Geology 150 - Earth Revealed Lecture

Spring Quarter 2007 (11511, SEC 2)	Instructor: Sonjia Leyva

Hours: T & Th. 9:50 – 11:05 PM	Office: PS 221, 323-343-2149

Room: SH C260	Office Hours: T & Th. 1:00 – 1:30 PM

Webpage: www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sleyva	Email: sleyva@calstatela.edu

Course Description: Origin and nature of earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, the sea floor, deserts, mountains, and beaches. Students may choose either classroom or field trip laboratory. Lecture 3 Hours. Partially satisfies G.E. block B2 requirement (must take concurrently with a laboratory)
Course Objectives: This general geology class is an introduction to minerals, rocks, maps and plate tectonics. Minerals are the basic building blocks of rocks and to geologists rocks are the keys to understanding Earth's history and the rock-forming processes that operate within the Earth and on its surface. At the end of this course students should be able to identify major rock types and minerals, in addition to understanding and identifying natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, mass wasting, etc.
Text & Materials: Visualizing Geology , 1/e by Murck, Skinner & Mackenzie, available in the bookstore. The website for your textbook can be accessed via my website.

WEEK	DATE	TOPIC	ASSIGNMENT
1	3/27	Introduction	Chapter 1
3/29	Plate Tectonics	Chapter 4
2	4/3	Plate Tectonics	Chapter 4
4/5	Minerals	Chapter 2
3	4/10	Volcanoes and Igneous Rocks	Chapter 6
4/12
4	4/17	Weathering and Erosion	Chapter 7
4/19	Sedimentary Rocks	Chapter 8
5	4/24	Folds, Faults and Geologic Maps	Chapter 9
4/26	Metamorphic Rocks	Chapter 10
6	5/1	Exam 1!
5/3	Earthquakes	Chapter 5
7	5/8	Earthquakes	Chapter 5
5/10	Geologic Time	Chapter 3
8	5/15	Surface & Ground water
Chapter 11
5/17
9	5/22	Deserts, Glaciers, and Climatic Change	Chapter 13
5/24
5/29
5/31	A Brief History of Life on Earth

Chapter 14

There are two exams scheduled: one midterms and one final. Make-up exams will be given only to those who can verify a valid excuse for missing an exam. The make-up will be given at a time that is mutually agreeable to both the student and myself, but must be arranged prior to the initial exam. Failure to take the make-up will result in the missed exam counting in as a zero. In addition, the exam question sheet must be returned to me after the exam and after the exam review. Failure to do so will result in a ten (10)-point reduction in the student's grade for that exam. Your grades will be available on the class website, www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sleyva/grades/index.html.
Each student has access to Wiley Plus, an interactive website created by the publishers of your textbook. The Wiley Plus website is scheduled to be up and running by April 2. Students are required to log into the site and complete 10 of the 14 online worksheets/quizzes. More information will be handed out once the site is operational
Students are expected to attend each class session and to arrive on time. It will be difficult to make up missed class sessions. However, if you miss a class session of valid reasons (illness), it will up to you to make arrangements to complete the lab exercise. Make-up labs/assignments will be given only to those who can verify a valid excuse for missing the assignment. The make-up lab/assignment will given at a time that is mutually agreeable to both the student and myself. Failure to take the make-up lab/assignment within two weeks of the original lab/assignment date will result in the missed exam/lab/assignment counting in as a zero.
Internet access is suggested for this class because much of the course content will be posted on the class web site, www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sleyva. Access at home or work is fine as long as you can view the web pages regularly and have a reasonably fast connection. If you don't have access at home or work, you can get free access through an account here at Cal State LA. To get a computer account at Cal State LA, go to the Academic Technology Support (ATS) Office in (basement) King Hall D140. You will need identification and proof of registration.

Total possible class points will come from the following assignments. YOUR LAB GRADE IS WORTH ONE QUARTER (25%) AND YOUR LECTURE GRADE IS WORTH THREE QUARTERS (75%) OF YOUR OVERALL GEOLOGY 150 GRADE.

Exams	2 tests @ 100 points each	200	50.0%
Worksheets/Quizzes	6 @10 points each	60	15.0%
Lab grade	100 points	100	25.0%
Attendance	2 points per day	40	10.0%
400	100.0%
You may do up to 15 points of extra credit work to raise your total points earned. All extra credit is due the last day of class – not the day of the final! Your grade is based on your percentage score out of 400 points. Grades will be assigned using + and - (i.e., B+, B or B-). our grades will be available on the class website, www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sleyva/grades/index.html.	A = >90%	>360.0 points
B = 80-89%	320.0 – 359.9 points
C = 70-79%	280.0 – 319.9 points
D = 60-69%	240.0 – 279.9 points
F =< 60%	<240.0 points
Your grades will be available on the class website, .

Want to get a good grade? Here's how:

1.	Attend every class.

2.	Take notes and review them after class and before exams.

3.	Read your textbook / do the assignments

4.	Turn in all work on time

5.	Ask questions.

6.	You are responsible for studying.

UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT POLICIES (a.k.a. the "fine print")

Statement of Reasonable Accommodation:

The Department of Geological Sciences faculty members fully support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The members of the faculty will provide reasonable accommodation to any student with a disability who is registered with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) who needs and requests accommodation. The faculty may wish to contact the OSD to verify the presence of a disability and confirm that accommodation is necessary. The OSD will arrange and provide for the accommodation.

Reasonable accommodation may involve allowing a student to use an interpreter, note taker, or reader; accommodation may be needed during class sessions and for administration of examinations. The intent of the ADA in requiring consideration of reasonable accommodation is not to give a particular student an unfair advantage over other students, but simply to allow a student with disability to have an equal opportunity to be successful.

•	Student Conduct:

◦	Student conduct is viewed as a serious matter by the faculty members of the Department of Geological Sciences. The Department faculty members assume that all students will conduct themselves as mature citizens of the campus community and will conduct themselves in a manner congruent with university policies and regulations. Inappropriate conduct is subject to discipline as provided for in Title 5, California Code of Regulations (see student conduct: rights and responsibilities, and student discipline, CSULA General Catalog). Academic honesty is expected of all students in the Department, in accordance with University policy. There are established university reporting procedures if a student is suspected of committing an academically dishonest act.

◦	The University has a clearly defined policy on Academic Honesty. This policy will be enforced in this class. Cheating and plagiarizing will not be tolerated. Students caught plagiarizing and/or cheating will be subject to the consequences and set forth in the University Catalog, Appendix D - Academic Honesty. You can access it online at: http://catalog.calstatela.edu

•	Make-up exams: Make-up exams will be given only to those who can verify a valid excuse for missing a quiz. The make-up will given at a time that is mutually agreeable to both the student and myself. Failure to take the make-up will result in the missed exam counting in as a zero.

•	Grading:

◦	University policy allows a grade of incomplete to be given only to those who have been sick, injured, or have a similar valid excuse. A grade of "incomplete" will not be given after poor performance in the course.

◦	If you are repeating any Cal State L.A. course in order to remove a D or an F from your transcript, you must file an academic renewal petition in Administration 101 no later than the last day to add a class. Instructions for doing this may be found under "Academic Renewal" in your Schedule of Classes.

◦	University policy requires that all students shall be graded in exactly the same fashion. What does this mean? You may not ask for extra assignments or to repeat an exam to improve your grade, or additional assignments after the course is completed.

•	Avoid the hassles. Take the Writing Proficiency Examination (WPE) after you have completed your English Composition and prior to the completion of 135 units in order to avoid a registration hold. The dates for the WPE are published in the Schedule of Classes. Enroll by registering in UNIV 400 and paying the $15 exam fee. Do it now!!!