Marshak, Stephen, 2001, Earth: Portrait of a Planet, W. W. Norton and Company, New York, New York, 735p.

LoDuca, Steve, 2003, Earth: A user's manual

Geological concepts, processes, materials, and surface features of the physical earth; internal features such as heat and volcanism; and external processes that have shaped the landscape. Credit: 4 semester hours. Lecture: three hours weekly. Laboratory: two hours weekly.

MAY

JUNE

The details of this syllabus are subject to change with the changing needs of the class. Changes may include exam dates so attend class regularly to remain abreast of any changes.

Define science, hypothesis, theory, law.
Discuss the scientific method of inquiry.
Precisely define the principle of uniformitarianism. List the 3 major parts we discussed in class.
The universe mostly consists of what two elements?
Define fusion.
What is the typical origin for elements 3 through 26?
What is the typical origin for elements above 26?
What is the temperature (°C) at the center of the earth?
What is the temperature (°C) on the surface of the sun?
Name the layers of the earth.
Be able to give the distance in kilometers to the Mohorovicic, Gutenberg, and Bullard discontinuities.
What is the distance, in kilometers, from the surface to the center of the earth?
What is the average thickness of the continental crust? Oceanic crust?
What is the difference between the crust and the lithosphere?
What is the asthenosphere? What role does it play in plate tectonics?
What is isostasy? Name an area that is presently undergoing isostatic rebound and discuss why it is rebounding.
What is Laurasia and Gondwanaland? Who named them?
List several lines of evidence we discussed in class that Alfred Wegener presented in support of his theory of continental drift. Be prepared to discuss at least one in detail.
Discuss the theory of polar wandering. Why is this name misleading?
Discuss how magnetic minerals can be used to determine longitude and latitude.
Discuss Harry Hess' theory of sea-floor spreading?
What are magnetic polarity reversals and how can they be used to model sea-floor spreading?
What is a Benioff zone? Where do they occur? What significance do they have to plate tectonic theory?
Give a concise definition of the theory of plate tectonics.
What are divergent plate margins? Give an example of one (location)?
What kind of plate margin is the East African Rift System? The Red Sea? The Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Discuss the evolution of a divergent plate margin from the rift valley to mature oceanic basin stage.
Draw a cross sectional view of a mature divergent plate boundary. Label all parts. Be sure to include the location of magma or volcanoes if present. Name a modern example.
Draw a cross sectional view of an oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundary. Label all parts. Be sure to include the location of magma or volcanoes if present. Name a modern example.
Draw a cross sectional view of an oceanic-continental convergent plate boundary. Label all parts. Be sure to include the location of magma or volcanoes if present. Name a modern example.
Draw a cross sectional view of a continental-continental convergent plate boundary. Label all parts. Be sure to include the location of magma or volcanoes if present. Name a modern example.
Discuss seismicity at divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.
What are transform plate boundaries? Give a modern example.
What are mantle hot spots? How can they be used to determine plate motion? Give a modern example.

Define element, atom, atomic number, atomic mass, ion, anion, cation, isotope.
Define mineral (all 5 parts are necessary).
Give the chemical formula for quartz, ice, diamond.
Draw the silica-oxygen tetrahedra showing the relative positions of the ions.
Define streak, luster, mineral hardness, cleavage, fracture.
What is the rock cycle?
How do igneous rocks form?
Define magma, viscosity, volatile.
What are the two most common elements that make up magma?
What are the two most common volatiles in magma.
List three influences on magma viscosity. Which is the most significant?
Compare mafic and silicic magma in terms of silica content, temperature range, volatile content, viscosity, and the type of volcano that forms.
Define geothermal gradient. State the typical range for crustal geothermal gradients.
Discuss the differences between extrusive and intrusive igneous processes.
Discuss the evolution of a shield volcano including magma type and how the volcano is built up. Name a shield volcano.
Draw a cross section of a single basalt lava flow. Label all the parts.
Discuss the evolution of a stratovolcano volcano including magma type and how the volcano is built up. Name a stratovolcano.
List the minerals in Bowen's reaction series in order from high temperature to lower temperature.
Discuss Bowen's reaction series in terms of increasing complexity of atomic bonds (single tetrahedra, single chains, etc.).
Define pluton, stock, batholith, dike, sill.
What criteria are used to name igneous rocks
Be able to reproduce the spreadsheet of 8 rocks in the igneous rock classification used in class.
Define weathering.
What is the difference between mechanic and chemical weathering?
Discuss the process of frost wedging. Include the three conditions necessary for effective frost wedging, in what areas is the process most effective, and the final product(s).
What is sheeting?
What are exfoliation domes? How do they form?
What is hydrolysis? Give an example.
Discuss the process of dissolution in terms of the polarity of a water molecule.
What is oxidation?
List the 3 factors we discussed in class that influence the rate of weathering.
Discuss the process of spheroidal weathering.
Define regolith, soil, soil texture, and loam.
List 5 factors discussed in class that influence soil development.
Very young soils mostly reflect what influence?
Mature soils mostly reflect what influence?
Discuss 2 ways in which slope will influence soil development.
What is the composition of the O, A, B, and C soil horizons?Discuss the four main processes in the formation of sedimentary rocks that we discussed in class.
What is sorting? Discuss the two types of sorting.
What is roundness? What can roundness tells us about the history of a grain?
What is diagenesis? Discuss the four parts of diagenesis we discussed in class.
List the three most common cements.
What happens to organic matter during diagenesis in an oxidizing environment versus a reducing environment?
Discuss the evolution of bedding, cross bedding, graded bedding.
Discuss the evolution of mudcracks and raindrop impressions.
What are clastic sedimentary rocks?
Give the grain size range in millimeters for conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones, and shales
Give examples of a chemical, evaporite, and organic sedimentary rocks

Define metamorphism.
What three agents influence metamorphism?
What is a metamorphic aureole?
Define stress (an equation), asperity, triple junction, directed stress, foliation
What is the primary texture resulting from directed stress.
How would you distinguish a shale from a phyllite, from a schist, from a gneiss?
Define marble, quartzite.
Give a precise definition of an earthquake.
Define earthquake focus and epicenter.
Give the vibration direction (relative to the propagation direction) and the velocity for P-waves.
Give the vibration direction (relative to the propagation direction) and the velocity for S-waves.
Discuss the particle motion for surface waves.
What is ground roll?
What is a seismograph?
Be prepared to locate the epicenter of an earthquake given data from three seismograph stations.
List the three criteria we discussed in class that influence earthquake intensity.
Each jump in Richter magnitude corresponds to how much of an increase in ground motion?
Each jump in Richter magnitude corresponds to how much of an increase in total energy released?
Describe the process of liquefaction.
What are tsunamis and how do they form?
What is the P-wave shadow zone? Why does it form? Over what distance, in degrees, does it form? What does it tell us about the interior of the earth?
What is the S-wave shadow zone? Why does it form? Over what distance, in degrees, does it form? What does it tell us about the interior of the earth?
Define fault, joint, strike, dip, hanging wall, footwall
How are faults classified.
What are normal faults?
List at least one specific location where normal faults are common.
What are grabens? What are horsts? What is horst and graben structure?
What is the map symbol for normal faults?
What are reverse faults?
What is the difference between reverse faults and thrust faults?
What is the map symbol for thrust faults?
List at least one specific location where thrust faults are common.
What are strike-slip faults?
What are sinistral strike slip faults? What are dextral strike-slip faults?
Name a presently active strike-slip fault.
Define slip, dip slip, strike slip, net slip, heave, throw, separation.
In class we discussed several way to recognize faults. Discuss three of them.
Draw simple cross sectional views of normal, reverse, and thrust faults. In each cross section, use a marker bed to show offset (i.e. does the hanging wall move up or down relative to the footwall). Label the hanging wall and footwall sides of the faults. If necessary for completeness of the answer, include the dip of the fault.
Define fold, anticline, antiform, syncline, synform.
Define hinge point, hinge line, fold limb, fold crest, axial trace, and axial surface.
What are symmetric folds? Asymmetric folds? Overturned folds? Plunging folds?
Be able to draw the outcrop pattern of a plunging anticline and a plunging syncline.
What is a dome? Basin?
What is relative dating based upon?
What is the principle of original horizontality?
What is the principle of superposition?
What is the principle of lateral continuity?
What is the principle of faunal Succession
What is an unconformity? Why does an unconformity form?
What is an angular unconformity? Disconformity? Nonconformity?
What are fossils? Trace fossils? Microfossils?
What is the principle of cross cutting relations?
What is the principle of inclusion?
Be prepared to use the above principles to place several formations into a relative time sequence.
List the geologic Eras in order from oldest to youngest. Label which is oldest.
List the geologic Periods in order from oldest to youngest. Label which is oldest.
What is the theory of catastrophism?
What is absolute time based upon?
Is the rate of radioactive decay affected by temperature? Pressure? Chemical bonding?
How old is the earth?
When did the Cambrian start?
When did the Cretaceous end?
What geologic Period are we in today?
Discuss why are we carbon-based life forms in terms of carbon bonds.
How old (in billions of years) is the oldest life forms found in rocks? What are these life forms?
When (billions of years) did oxygen become an important part of earth's atmosphere? Give evidence to support your answer. Where did the oxygen come from?
In class we discussed two mass extinctions, when (Periods) were they?
What Era was the age of the dinosaurs?
Discuss Walter and Luis Alvarez' hypothesis for mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
What Era, Period, and Epoch do we live in?