Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched
Modesto Junior College Course Outline of Record GEOL 166
I. OVERVIEW The following information will appear in the 2012 - 2013 catalog
GEOL 166 Historical Geology 4 Units
Introduction to the origin, development, and evolution of the earth and its inhabitants. Topics include the study of fossils and rocks, continents and ocean basins, geologic time, plate tectonics, climate change and mass extinctions. Laboratory utilizes rocks, fossils and stratigraphic principles to decipher ancient environments. Field trips might be required. (A-F or P/NP - Student choice) Lecture /Lab Transfer: (CSU, UC) General Education: (MJC-GE: A ) (CSU-GE: B1, B3 ) (IGETC: 5A )
II. LEARNING CONTEXT Given the following learning context, the student who satisfactorily completes this course should be able to achieve the goals specified in Section III, Desired Learning:
A. COURSE CONTENT
1. Required Content:
a. History of geology
i. Nicolas Steno and basic principles of stratigraphy
ii. James Hutton, uniformitarianism, and geologic time
iii. Charles Lyell and cross-cutting relationships
b. Scientific method
i. Hypothesis
ii. Theory
c. Basic principles of historical geology:
i. Original horizontality
ii. Lateral continuity
iii. Superposition
iv. Cross-cutting relationships
v. Biologic succession
d. Earth materials
i. Atomic theory
ii. Minerals
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Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched
iii. Igneous rocks
iv. Sedimentary rocks
v. Metamorphic rocks
e. Plate tectonics
i. Interior of the earth
ii. Evidence of continental drift
iii. Convergent, divergent and transform boundaries
iv. Erosional processes
f. Geologic time scale
i. Eons
ii. Eras
iii. Periods
iv. Epochs
g. Relative and absolute dating
h. Origin and early evolution of the earth
i. Evolution and the origin of life
j. Prepaleozoic history
i. Development of Rodinia
ii. "Snowball Earth" hypothesis
iii. Earliest life forms
k. Paleozoic history
i. Breakup of Rodinia
ii. Complex life forms
iii. Vertebrates
l. Mesozoic history
i. Dinosaurs
ii. Break-up of Pangaea
m. Cenozoic history:
i. Ice ages
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Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched ii. Rise of the mammals
iii. Development of humans
2. Required Lab Content:
a. Earth materials;
i. Minerals,
ii. Igneous
iii. Metamorphic rocks
iv. Sedimentary rocks and
b. Sedimentary structures
c. Sedimentary environments
i. Terrestrial
ii. Transitional
iii. Marine
d. Stratigraphic columns and cross-sections
e. Interpretation of sedimentary facies
f. Paleogeographic maps
g. Introduction to paleontology
i. Modes of fossilization
ii. Taxonomy
iii. Bias of the fossil record
h. Phyla of most commonly fossilized life forms
i. Protista
ii. Porifera
iii. Coelenterate
iv. Brachiopoda
v. Bryozoa
vi. Mollusca
vii. Cephlapoda
viii. Gastropoda
ix. Pelecypoda
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Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched
x. Echinodermata
xi. Arthropoda
xii. Graptolithina
xiii. Chordata
B. HOURS AND UNITS
4 Units INST METHOD TERM HOURS UNITS Lect 54 3.00 Lab 54 1.00 Disc 0 0
C. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION (TYPICAL) Instructors of the course might conduct the course using the following method:
1. Related material will be presented through designated lecture and specific laboratory exercises.
2. Audiovisual materials will be used to illustrate particular topics.
3. Stereoscopes, geologic and paleogeographic maps, rock and mineral samples, hardness kits, microscopes, and computer simulations will be used to demonstrate course principles.
D. ASSIGNMENTS (TYPICAL)
1. EVIDENCE OF APPROPRIATE WORKLOAD FOR COURSE UNITS Time spent on coursework in addition to hours of instruction (lecture hours)
a. Weekly textbook readings
b. Weekly written homework assignments
c. Weekly prelaboratory assignments
d. Study for examinations
2. EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL THINKING Assignments require the appropriate level of critical thinking
a. Laboratory exercises require a student to identify mineral and rock samples using thier physical properties such as luster, hardness, cleavage, grain size or texture.
b. Given a series of geologic cross-sections or three dimensional models, students will assemble a sequence of events that explains the geologic history that formed each outcrop.
c. Students will utilize the texture, sedimentary structures, fossils and composition of laboratory rock samples to distinguish the sedimentary environment that the rock formed in.
d. Given a series of time-transgressive paleogeographic maps, the student will develop a model to explain the geologic changes over time in a particular region.
Example questions:
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Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched a. "Using the provided drill core data, construct a geologic cross-section of the Devonian rocks along the New York-Pennsylvania boundary, and interpret the environments of deposition that produced the rocks. Define which rocks indicate shoreline transgressions, and those which indicate regressions."
b. "Identify and sketch the fossil samples provided, and use the features of the specimens to propose an environment of deposition. Use the geologic age range of the specimens to determine the specific age of the rock that contains the assemblage."
E. TEXTS AND OTHER READINGS (TYPICAL)
1. Book: Levin, H. (2010). The Earth Through Time (9th /e). Hoboken, NJ J. Wiley .
III. DESIRED LEARNING
A. COURSE GOAL As a result of satisfactory completion of this course, the student should be prepared to:
identify and describe the properties of minerals, fossils, and rocks, and evaluate the tectonic and geologic environment that they formed in. They will assess and evaluate evidence concerning the origin of the Earth and Solar System, and the evolution of life and landscapes on earth through time.
B. STUDENT LEARNING GOALS Mastery of the following learning goals will enable the student to achieve the overall course goal.
1. Required Learning Goals Upon satisfactory completion of this course, the student will be able to:
a. define and describe the basic principles of historical geology, including original horizontality, lateral continuity, superposition, cross-cutting relationships, and biologic succession, and cite the geologic time scale.
b. distinguish the elements of the scientific method and apply these principles to the study of the history of the earth.
c. explain the geologic processes of tectonicism, erosion, sedimentation, and fossilization.
d. use basic geologic principles and the examples of present-day geologic processes to explain geologic events of the past, as revealed by fossils and rocks.
e. examine and analyze the evidence for plate tectonics and evolution of life.
f. to assess and critique competing ideas regarding the pattern, timing, and causes of evolution of life on Earth through time.
g. identify the origin of sedimentary rocks, structures and fossils.
2. Lab Learning Goals Upon satisfactory completion of the lab portion of this course, the student will be able to:
a. identify and evaluate the origin of sedimentary rocks, structures and fossils
b. reconstruct and summarize the major geologic events in the history of the earth using paleogeographic maps, geologic columns and cross-sections.
c. describe and categorize the most significant geological depositional environments and predict the rocks which are likely to be formed in these environments.
d. construct geologic columns and stratigraphic cross-sections from well data.
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Meeting Date: GEOL 166 EFFECTIVE: Summer 2012 Launched e. develop paleogeographic maps from the interpretation of stratigraphic cross-sections.
IV. METHODS OF ASSESSMENT (TYPICAL)
A. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
1. Homework assignments
2. Short Quizzes
3. Written lab analyses (graphs, sketches, cross-sections, questions)
B. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
1. Written mid-term examinations to include essays
2. Final examination
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