Physical Geology – GEOL
1330 (section 15367)
-- Dr. Capuano
8:30-10 am Tue/Thur in SEC room 102
Syllabus Fall 2016 (revision
8/22/2016)
Class web page http://www.uh.edu/~geos2j/physical.htm
(There is also a link to the
class web page on Blackboard, log in to the course, on the left hand menu of
the home page select “Class Content”, then “Syllabus”)
Dr. Capuano: office room 221D Science and Research Bldg 1
Office Hours: any time I am in or by appointment. I teach again right after this course, so I am never available immediately after class.
EMAIL
Sending
email to me: include “Physical Geology” in the
subject line (so it does not go to my junk folder) and 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: UH faculty email are often phished,
so never open an attachment from me that you did not expect and never send
personal information to me if you are not certain the request was from me. If unsure, forward the questionable email to
me. I apologize, but I have no control
over this problem.
Your UH Email address: UH gives each of you an email account “yourname@uh.edu”. You
are responsible for any information I send to your UH email address, so you must
forward your UH email to a personal email address that you read daily (To
forward your email log into Access UH (https://accessuh.uh.edu/login.php) and
change the email settings). Also, place
a filter at the forwarding email address so my email is not rejected or sent to
spam (I will send email to over 100 recipients at a time, so if you do not
add a filter, my email will be lost).
BLACKBOARD LEARN: http://www.uh.edu/blackboard/ You will all have a blackboard
learn account for this course where your exam grades and extra help materials
are located.
TEXTBOOK: Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology by Tarbuck, Lutgens and Tasa, (12th edition,
2017, ISBN: 9780134074252). Note the bookstore sells both a custom UH text for a reduced price and the
regular book; you can purchase either for the course. If you purchase the custom UH text you may not
be able to resell it. You do not need to purchase anything but the book (Mastering
Geology, while useful for studying, is not needed for the course).
Cheap
on-line book purchase: Another option is to buy the UH edition of the book directly from Pearson
for $84 and free shipping http://www.mypearsonstore.com/stores/1039
You need a username and password that cannot be
posted on-line, so if they are not written here, I will announce them in class.
You will also find a link on Blackboard, log into
the class, in the left column on the home page select “Content (Pearson)”,
select “MyPearsonStore”.
EXTRA HELP TOOLS:
Guided Learning Exercises, titled
GEODe Earth, containing instructional animations and
practice test questions
are provided by the book publisher on BlackBoard
Learn (log into this course, in the column to the left on the home page select
“Content (Pearson)”, then open the chapter you are studying, then open the
folder “Visualize”, then select “GEODe Earth”).
Practice
Test Questions: are provided by the
book publisher on BlackBoard Learn ((log into this
course and on the home page select “Content(Pearson)” on the menu to the left,
then open the chapter you are studying, then open the folder “Test Yourself”). Note: none of the quizzes you complete on
Blackboard learn will be graded, your only grades will be for the three in-class
exams as described below.
Geosciences Learning Center: (Fleming Building Room 136) Visit this center for
extra help or to look at rocks. See their web site for hours and
direction http://www.geosc.uh.edu/undergraduate/learning-center/index.php .
Animated Tutorials: If you buy the book, it contains animated Smart Figures to explain
difficult concepts. To view these, download the free Pearson BouncePages App, open it, select a page with a figure with
the Animation Symbol next to it, point your phone’s viewer at the entire
page (not just the Animation Symbol). A word will open on your screen,
click that word and it will start the tutorial (your phone must be connected to
the web for this to work). You can also
view these Smart figures and other animations without buying the book on
Blackboard Learn (log into this course and in the
left column on the home page select “Content (Pearson)”, select the chapter you
want, then “Visualize”).
Lecture Power-Point files posted on the web
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 to take notes on. 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 5pm the day before
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. Explanatory information is given in the lecture that is
not included in the Power Point file and will be on the test. At times 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
information.
Streaming Video of lectures: If all goes well, some of my lectures will be taped
and available for viewing on Blackboard Learn. To view these, go to the left
hand menu of the home page and select “Class Content” then “Streaming
Video”. Videos from when I taught the
course in the past may also be available to view. If I did 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 https://accessuh.uh.edu/login.php and log in using your
Cougarnet ID and password, then select the Blackboard Learn icon. To view scores go to the left hand column and
select “Grades”. Note on-line quizzes are not graded or used to calculate your
grade, they are just for practice.
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 trip to Central
Texas, or 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, once
signup opens the Central Texas Field trip fills up fast. If you sign up
for the Central Texas or Galveston trip, look for an email from the Learning
Center a few days before the trip. You must reply to that email to hold your
place.
Virtual
Field Trips
of a portion of the Central Texas Trip can be found at the link: http://uh1.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=eac2c5053cf74adeae99a333172ba13d
PHYSICAL GEOLOGY LAB (GEOL 1130) is a separate course and optional unless you must fulfill
a lab requirement.
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.
![MC900056790[1]](physical_files/image004.gif)
CORE COURSE: Physical Geology fills the Life and Physical Science core requirement.
![MC900057935[1]](physical_files/image006.gif)
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 - https://www2.usgs.gov/natural_hazards/
DATE |
TENTATIVE - Lecture Topics and Schedule Lecture schedule and topics
may change, come to class and check the web site regularly for updates and
corrections. Click on the chapter
title below to print the Power Point lectures. You are responsible for any announcements
or changes/corrections to the Power Points presented during class. |
Reading |
|
Aug 23 |
Chap 1 |
|
|
Aug 25 |
Introduction |
“ |
|
Aug 30 |
Chap 2 |
|
|
Sept 1 |
Plate Tectonics |
“ |
|
Sept 6 |
Chap 3 |
|
|
Sept 8 |
Minerals |
“ |
|
Sept 13 |
Chap 4 |
|
|
Sept 15 |
Igneous Rocks |
“ |
|
Sept 20 (same room/time as the lecture) |
EXAM 1 (Chap 1, 2, 3, 4) If it improves your grade, I will
drop the score for this exam. I will do it automatically; you do not
have to request I do it. However, if you miss exam 1, obtain permission and
choose to take a makeup for 1, I will not drop the score. |
Scores posted on Blackboard
Learn |
Sept 22
|
Chap 5 |
|
|
Sept
27 |
Volcanoes |
“ |
|
Sept 29 |
Chap 6 |
|
|
Oct 4 |
Chap
7 |
|
|
Oct 6 |
Sedimentary Rocks |
“ |
|
Oct 11 |
Chap
8 |
|
|
Oct 13 |
Chap
9 |
|
|
Oct 18 |
Geologic
Time |
“ |
|
Oct 20 (same
room/time as the lecture) |
EXAM 2 (Focus on Chap 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) (This score will NOT
be dropped; do not ask me to drop it.) |
Scores posted on Blackboard |
|
Oct 25 |
Chap 10 |
|
|
Oct 27 |
Crustal
Deformation |
“ |
|
Nov 1 |
Chap
11 |
|
|
Nov 3 |
Earthquakes |
“ |
|
Nov 8 |
Running Water – Rivers (note: skip Chapters 12 to
14, Chapter 15 is below) |
Chap
16 |
|
Nov 10 |
Running Water – Rivers |
“ |
|
Nov 15 |
Chap
17 |
|
|
Nov 17 |
Groundwater |
“ |
|
Nov 22 |
Chap
15 |
|
|
Nov 23-27 |
Thanksgiving Holiday break |
|
|
Nov 29 |
Mass Wasting |
“ |
|
Dec 1 (same room/time as the lecture) |
EXAM 3 (Focus on Chap 10, 11, 15, 16, 17) – This score will NOT be dropped. I will not
give out final grades you must go to your PeopleSoft account for the final
grade. |
Scores posted on Blackboard |
|
Makeup Exam – Thursday Dec 8, 2016, 8 to 11am
in SEC 102 You can only
makeup an exam, if you missed the exam; there are no retakes of exams. There is a separate makeup exams for Exams 2 and
3, with each makeup exam
covering the same chapters and in the same format as the original exam. You can take both makeup exam 2 and 3 on
the same day and will be given adequate time to do so. Arrive
on time; you may not start an exam once a student has left the exam room,
which is usually within the first 15 minutes!
You do not need an excuse or need to inform me you are coming to take
a makeup exam. This is the only time I
will offer a makeup exam, you should have no time conflict as this is the
time set aside for a final in this course. If you miss Exam 2 or 3 and then do
not take a makeup exam for the exam(s) you missed, you will receive a zero
for that exam. If you miss the makeup
Exam without prior approval you will not receive another opportunity to take
it and you will receive a zero for the missed exam. For approval for an alternate makeup exam
time, you must provide proof of substantial illness of you, or an immediate
family member, or other approved nonacademic reason, within 24 hours unless
you also provide proof of an extreme circumstance that prevents you from
doing so. The proof cannot be just a
note from the doctor; it must include medical receipts. The
grade for Exam 1 is dropped automatically if doing so results in a better
grade for the student, so you do not need to request I do so. Because of this there is no makeup for Exam
1 unless you have a documented non-academic reason for missing the original
exam. If you have documentation,
receive prior approval from me and then choose to take the makeup for Exam 1,
the score will not be dropped. |
All final grades are posted
on Peoplesoft after the makeup exam. |
|
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, I will take your picture
and then you 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. If you arrive after anyone has
left the exam 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, the electronics will be confiscated and turned in to the chair, and
consideration for academic dishonesty.
e. Cheating: All suspected
cheating will be reported to the university.
Cheating can include bringing materials into class to help you on the
exam, assisting another student in any way such as sharing answers or allowing
them to copy from your exam, copying or looking at the exam of another student,
talking to another student. Having a
copy of the exam prior to the exam, taking a copy of the exam from the exam
room. Having any electronic devise turned on during the exam.
|
Number of questions correct is equivalent to the grades below. |
|
|
Exams 1, 2 and 3 |
|
|
A 38 or more |
C 25-24 |
|
A- 37-35 |
C- 23-22 |
|
B+ 34-32 |
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 on the schedule 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 best (larger) value of the two
calculations 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) 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.
8) 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.
9) 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.
10) Recording: I do not give permission for anyone to record my
image or voice, or to distribute them in any manner.