Earth History GEOL 2110

Exploring the 4th Dimension

IntroductionsInstructor: Assoc. Professor Jim MillerOffice: 211 Heller HallPhone: 726-6582 (UMD), 391-5320 (cell)Email: mille066@umn.eduOffice Hours: 11:30 – 1 AM MW (211 HH), and by appointment______________________________________________________

Lab Teaching Assistant: Sarah Sauer, MS CandidatePhone: 660-441-5055Email: sauer184@d.umn.eduOffice: HH 112Office Hours: M 11:00-12:00, Th 1:00-2:00, or by appt.Undergraduate Lab Assistant: Kate Wehrs

TextbooksLecture Lab

Evolution of the Earth (8th ed.), by Prothero and Dott, McGraw Hill, 2010

Deciphering Earth History – Exercises in Historical Geology (4th ed.) by Gastaldo, Savrda, and Lewis, Contemporary Publishing Co of Raleigh, 2006

CLASS WEBSITE

Field TripsTwo field trips will be offered toward the end of the semester. A one-day trip on Sunday, April 19 will focus on Paleozoic

geology of the Twin Cities metro area. A one-day trip on Sunday, May 3rd will focus on the

Precambrian geology of the Ironwood, Michigan area (weather permitting!).

Students will be required to attend at least one of the two trips. Students attending both field trips will be awarded 5% extra credit to their total class grade.

Field trip grades will be assigned based on engagement during the trip, the content and quality of notes recorded during the trip, and a two-page summary of the geological history of the areas visited.

Weekly Quizzes

A weekly quiz, consisting of 10 multiple choice questions, will be given at the beginning of class on Mondays or Wednesdays. The questions will pertain to the reading assignment for the coming lecture(s). Your total quiz grade will be based on your best 10 out of 13 scores – in other words, you get to throw out your lowest three scores of the semester. There will be no provision for making up missed quizzes.

ExamsTwo mid-term exams are scheduled for normal lecture

periods for Friday, February 20th and Friday, April 3rd. The midterm exams will include material covered in the lectures and reading assignments since the last exam and may include some quiz questions.

A two-hour final exam is scheduled for Monday, May 11th from 8:00-9:50 AM in the lecture classroom (Cina 308). Half of the final exam will include new material covered since the second mid-term and the other half will involve material from the first two-thirds of the class.

The midterm and final exams will be a combination of multiple choice, matching, and short essay questions. Make-up exams (but not quizzes) will only be scheduled with a previous arrangement.

Grading

Midterm Exam 1 (15%)

Midterm Exam 2 (15%)

Weekly Quizzes (Best 10 of 13 scores) (10%)

Final Exam (25%)

Lab (25%)

Field Trip (10%)

Extra CreditUp to 10% extra credit may be earned in three ways: 1) participating both field trips (up to 5%), 2) attending and commenting on the NOVA videos shown

on lecture days 2/23 and 4/24, and 3) attending and commenting on semi-weekly geology

department seminars held on Thursdays at 4:00 PM in Marshall W. Alworth Hall (MWAH) Room 191. Seminar topics will be announced in class and posted on the webpage.

You can earn 1% extra credit for each video or department seminar you attend. To receive credit, you must submit a half-page summary of what you learned from the video or seminar topic on the following lecture day.

Back to the Webpage

TIME – The 4th Dimension

Zooming in on Geological TimeEon Era Period/Epoch/Stage Age

Zooming in on Geological Time

Distribution of Time on the Continents

Distribution of Geological Time In North America

Why are Old Rocks Rare?

Next Lecture

Scales of TimeAnd

Rates of Change

Reading – Ch. 1