Physical Geology – GEOL
1330 (section 23099) -- Dr. Capuano
10-11:30 Tue/Thur building SR1 room 116
Syllabus Fall 2014 (revision
8/26/2014)
Class web page http://www.uh.edu/~geos2j/physical.htm
Dr. Capuano: office room 221D Science and Research Bldg 1
Office Hours: any time I am in or by appointment.
EMAIL
Sending
email to me: include “Physical Geology” in the
subject line so it does not go to my junk folder. Include your full name or I will not reply. If
I do not reply, it is possible your email is lost in my junk folder, so please
email again. My email address: capuano@uh.edu. .
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: UH gave you an email account yourname@uh.edu email. I will
send official class email to that address; it is your responsibility to forward
you r UH mail to an email you check regularly.
To do that, log into People Soft and change the settings. You must add a filter to your email server so
my email is not rejected or sent to your junk folder. I will send email to over 100 recipients at a
time, so if you do not add a filter my email will be lost.
TEXTBOOK: Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology
by Tarbuck, Lutgens and Tasa, (11th edition,
2013, ISBN: 9780321814067). Link to a reduced price copy of the custom UH
edition: http://vig.pearsoned.com/store/home?url=/houston/geol1330 [$77 and free standard
shipping]. Note the bookstore sells a
custom text for a reduced price and the regular text; you can purchase either
for the course. If you purchase the
custom text you may not be able to resell it. You do not need to purchase anything but the
book; Mastering Geology while possibly of use is not needed.
EXTRA HELP TOOLS:
GEODE guided learning
program, instructional animations and practice test questions are provided by the book publisher on BlackBoard Learn by connecting to this course and selecting
“Chapters” on the left hand menu of the home page for the course.
Practice
Test Questions: see paragraph above.
Geosciences Learning Center: (Fleming Building Room 136) http://www.geosc.uh.edu/undergraduate/learning-center/index.php
. Visit for extra help or to look at rocks. See their web site for hours.
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 for taking notes. 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 it
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: If all goes well some of my lectures will be taped
and available for viewing on Blackboard Learn in our class file. To view this go to the left hand menu of the
home page select “Information” then “Streaming Video”. Videos from when I taught the course last
year are also available to view. If I do
not tape a lecture you need, you might find it in the old videos. These videos only include my voice and a
picture of whatever I projected onto the screen during my lecture.
TEST
SCORES will be posted on
Blackboard Learn. Go to my.uh.edu and log in using your Cougarnet ID and
password, then select the Blackboard Learn icon.
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 2 to 3
hour Houston 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 the field trips.
Field trip date/times, registration,
instructions, frequently asked questions: Go to this web page http://www.geosc.uh.edu/undergraduate/field-trips/index.php The field trip
schedule is not posted until about one month into the semester. If you
sign up for the Central Texas or Galveston trip, please look for an email from
the Learning Center a few days before the trip. You must reply to that email to
hold your place. [For some pictures of
the Central Texas field trip go to http://www.uh.edu/~mamurph2/page15.html ---ignore the dates and registration instructions on
this site, they are old). ]
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
-Earth Week – A weekly diary of the planet http://www.earthweek.com/
-See the location of today’s earthquakes http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
- Natural Hazards Program US Geological Survey
(USGS) http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/
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 (except the makeup) 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 good quality eraser that does not smear on
a scantron.
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 have valid proof for missing Test 1
and 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. When calculating the final score, I use the
numbers as rounded by Excel.
d. Do not call and ask me to drop tests 2
or 3 instead of test 1, I will not do so.
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 have an approved nonacademic excuse for
missing exam one and ask to take a makeup for Exam 1, I will NOT drop the score
for any reason. Do not miss the makeup
exam. If you 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. (see more details in the schedule)
5) INCOMPLETES “I”: is a conditional and temporary
grade given when student is currently passing a course or still has a
reasonable chance of passing in the judgment of the instructor, but for
documented non-academic reasons beyond their control has not completed a
relatively small part of all requirements (see student handbook http://www.uh.edu/dos/publications). An
incomplete is given only for extreme circumstances that cause you to miss the
makeup exam (In which case you must notify me immediately and take the makeup within
one week (except for an extreme situation) or 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. Medical or Personal Emergency: After the
last day to drop, you might request a complete withdrawal for exceptional, non-academic
reasons through Academic Program Management (room 109 E. Cullen, 713-743-9112, http://www.uh.edu/provost/student-success/policy-updates/drop-withdraw/#medicalinfo).
7) PHYSICAL GEOLOGY LAB (GEOL 1130) is a separate course and optional unless
you must fulfill a lab requirement.
8) STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: In accordance with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, U of
H strives to provide reasonable academic adjustments/auxiliary aids to students
who request and require them. If you
believe that you have a disability requiring such a need, 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) Disruptive Behavior: 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) Recording: I do not give permission for anyone to record my
image or voice, or to distribute it in any manner.