GLY3850: Geology for Engineers (3 hrs)

Fall semester, 2013

Location, Time, Instructor
T, Th 11:00-12:15 in CHE-217 Dr. Thomas Juster: CHE-213-B, Phone: 974-9691, email: juster@usf.edu Office hours: T, Th 9:00-10:00, or by appointment, or any other time on T or Th when Im in my office TA: Mary Njoroge, SCA-213, office hours F 11:00-12:00

Objectives
GLY3850 is an introductory geology course that emphasizes topics of interest to engineers. In comparison to a traditional introductory geology class designed for first- and second-year, this course will: Emphasize materials and processes that operate on the surface of the Earth, where engineering usually occurs; Emphasize geologic processes that produce relatively rapid change, which include catastrophic events like earthquakes and landslides; Not shy away from a quantitative treatment of geologic phenomena, taking advantage of engineering students mathematical skills, and familiarity with basic chemistry and physics; Emphasize the logical and reasoning steps used by geologists to make inferences, instead of simply the results of these inferences; and Expect students to learn more on their own and rely less on being spoon-fed material from lectures.

Book, Readings
There is no required textbook for this class. Instead, we will use materials available online, including readings from the primary literature. In some cases these readings have been annotated in Adobe Acrobat to make them more accessible. A web version of the textbook Earths Dynamic Systems by Hamblin and Christianson has been made freely available (http://www.earthds.info/index.html) and you are encouraged to use it whenever needed.

Assessment, Grades
Exams (60% total) Midterms, 4 @ 12% Final (cumulative) Homework Activities (20% total) Individual assignments, 2 @ 5% Group assignment on fracking In-class activities and quizzes (20% total) TOTAL 10% 10% 20% 100% 48% 12%

Exams
Your grade in this course will be determined predominantly by exams: four mid-term exams and a cumulative final exam. The fourth midterm will be taken during the first hour of the allotted two-hour final exam period, followed by a one-hour cumulative final exam. Exams will be based on readings and lectures, and will consist of two parts: (a) a series of short answers that tests your recall of geologic facts (50%); and (b) several essay or diagram questions that test your understanding of the scienti fic inferences used to learn about the Earth, especially how do we know it type questions (50%). Students who have a valid excuse, communicated in advance, for missing exams 1-3 will have the opportunity to make it up on th Tuesday, November 26 . Students who miss either the fourth and final exam or final exam for a valid reason will receive an incomplete (I) grade for the course. The questions for the facts part of the exams will be picked from a list of Study Facts that is available on the web site; the questions from the how do we know it part of the exam will be based primarily on lectures and the required background readings. The midterm exams are not cumulative, except that one question on each will come from the previous exam.

In-class Activities, Pop-Quizzes, and Readings-Quizzes

Nearly every class will have some kind of written work that will constitute 20% of your grade in total. This work will be of three types: Activities, where you will work with classmates under my direction to tackle a problem. These will be graded predominantly on effort; Pop-quizzes based on in-class material. You will have approximately 5 minutes to complete the pop-quiz, and can work with any of your classmates and use your notes. Pop-quiz questions often reappear on the exams; Readings-quizzes. These will 3-question multiple-choice questions based on the assigned readings, and must be completed individually (no talking). They will be handed out at 11:00 and collected promptly at 11:05.

Activities, pop-quizzes, and readings-quizzes cannot be made up, but I will drop the lowest two scores from each before calculating your average.

Homework Activities
There are three homework activities, all of which are due in the second half of the course. Two are individual assignments, and one is a group assignment: Flooding Activity: In this individual activity you will select a river in the US that meets certain criteria, and then work up a plot of recurrence interval vs. discharge and stage. Coastal Erosion Activity: In this individual activity you will compute erosion rate from a section of the US coastline you choose, based on historical imagery on Google Earth. Fracking Position Paper: In this group activity you will produce a written report summarizing the issues surrounding the practice of fracking and outlining your position on fracking in Florida. Groups will consist of three students, and each student must contribute and will receive the same grade. You can form your own group, but students who arent part th of a group by October 17 will be randomly assigned to a group by me.

Extra-Credit
Students can take a Syllabus Quiz on Blackboard for 1% extra credit. This quiz merely makes sure you understand all the rul es and regulations of the course, and can be repeated as often as you wantbut will only be available during the first week of class. In addition, I offer a full-day extra credit field trip that students can attend for an extra 4% of your grade; look for an announcement early in the semester. No other extra credit opportunities are planned.

Attendance
Attendance in GLY3850 is not mandatory, but you probably wont do very well if you dont attend. First, fully 20% of your grade is based on work you do in class. Second, during class I help you make sense of technical material that is much more difficult than simply memorizing facts and if you miss these presentations and discussions you will have a hard time learning it on y our own. The choice is yours.

Additional Notes
Attendance Policy: You are not required to attend class (except for the first day) but will very likely fail if you don't. Auditing: Students are welcome to officially audit the class and register accordingly. Sitting in without registering is known as "unofficial auditing" and is not allowed by the University. Selling Tapes: You are not permitted to make tapes for the purpose of selling them. You are permitted to tape lectures as a study aid. [USF requires a statement about selling lectures tapes on every syllabus] S/U Grades: A pass/fail option is available, but be aware that credits earned through S/U may not satisfy certain distribution requirements. In addition, the decision to take a class S/U must be made within the first two weeks of the semester, and not as a lateterm solution to an impending poor grade. To get a satisfactory (S) grade, a student must earn at least a C- for the course. Religions Observations: In accordance with the University Policy on Religious Observances, students who anticipate being absent due to a religious obligation and notify the instructor in writing by the second class meeting will not be penalized for their absence. Cheating: Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated in this class, and will meet with the strictest punishment permitted under USF rules. This includes failing an assignment, failing the class, and receiving a grade of FF (which means that the student has failed by reasons of "academic dishonesty"). Accommodations for students with disabilities: Students in need of academic accommodations for a disability may consult with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities to arrange appropriate accommodations. Students are required to give reasonable notice (typically 5 working days) prior to requesting an accommodation.