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Course Syllabus

For the lecture:

For the lecture part of this course, you will need to read the first 20 chapters in the textbook. It's recommended that you read them in the order listed in the table at the bottom of this page.

Lecture exams will be given in a predetermined location by an approved proctor, then mailed to me for grading. Within a couple of days of receipt of the exam, your grade will be posted in the Gradebook. Each exam will cover the chapters listed in the table near the bottom of this page. Graded exams will not be returned to you.

For the laboratory part of the course, you will need to complete the following six laboratory exercises. You should allow 2 hours to complete each lab. After you complete each exercise, you must remove the appropriate answer sheets from the lab manual and mail them to me for grading (see the contact information for my mailing address). You may want to mail all or some of them to me in one mailing, to save postage. It's recommended that you complete the laboratory exercises in the following order:

Gradebook:

Check out the Gradebook link in the left column. Not only can you keep track of your exam grades in the Gradebook, but also the grades you receive on the laboratory and other required exercises. Grades will usually be posted a day or two after I receive a particular item for grading. This is a great way of seeing where you stand in the course, and it's also a way of keeping track of which exercises/labs you've completed.

Grading Policy:

Exams:

There will be 3 required lecture exams during this course, including 1 comprehensive final exam. Each exam is worth 25% of your total grade. Exams will consist of multiple choice questions and/or true-false questions. The exams will cover the material thoroughly. Grading is done on a 10 point scale, meaning that 80-89% is a B, 70-79% is a C, etc.

You should note that exams in ESCI 103 are designed to cover the material in more depth than those you took in ESCI 101. Study accordingly.

Laboratory:

There is a required laboratory for this course. Laboratories should be done using your lab manual and then mailed to the professor for grading. Your final lab grade will account for 25% of your total course grade.

Grades will be posted on this website a day or two after an exam. The grades will be listed by your College ID number. This is different than the number on your ID card. You can find your College ID number on your tuition bill, among other places. If you cannot find your College ID number, you can contact me or contact the registrar. The Geology Department secretary cannot give you the number.

Grading Summary:

Exams:	3 @ 25% each =	75%
Labs:	6 @ 4.2% each =	25%
TOTAL:	100%	100%

Schedule:

The following table outlines the suggested course syllabus. With the exception of exams, you may complete the material in any order you desire. However, I'd recommend the following steps:

TOPIC	CHAPTER	LABORATORY	DATE
The Earth as a System	1		1/11
Rock-Forming Minerals and Rocks	2	Land Use Planning
The Diversity of Life	3
Environments and Life	4	Groundwater Evaluation
Sedimentary Environments	5
Correlation and Dating of the Rock Record	6	Paleographic Interpretation
Evolution of the Fossil Record	7	Historical Geol of Indian Camp
EXAM 1	1-7		Week Of Feb. 7th
The Theory of Plate Tectonics	8	Paleontology
Continental Tectonics and Mountain Chains	9
Major Chemical Cycles	10
The Archean Eon of Precambrian Time	11
The Proterozoic Eon of Precambrian Time	12	Environmental Analysis
EXAM 2	8-12		Week Of March 14th
The Early Paleozoic World	13
The Middle Paleozoic World	14
The Late Paleozoic World	15
The Early Mesozoic Era	16
The Cretaceous World	17
The Paleogene World	18
The Neogene World	19
The Holocene	20
FINAL EXAM	1-20		Week Of April 25th

Persons with any other specific request or concern should contact me directly.