Earth Through Time, GLY 3100
Dr.
Laurel Collins
Spring 2010, Tues./Thurs. 2:00-3:15, GC 274
SYLLABUS
Course Description – The physical and biological history of Earth are inextricably intertwined into one great dynamic system. The first half of the course (covering textbook chapters 1-10) investigates the basic principles and processes for understanding Earth’s history, including the rock cycle, biodiversity and the classification of life, environments of sedimentary deposition, correlation and dating of the rock record, evolution and the fossil record, plate tectonics and major geochemical cycles. The second half (chapters 11-20) applies these principles to understanding Earth’s history and future.
Course Objectives – The interrelationships among tectonic, lithologic, geochemical and biological systems are examined to understand how they have affected one another through time from Earth’s origins until today.
Learning Outcomes –
Instructor – Dr. Laurel Collins, Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Biological Sciences, email collinsl@fiu.edu, telephone 305-348-1732, office hours Mondays and Fridays 9-10:30 in PC 435. If a course or work conflicts with regular office hours, please email or call to make an appointment.
Textbook – Stanley, Steven M., 2009, Earth System History, 3rd ed., W.H. Freeman. ($131 new or $98 used at FIU bookstore). Be sure to buy a copy that includes access to the online study center (http://bcs.whfreeman.com/esh3e), an excellent way to test yourself. NOTE: Online access can also be bought separately for $16 at the bookstore.
Course Policies on Attendance, Homework and Exams – Attendance at lectures is not required, but students who do not regularly attend lectures rarely learn enough to earn an A or B. It is a good idea before coming to class to read the textbook chapter for that day. We cover a lot of material and the homework assignments are meant to help you keep up with it. Students are expected to maintain high standards of academic honesty, and to answer homework and exam questions with their own work. Any student found in violation of these standards will earn an automatic F and be reported to the Provost's Office, no exceptions made. In accordance with FIU's policy on academic honesty, set forth in the Academic Affairs Policies and Procedures Manual (http://academic.fiu.edu/polman/sec2web.htm#two-forty-four), it is expected that students will neither submit the academic work of another as their own, nor provide work they have done for another student to be submitted as that student's work.
Grading on Homework and Examinations – The homework is to answer with complete sentences five of the questions at the end of each chapter. Homework (hard copy only, typed) is turned in at the beginning of the next 2 classes following the chapter covered (see Homework Due column, below). Answers must be in your own words, not copied directly from the textbook. The homework assignments are worth 100 points overall (20 chapters, 5 points/chapter, 1 point/question). Late assignments lose 1 point per class meeting. The format of the exams is short essay and short answer. Makeup exams will be given only in extreme circumstances and if you have valid, documentable proof justifying your absence, such as a doctor’s note explaining a bad illness or a police report for a car accident. The midterm and final exam count 100 points each, and each exam covers half of the course. Final grades are based on the following numbers of total points: A = 277–300, A- = 268–276, B+ = 259–267, B = 247–258, B- = 238–246, C+ = 229–237, C = 217–228, C- = 208–216, D+ = 199–207, D = 187–198, D- = 178–186, F = 0–177.