhhe.com/plummer10e and following the logon instructions for students: a $10 fee is involved.

New for Fall, 2005: An online e-text of the 10^th Edition of Plummer et al. is available at http://www.primisonline.com - full directions for obtaining this service may be found in the Semester Book Announcement for this course through your PAWS account.

Examinations:

Exams (50%) – Three 100-point hour exams will be given, and the lowest of these will be dropped. The final exam is NOT included in this option, and MUST be taken.

Online Quizzes (15%) – A total of ten quizzes will be taken via your PAWS account; quizzes are announced via email on the morning they are activated, and are generally available for 12 to 36 hours. The lowest two quiz scores will be dropped.

Online Exercises (10%) – Five exercises using online resources will be assigned; usually you will have three to five days to complete them. Only one grade from these exercises will be dropped.

Final Exam (25%) – The final exam is comprehensive.

Online quizzes are given through PAWS, and are automatically graded. You may use both the textbook and your class notes. The answers will appear on the morning following the quiz. Each quiz counts only about 2% of your grade, and the lowest two will be dropped, but ignoring them or completing only a portion of them can drop your average two or three letter grades.

All hour exams and the final are taken in the lecture classroom. Each hour exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions. You will need to purchase the large (8.5 x 11) green and white computer grading forms from the bookstore. Bring these to the exams along with a #2B (soft) lead pencil.

Grading Scale

A 83 – 100

B 74 – 82

C 60 – 73

D 54 – 59

F 0 - 53

(I will record only numerical scores – the above scale will be applied to your final average)

Cheating and Plagiarism

All LSU students receive a copy of the Student Handbook upon entry into the University. Please refer to the section on Academic Misconduct for definitions of cheating and plagiarism. If you have misplaced your copy, the specific section may be found at:

http://appl003.lsu.edu/slas/dos.nsf/$Content/Code+of+Conduct?OpenDocument#5.1

It is difficult to cheat on the hour exams, and the online quizzes are open book, so there is little to worry about in these instances (unless you have someone else do them for you – in which case you’ll suffer on the hour exams). However, the online exercises sometimes involve a bit of writing; I expect these thoughts to be your own and not a corporate distillation and virtual copying of the ideas and words of others. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to spot similar or identical writing, even when dealing with 200 or 300 student papers.

Semester Book:

This course will appear on your PAWS Desktop. I will use SB mainly to publish online quizzes and to communicate with the entire class via email or Announcements. Various files will also be placed in the Materials section of Semester Book.

Lecture Notes

Because geology is a highly visual science, many images are used to illustrate the lectures. A large number of these are proprietary (owned by me or someone else); thus I cannot place them on the Internet. The best way for you to get good copies of the lecture notes is to attend lectures.

Computer Access

If you are using a personal computer from home or an apartment, you will find that anything less than a high speed cable connection will put you at a disadvantage: a 56Kb phone modem probably will not be fast enough. There are over 900 open access computer terminals on campus, all of which are wired to the Internet via the fastest connection possible. I suggest that you use them. The locations of campus terminals can be found at:

http://appl006.lsu.edu/ocsweb/palhome.nsf/index

Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been a source of some problems because of its built-in Pop-Up Blocker. Some of the online exercises assigned in this course make use of interactive tools and graphs that are compromised by the Pop-Up Blocker (i.e., don't work). This utility can be turned off under the Tools menu of Windows. Also, some virus detection software can cause similar problems - it is best to temporarily turn these systems off while working on course related problems. Macintosh users (like me) generally don't have any of these difficulties, but there will be a few times when the Mac just won't work - I'll warn you in these instances.

Warning: All computers and network systems fail at times, and I have no control over when this might happen. Individual students have failed a quiz because their computer or the system went down shortly before the due date. Your best insurance against this circumstance is to do the quizzes/exercises as soon as they are announced.

Students with Disabilities

If you have (or suspect you have) any disability which may affect your work in this class, you may qualify for classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. First though, you are required to register with the Office of Disability Services (ODS). The ODS is located in 112 Johnston Hall. Phone is 225/ 578-5919. To receive academic accommodations for this class, please obtain the proper ODS forms and meet with me at the beginning of the semester. All discussions, whether with me or the ODS, are strictly confidential. Please make these arrangements as early in the semester as possible.

Makeup Policy

University Regulations state that students may make up examinations missed due to a documented illness. Because I have so many students, and because I do drop the lowest of three exams, makeups will not be given until after the third hour exam: at that point an individual student may make a decision as to whether or not the exam is needed.

Student athletes and band members who know that they will be missing an exam because of an out of town game must provide me with written documentation of their absences before the event. I will give these individuals a makeup in the week immediately following the athletic event.

COURSE OUTLINE

Date	Topic	Reading
Aug. 22	Introduction	Chapter 1, pp. 2 – 25
Aug. 24	Plate Tectonics
Aug. 26	Plate Tectonics

Aug. 29	KATRINA
Aug. 31	KATRINA
Sept. 2	KATRINA

Sept. 5	Labor Day – No Class
Sept. 7	Atoms, Elements, and Minerals	Chapter 2, pp. 26 – 51
Sept. 9	Atoms, Elements, and Minerals

Sept. 12	Atoms, Elements, and Minerals
Sept. 14	Igneous Rocks, Intrusive Activity, and the Origin of Igneous Rocks	Chapter 3, pp. 52 - 75
Sept. 16	Igneous Rocks, Intrusive Activity, and the Origin of Igneous Rocks

Sept. 19	Volcanism and Extrusive Rocks	Chapter 4, pp. 76 - 101
Sept. 21	Volcanism and Extrusive Rocks
Sept. 23	Weathering and Soils	Chapter 5, pp. 102 - 119

Sept. 26	FIRST HOUR EXAM
Sept. 28	Weathering and Soils
Sept. 30	Weathering and Soils

Oct. 3	Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks	Chapter 6, pp. 120 - 149
Oct. 5	Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
Oct. 7	FALL HOLIDAY – NO CLASS

Oct. 10	Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
Oct. 12	Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rocks	Chapter 7, pp. 150 - 171
Oct. 14	Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rocks

Oct. 17	Time and Geology	Chapter 8, pp. 172 - 197
Oct. 19	Time and Geology
Oct. 21	Time and Geology

Oct. 24	Second Hour Exam
Oct. 26	Mass Wasting	Chapter 9, pp. 198 - 219
Oct. 28	Mass Wasting

Oct. 31	Mass Wasting
Nov. 2	Streams and Floods	Chapter 10, pp. 220 - 257
Nov. 4	Streams and Floods

Nov. 7	Streams and Floods
Nov. 9	Ground Water	Chapter 11, pp. 258 - 278
Nov. 11	Ground Water

Nov. 14	Ground Water
Nov. 16	Glaciers and Glaciation	Chapter 12, pp. 282-311
Nov. 18	Third Hour Exam

Nov. 21	Glaciers and Glaciation
Nov. 23	Glaciers and Glaciation
Nov. 25	THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Nov. 28	Waves, Beaches, and Coasts	Chapter 14, pp. 336 - 353
Nov. 30	Waves, Beaches, and Coasts
Dec. 2	Waves, Beaches, and Coasts

Dec. 5	Earthquakes	Chapter 16, pp. 383 - 411
Dec. 7	Earthquakes
Dec. 9	The Earth’s Interior (partial chapter)	Chapter 17, pp. 414 – 420

Final Exam for section 1 : saturday, December 17, 2005

7:30 – 9:30 AM – In the lecture Room

Final Exam for section 3 : wednesday, December 14, 2005

3:00 – 5:00 PM – In the lecture Room

Grading Scale

Cheating and Plagiarism

Computer Access

COURSE OUTLINE

Aug. 22

Aug. 24

Aug. 26

Aug. 29

Aug. 31

Sept. 2

Sept. 5

Labor Day – No Class

Sept. 7

Sept. 9

Sept. 12

Sept. 14

Sept. 16

Sept. 19

Sept. 21

Sept. 23

Weathering and Soils

Sept. 26

FIRST HOUR EXAM

Sept. 28

Weathering and Soils

Sept. 30

Weathering and Soils

Oct. 3

Oct. 5

Oct. 7

FALL HOLIDAY – NO CLASS

Oct. 10

Oct. 12

Oct. 14

Oct. 17

Time and Geology

Oct. 19

Time and Geology

Oct. 21

Time and Geology

Oct. 24

Oct. 26

Oct. 28

Oct. 31

Nov. 2

Nov. 4

Nov. 7

Nov. 9

Nov. 11

Ground Water

Nov. 14

Nov. 16

Glaciers and Glaciation

Nov. 18

Nov. 21

Nov. 23

Nov. 25

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Nov. 28

Nov. 30

Dec. 2

Dec. 5

Dec. 7

Dec. 9