Geology of Florida Prof
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SYLLABUS GLY 4155 – Geology of Florida Prof. Liz Screaton, [email protected], Williamson 221, 352-392-4612 Class Meeting: Mon. Periods 7-8 (1:55 to 3:50 pm) and Wed. Period 7 (1:55 to 2:45 pm) in Wm 202. Office Hours: Mon 10:00-11:00 am; Weds 8th period (3:00 to 3:50 pm). If you’d like to arrange an alternate time for help, please email to arrange a time and let us know whether you prefer email help, a phone call, or to come by in person. Overall Course Goals and Outcomes This course serves as the capstone for students in the Geology B.A. and Environmental Geosciences BA and, as such, it is intended to assess your mastery of the core BA program coursework. Specifically, the objectives of this course are to apply knowledge acquired from the core required Geological Sciences coursework (particularly Physical geology and Historical geology or their equivalents) to the interpretation and understanding of the geology and geologic history of Florida and to continue the development of oral and written communication skills, specifically as they pertain to geological concepts and data. By the end of this course, students will be able to: Describe the events that shaped Florida’s subsurface and surface. Apply geologic methods to Florida and other locations. Summarize, present, and discuss geologic information from scientific papers and the media. Effectively communicate orally and in writing. Textbook Geologic History of Florida Albert C Hine. In additional to textbook readings, classes will also include some outside readings to introduce recent research, provide a broader context for Florida’s geology by comparing to other locations, and to provide experience in technical and non-technical communication. Technology You should have a dependable computer and internet connection to access some of class content on Canvas and complete some of the assignments. To submit copies of the pre-class homework, a camera (such as on your phone) or scanner will be helpful. Grading (410 pts total) Pre-class homework 90 pts (best 18 of at least 20@ 5 pts). The homework will help you prepare for class and will be based on readings and some recorded presentations. A copy will be submitted on Canvas prior to attending class. Class participation 36 pts (best 18 of at least 20 @ 2 pts). This includes both attending class and actively participating by answering and asking questions. Assignments 80 pts (best 8 of at least 9@ 10 pts). Assignments will provide practice with technical and communication skills. These could include oral presentations, writing assignments, or data analysis. Exams 144 pts (2@72 pts). There will be two in-class 90 minute exams. They will be a combination of multiple choice and essays, “sketches”, or calculations. You can have an 8 ½ x 11 sheet with any notes you need (one-sided). During the exam, you will be allowed to use a calculator (but not one on your phone) and scratch paper. Paper: 60 pts. You’ll write a technical paper in which you’ll compare Florida’s geology to that of two other locations. There will be an initial submission (40 pts) and a revised submission (20 pts). Please be aware that the initial submission is expected to be a polished and complete paper. This is not a “draft” submission. SYLLABUS A: ≥93.4%; A- 90.0-93.3%; B+ 86.7 – 89.9%, B: 83.4 – 86.6 %, B-: 80.0 – 83.3 %, C+ 76.7 – 79.9 %; C: 73.4 – 76.6%, C-: 70.0 – 73.3%, D+: 66.7 – 69.9%, D: 63.4 – 66.6%, D- 60.0 – 63.3%, E 59.9% and below. (Information on how UF calculates GPA based on letter grades can be found at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx ) These grade criteria are firm. At the end of the semester, the points you earn determine your grade. Approximately 10-15 extra credit points will be available to all students at various times during the semester. These will be in the form of extra quizzes, extra questions on assignments, or extra discussions. Please take advantage of these opportunities for extra points. For fairness, there will not be any special extra credit opportunities to individual students or negotiation about the final grade. Course Schedule Exam Dates are Firm. Other dates may shift and current topics can change. Topic Before class reading Jan 4 Introduction and Class Logistics Jan 9 Plate Tectonics and Geologic Time Scale Review Outside reading Jan 11 Florida Defined; Earth Materials Review Ch 1; Outside reading Jan 18 Florida Lost (700 to 200 Ma); Ch 2 Jan 23 The Big Split (225 to 140 Ma); Ch 3; Outside reading Jan 25 The Carbonate Factory Ch 4 Jan 30 An Environmental Crisis Ch 5 Discussion of Other Locations Outside read Feb 1 Clash of Geologic Terrains Ch 6 Feb 6 Dissolution Tectonics Ch 7; Outside reading Feb 8 Dissolution Tectonics Outside reading Feb 13 Sands from the North Ch 8 Feb 15 Florida and Oil Outside reading Feb 20 Catch up Feb 22 Review Feb 27 Exam 1 Mar 1 Submit Paper: Comparing Florida to Other Locations Mar 13 The Florida Phosphate Story Ch 9; Outside reading The Hawthorn Group Mar 15 Discussion: Fertilizer, Mining, and Surface Water Outside Reading Mar 20 Approaching Modern Florida Ch 10 Mar 22 Current Topics: Florida’s Aquifers and Surface Water Outside Reading Mar 27 Dissolution and Isostatic Adjustment Outside reading Mar 29; Apr 3 Current Topics: Coastlines, Erosion and Hurricanes Outside reading Apr 5 Review Submit Revised Paper Apr 10 Exam 2 Apr 12, 17, 19 Current Topics: Oil, Fracking, and Pipelines Outside reading SYLLABUS Academic Honor Code Students must follow the University of Florida Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students of the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." Before submitting any work for this class, please read the policies about academic honesty at https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/ Specifics for this class: o You are allowed to discuss pre-class homework and assignment questions with other students and to ask the prof for help, but all work submitted must be your own. o Having anyone else complete the work for you, completing the work for another student, or receiving/providing answers is not allowed. o The paper and assignments (where applicable) will be evaluated with Turnitin. Turnitin is an online service to help prevent and identify student plagiarism by comparing your submission to other material and student submissions. Substantial overlap with other submissions/material will be considered a potential honor code violation. How to avoid problems: o Don’t copy and paste any text, whether from the web or from another student. o Don’t provide any answer text to another student. Because we won’t be able to tell who did the work and who copied, both students will face a potential honor code violation. Providing answers also does not help the other student learn. o Give credit where due. If you found another student’s explanation or discussion post helpful, or use information from the internet, summarize what they said and cite the source. Note on citations: Unless we specify a formal citation format on an assignment, you can use simple explanations of the source (e.g., a web address, or a classmate’s name and the discussion they posted in). Getting answers to your questions This class is a 4000 level, which means it is aimed at senior-level students. You will be challenged by some parts of the material. Students come to the class with a variety of previous classes, so everyone will have some problem areas. One of the reasons for the pre-class homework is to help identify the more challenging areas of the readings so that you can ask questions. Expect to have questions as you read the text and outside readings, work through the assignments and reports, and prepare for the exams. Be sure to allow yourself enough time prior to deadlines to ask questions and have them answered. For problems with Canvas: call 352-392-4357 or via e-mail at [email protected]. To report course-specific errors (a broken link or suspected error in an assignment) email me ([email protected]). We are happy to correct any problems and will credit you 1 point if you are the first to report a problem. For content questions, you can either bring them to the class meeting, ask by email or at office hours, or ask on the Course Question and Answer Discussion Board. Check whether the question has already been answered. If not, post your question to the class. Help your classmates by responding to questions, BUT help by explaining rather than just giving the answer! Answers will be reviewed daily M-F and additional information may be added. An email is the best way to ask questions that are specific to you, such as about your grade or an upcoming conflict with a deadline. SYLLABUS Emails sent during office hours will receive an immediate response unless we are helping others. Other weekday daytime emails will generally receive a response within several hours. Emails sent during evenings, holidays, or weekends will normally be responded to the next regular day. Course announcements and email When you log in to Canvas, please ensure that your Notification Preferences are set to “ASAP” for Announcements and for Conversation Messages.