Physical Processes of Planet Earth
GE141 Spring, 2004

Instructor: Robert E. Nelson Text: Geology (3rd ed.)
by Chernicoff & Whitney
Office: Mudd 212 (ext. 3247) Lecture: MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
in Mudd 218
E-mail: renelson@colby.edu LABS are Monday (Section C),
Tuesday (Section A), &
Wednesday (Section B)
in Mudd 218
(Labs are taught by Bruce Rueger)
Office hours: 9:30-10:30 a.m. MWF
9:30-noon, TTh 		Our mailboxes are in the Department
of Geology Office, Mudd 209


TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Subject(s) Text readings:
4 February General introductions
.
6 February Geology and The Earth Chap. 1
9 February Plate Tectonics: A Revolution Hits the Earth Sciences
Geography Homework Due 5:00 p.m.		 Chap. 12
11 February Plate Tectonics (cont.)
.
13 February Plate Tectonics (cont.)
(Remember your sweetie - tomorrow is Valentine's Day)
.
16 February Chemistry of the Earth & Introduction to MineralsChap. 2
18 February Introduction to Minerals (cont.)
.
20 February Igneous Processes & RocksChap. 3
23 February Intrusive Processes & Rock Bodies
.
25 February Volcanoes Chap. 4
27 February Volcanoes (cont.)
.
1 March Volcanoes (cont.)
.
3 March Weathering, Soils and Erosion Chap. 5
5 March ***** FIRST HOUR EXAM ***** See notes below!
8 March Weathering, Soils and Erosion (cont.)
.
10 March Sediments & Sedimentary RocksChap. 6
12 March Sediments & Sedimentary Rocks (cont.)
.
15 March Metamorphism & Metamorphic Rocks Chap. 7
17 March Metamorphism & Metamorphic Rocks (cont.)
.
19 March Geologic Time: How Old is the Earth ? Chap. 8
22, 24, 26 March No class - Mid-Semester Break * * * * * * * * *
29 March QUIZ; Geologic Time (cont.)
.
31 March Building Mountains: Deformation of the Earth's Crust Chap. 9
2 April Deformation of the Earth's Crust (cont.)
.
5 April Earthquakes & The Interior of the Earth Chaps. 10 & 11
7 April The Interior of the Earth (cont.)
.
9 April Mass Movements: "Landslides" & Related Phenomena Chap. 13
12 April Mass Movements (cont.)
.
14 April ***** SECOND HOUR EXAM ***** See notes below!
16 April Streams, Fluvial Processes, and Floods Chap. 14
19 April Streams and Fluvial Processes (cont.)
.
21 April Groundwater & Water Resources Chap. 15
23 April Water Resources (cont.)
.
26 April Karst and Cave Development Chap. 16
28 April Glaciers and Changing Global Climates Chap. 17
30 April Glaciers and Changing Global Climates (cont.)
.
3 May Deserts, Arid Environments and Eolian Processes Chap. 18
5 May Shores and Coastal Processes Chap. 19
7 May Shores and Coastal Processes (cont.)
.
11 May Human Needs and Resources Chap. 20
Final Exam # 16 - Date and time to be announced FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION in Mudd 218


IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

GradingMinimum for :A+ 975 points
Written Assignments200 pointsA -900 points
First Hour exam 125 points B -800 points
Second Hour Exam125 pointsC -700 points
Lecture Final Exam300 pointsD 650 points
(MINIMUM passing!)
Laboratory work250 points(+ passing grade on final exam AND LAB to pass course)
TOTAL1000 points possible


PLEASE NOTE: You will find that I WILL go to the trouble of correcting spelling and grammar on any written work, but you will find me getting testy if I keep having to correct the same errors over and over again. Being able to communicate effectively means that your message is getting across to a reader, which can NOT take place if they're so baffled (or irritated) by your spelling or grammar that they can't understand what you're saying. I've been told repeatedly by both our own Colby alumni and by recruiting professionals in "the real world" that this is critical to success; a high-ranking official with Marathon Oil Company once told me she had to send back over half the reports that came to her desk, because they were so poorly written she couldn't understand them. TWO SPELLING ERRORS THAT WILL cost you a point each time I see them on exams are "volcanoe" and "techtonic," both of which are the written geological equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard! (The correct spellings, of course, are "volcano" and "tectonic.") Remember that the best computer and spell-checker is the one between your ears.

Consider the confusion that could arise in your own life should ONE letter in your last name be changed in some database somewhere (oh, let's say, the Registrar's Office!), and you can understand the importance of simple spelling. I will insist that the names of geographic features be correctly spelled on exams, since all you have to do is check it against the text in front of you! (And I could buy a nice Starbuck's latté for everyone in this class if I had a dollar for every point I've deducted on exams for these just in the past several years!) It's just a matter of simple attention to detail - which is increasingly important in all aspects of the professional life that at least most of you will enter in a few years.

Please note also: If at any time you are ill, in the Health Center or hospital, or if there is a death or other family emergency in your immediate family, please contact Dean Serdjenian (ext. 31O6 or 2O7-872-31O6 from off-campus) immediately, and ask that HE inform your advisor and all your professors. The Health Center will inform the Dean for you ONLY if you request it - otherwise, they will NOT release this information to anyone.

Please read the following exam policy carefully!

ALL exams in this class are comprehensive, including material from the first day of class through the last class day prior to the exam, as well as all the text readings and all classroom handouts. Exams in lecture will only cover lecture materials; materials covered only in the course laboratory sections will not be included in lecture exams. (See other comments regarding exams on the on-line exam page.)

Copies of old exams will be on reserve in the Science Library in Olin as well as on-line. [You may also find a guide to taking college exams helpful in preparing for exams.] None of the exams or the quiz may be taken early or made up if missed, unless you were in the Health Center or hospital, there is a death in your immediate family, or you are participating in a college-sanctioned activity that requires you to be away from campus. If you are in the Health Center, have them notify me to that effect - they will not release this information to anyone, including me, other than by your request. If there is a death or other tragedy in your immediate family, contact Dean Serdjenian (ext. 3106) immediately, and ask that HE inform all your professors of the situation. I must receive notification from the Dean's office for any non-athletic excuse; an e-mail (NOT phone call) from your coach will take care of athletic conflicts.

Make-up exams will be essay tests in blue books. Please be aware that COLLEGE POLICY IS THAT FINAL EXAMS MAY NOT BE TAKEN EARLY, and that travel is NOT an acceptable reason for missing either class or exams. If you or your parents have already purchased air tickets for flights before the end of final exams (Monday, May 17th), please see me (with your tickets!) before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 13th.

"The concepts of science, in all their richness and ambiguity, can be presented without any compromise, without any simplification counting as distortion, in language accessible to all intelligent people."
- Stephen Jay Gould



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