Physical Geology – GEOL
1330 (section 12427) -- Dr. Capuano
10-11:30 Tue/Thur room SEC102
Syllabus Spring 2013 (revision
1/15/13)
Class web page http://www.uh.edu/~geos2j/physical.htm
Dr. Capuano: office room 221D Science and Research Bldg 1
Office Hours: any time or by appointment.
EMAIL
Sending email to me: include “Physical Geology” in the subject line so it
does not go to my spam folder. Include
your full name or I will not reply. capuano@uh.edu.
If I do not reply, it is possible your email is lost in my junk folder, so
please call or send your email again.
Email
from me: Careful, UH email is often
phished, so never open an attachment from me that you did not expect and never
send personal information to me by email.
If unsure, forward the questionable email to me. I apologize, but I have no control over this
problem.
Your UH Email address: You must log into People Soft and forward yourname@uh.edu
email (that has been assigned to every student) to an email address you read
daily. It must be an email service that
will not delete my messages as spam (since my emails will be sent to over 100 recipients
at a time). Also, add a filter to make
sure my email does not go to spam.
TEXTBOOK: Earth:
An Introduction to Physical Geology by Tarbuck,
Lutgens and Tasa, (10th edition,
2011, ISBN: 9780321663047). Note the bookstore sells a custom text for a
reduced price. You do not need to
purchase the custom text. If you
purchase the custom text you may not be able to sell it back to the bookstore
at the end of the semester.
EXTRA HELP:
Textbook publisher’s web site for UH
students. It contains practice
tests, study aids, and GEODE a guided
learning program. http://www.pearsoncustom.com/tx/uh_geo/ . Once on their web site click on the
picture of the book to enter. You do not need to buy a book to use this web
site.
Geosciences
Learning Center:
http://www.geosc.uh.edu/undergraduate/learning-center/index.php (Room 9 Old
Science Bldg.) Visit them any time for extra help. See their web
site for hours and field trips dates, sign up and information.
Power Point lectures files are posted at http://www.uh.edu/~geos2j/physical.htm
scroll down to “Lecture Schedule” and click on the chapter name. You need to come to class to obtain the
password; I will not send it by email. Print the Power Point file for the
current chapter prior to coming to class. The schedule below is approximate so
you need to come to class to know which chapter to bring to the next
class. The Power Point files are not current until 7am the day I start
lecturing on that chapter, unless otherwise instructed. You must attend the lecture for the Power
Point files to make sense; they do not contain the entire lecture, although
they provide most (but not all) of the terms you must know for the test.
Some new lecture material that is not included in the Power Point file is often
presented in class and can be on the test. To keep my lectures up-to-date
I often edit the presentation file just prior to class and will not update on
the internet, so you MUST come to class to view the actual file used in my
presentation. There will often be
corrections, additions, and changes; you are responsible for these even though
they are not in the posted file. Even
though you have the Power Points files, you should take notes. Students who
take notes perform better on the tests than those who do not take notes
thinking that I am simply reading the Power Point slides and that they include
all the material from the lecture. If at any time you think the entire
lecture is on the Power Points, you will not do well because you are missing the
majority of the lecture.
Streaming Video of lectures at http://vnet.uh.edu
: If all goes well some of my lectures will be taped and available for
viewing on VNET. Please do not depend on these taped lectures; generally
fewer than half make it onto VNET. To view the lectures go to http://vnet.uh.edu
and log in using your cougar net ID and password. If that does not work, you will need to
register with VNET. If you need help logging
in call the VNET user desk at 713-743-1618.
After you log in select Vclass, then Physical
Geology from the drop down menu at the top.
Click on the header “documents” to find the streaming videos of class
lectures.
Sample Test
Questions:
provided by the book http://www.pearsoncustom.com/tx/uh_geo/
TEST
SCORES are posted on VNET (note final grades are reported in PeopleSoft not
VNET)
1. Go to vnet.uh.edu and log in, if you are not registered with
VNET do so.
2. For HELP with VNET call their help desk, 713-743-1618, not me.
3. Select Physical Geology with Dr Capuano
4. Go down to the tab labeled “Grades” and select it.
5. Careful…the “scores” posted are not out of 100%. You must now go to the class web page where a
list of scores and corresponding letter grades is provided.
FREE FIELD TRIPS: Viewing geologic features is what geology is
all about. I encourage you to go on these trips. Your options
are a one hour Campus Field trips (of building stones and statues), a couple of
hour Museum of Natural Science field trip, an all day field trip to Central
Texas, and an all day field trip to Galveston Island. No extra credit is given
for field trip attendance, but students enjoy these trips. I look
forward to answering questions about these trips.
Field trip date/times [http://www.geosc.uh.edu/undergraduate/field-trips/index.php]
and registration [http://vnet.uh.edu/vinsert/nsm/geos/fieldtrip.lasso
]. The field trip schedule is not usually posted
until about one month into the semester. If you sign up for the Central
Texas or
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Physical Geology ,Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisite:
credit for, placement out of, or concurrent enrollment in MATH
1310 or MATH
1311. Principles of geology; emphasis on surface and
internal processes of the earth. Course
Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Describe a rock and mineral. 2.
Describe the different tectonic margins, associated rocks, and geologic
features. 3. Know the difference between
metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks and how they form. 4. Understand how water flows in rivers and
in the ground. 5. Know how rocks deform
and how earthquakes are propagated and measured. Bibliography: For current references of interest to those taking this course,
please see references cited in the textbook.
CORE COURSE: Physical Geology fills the Natural Science component of the level 2
(knowledge base) of the University’s Core Curriculum.
Cannot get
enough geology!
-See LIVE volcano footage http://www.volcanolive.com/volcanocams.html
-Earthweek – A diary of the
planet http://www.earthweek.com/
-Today’s earthquakes http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html
- Natural Hazards Program of the
Important
information you must know!
1) ATTENDANCE:
If you miss class and do not have a documented approved university excuse, then
it is your responsibility to contact another student for a copy of their class
notes and to obtain any announcements or changes to the Power Point
slides. You do not lose points for missing class; however, I may
give bonus points for participation. Come to class you will do better,
most test questions are addressed in the lectures.
2) EXAMINATION PROCEDURES: All exams, including the makeup exam at the end of
the semester, are given in the lecture room and are multiple choice.
a. Bring
your UH photo ID and know your PEOPLESOFT ID. Forget your ID and you can take the test, but must present your ID
later or you will receive a zero for the exam. Bring two sharpened #2
pencils and eraser.
b. If you leave the room for any reason, your exam
must be turned in. If for physical reasons you cannot sit through an
entire exam, arrange to take exams at the Center for Students with Disabilities
(713-743-5400).
c. Arrive on time for the exam. Extra time will not be
given and if you arrive after anyone has left you cannot take the exam (this is
usually within 15 minutes).
d. No telephones, headsets or other electronics are to
be out at anytime while you are in the exam room. Violations will result
in a zero and consideration for academic dishonesty.
|
Number of questions correct is
equivalent to the grades below. |
|
|
Exam 1, 2 and 3 |
|
|
A 36 or more |
C 25-24 |
|
A- 35-34 |
C- 23-22 |
|
B+ 33-32 |
D+ 21 |
|
B 31-30 |
D 20 |
|
B- 29-28 |
D- 19 |
|
C+ 27-26 |
F 18 or less |
3) GRADING:
a. There are 3 exams and no final. The chapters
covered in each exam are listed above. Material presented later in the
course builds on information presented from the start of the course, so for
each exam you are responsible for all material presented up to that date, but
almost all the questions on the exam will be from the chapters noted.
b. Test 1 is dropped, if it improves your grade. I do
this because some students do poorly on the first test not knowing what to
expect. So please take the first test. If you miss Test 1, you do
not need to take the makeup. If you choose to take the makeup for Test 1,
I will NOT drop the score.
c. How I
calculate your final grade: First, I take the points
earned from all 3 tests, add them together and divide by 3. Then, I take the points earned from just
tests 2 and 3, add them together and divide by 2. I then use the value of the best (larger) of
the two average scores to determine your letter grade. By doing this the first test score is dropped
automatically only if doing so improves your final grade. You do not need to call me to request that I
do so. To determine the letter grade, I
use the same letter grade scale given to you when I reported the scores
for each exam. The grade scale is usually the same for all
three tests. If I shift the scale when I
determine the final letter grades, it is always to improve the letter grades..
d. Do not call and ask me to drop tests 2
or 3 instead of test 1, I will not do it.
Also do not call and ask me to adjust the grade scale, I will not adjust
it based on student requests.
e. I cannot arbitrarily adjust your grade, so please
do not ask me to do so. If you believe I have made an error in
grading, however, please see me as soon as possible.
4) MAKE-UP EXAM:
If you miss Exam 2 and/or 3 (no excuse necessary) you can take a makeup exam as listed on the schedule
above or receive a zero. You do not need
to take a makeup for Exam 1, but if you take a makeup for Exam 1, I will NOT
drop the score for any reason. Do not
miss the makeup exam. If you do miss the
makeup exam you will receive a zero for the exam unless you provide solid documentation
of an extreme circumstance and must notify me within 24 hours of the problem.
5) INCOMPLETES: “I” (incomplete) is a conditional and
temporary grade given when students (a) are currently passing a course or (b)
still have a reasonable chance of passing in the judgment of the instructor,
but for documented non-academic reasons beyond their control have not completed
a relatively small part of all requirements (see
http://www.uh.edu/dos/publications/handbook.php). Incompletes are given
only for extreme circumstances that cause you to miss the makeup exam. In
all cases, I must be notified immediately and the makeup must be completed
within one week of the semesters end (except for an extreme situation), or a
zero will be given for the missed exam.
6) DROP POLICY:
Students are responsible for initiating action to drop or withdraw from classes
on or before the last day to drop a course. After the last day to drop you
might request a complete withdrawal for exceptional, non-academic
reasons through the Office for Student Academic Support room 109 Ezekiel W.
Cullen, 713-743-9112.
7) PHYSICAL GEOLOGY LAB (GEOL 1130) is a separate course and optional unless
you must fulfill a lab requirement.
8) STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: When possible, in accordance with 504/ADA
guidelines, U of H will attempt to provide reasonable academic accommodations
to students who request and require them. Please contact the Center for
Students with Disabilities 713-743-5400 for assistance and inform me
immediately, in private, if you require special accommodations.
9) ACADEMIC HONESTY: Any violation of the academic honesty policy (see the Student
Handbook) will result in your failing the course; extreme cases could result in
permanent expulsion from the University.
10) Please!
No talking, computers, telephones, newspapers or other distractions out during
lecture or you will be asked to leave. Repeated disruptions will be dealt with
as a disciplinary problem as described in the student handbook.
11) I do not give permission for anyone to record my
image or voice, or to distribute it in any manner.