Dr. Karen Bartels  Office: Main Campus, Science Building Room 142  Phone: (773) 442-6052  E-mail: K-Bartels@neiu.edu Web page: http://www.neiu.edu/~kbartels/bartels.htm

Office Hours:  Mon. 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.  Tues. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  Thurs. 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Or by appointment

Link to BlackBoard

Course Description	Objectives	Outline of Topics
Textbook	Structure of the Course	Requirements
Grading Policy	Handouts & Study Guides	Links

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  A detailed introduction to rocks and minerals – the essential materials of the solid earth.  Classification and systematic study of the chemical and physical properties of the common rock-forming mineral groups; textural and mineral compositional studies of common igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock groups.  Lecture 2 hours and lab 3 hours.  Prereq.: ESCI 211 and some chemical background.  (From NEIU Catalog)

COURSE STRUCTURE: The course description lists 2 lecture hours and 3 lab hours for this course.  Tuesday is our three “hour” time slot and Thursday is our two “hour” time slot.  However, Thursdays won’t always be lecture days and Tuesdays won’t always be lab days.  This course is structured around active learning exercises, in which lab activities and mini-lectures are interspersed each day.  These active learning exercises are often group activities, and much of your time in class will be spent working with a team of classmates.

ASSESSMENT: At the end of each class session, you will be asked to participate in a brief assessment exercise.  This will be an anonymous and non-graded survey, quiz, or comment form designed to help the instructor determine how the class is coming along in terms of understanding the important concepts.  In addition, we will assess how well the course objectives listed below are being met (or have been met) at a few points in the semester.

RECOMMENDED TEXT: Mineralogy, 2nd Edition, Dexter Perkins, 2002 (Prentice Hall). 
Text will be supplemented with handouts from other sources throughout the semester.  

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  We are going to learn a lot this semester.  Here is a list of the course objectives, or things you should be able to do by the end of this course.  (*In this list, the abbreviation B.T.E. means “by the end of this course, you should be able to…”)

 The Basics:  By the end of this course, you should be able to give the geologic definition of a mineral and explain the difference between an element, a mineral, and a rock.  You should also be able to explain how these definitions fit in with the chemical definitions of elements and compounds, atoms and molecules, and pure substances versus heterogeneous mixtures and solutions.

 The Big Picture:  B.T.E.* ...describe the general chemical features of the solid earth, including the major chemical differences between the earth’s core, mantle, and crust.  Describe the most common rock types in the crust and upper mantle.  Memorize the list of the 8 most common elements and 7 most common minerals of the crust, and describe the connections.

 Classifying Minerals:  B.T.E. ... explain the chemical basis of our classification scheme for minerals.  If you are given the chemical formula of a mineral, you should be able to classify the mineral into the appropriate mineral class.   In addition, you should be able to speculate on what kinds of chemical bonds exist within the mineral, and predict what some of its general physical properties might be.

 Identifying Minerals:  B.T.E. ….identify minerals using physical property tests and determinative tables.  The minerals we will focus on include common rock-forming minerals, major ore minerals, key index minerals in metamorphic rocks, and minerals used as gemstones. 

 How is this different from what you learned in physical geology?  You can learn to identify many common minerals (for example, quartz) by observing different types of samples and memorizing their distinguishing physical properties.  However, there are over 4000 different minerals, and although not all of them are common, you may run across many of them at some point in your life.  It is not very practical to memorize that many minerals.  Also, minerals can take on very different appearances.  You will learn how to use physical property tests along with determinative tables and other references to help you identify minerals you may have never seen before.  You will learn to use other clues like context (where was the mineral found?  what type of rock was it found in?  what other minerals does it occur with?) to help narrow down the possibilities.  This is not so much about knowing the “right answer” immediately as learning how to ask a series of questions that will enable you to learn more about what the mineral is.  Asking questions involves risk-taking.  This is pretty scary for many students.  But it is one of the most important things you can learn to do as a scientist and a thinker.  You don’t have to “be right” every step of the way.  It is the overall process of questioning, doing tests, observing results, knowing where to go from there, etc, that is important.  Another important part of the process is to determine why you want to know about the mineral.  The reason you want to know more about the mineral will influence how far you need to go with the process of identification.

 Silicate Minerals:  Even though we won’t try to memorize thousands of minerals, we will memorize some of the major rock-forming silicate minerals.   So, B.T.E. …describe the physical properties, ranges of chemical compositions, and occurrences of major rock-forming silicate minerals.   This includes felsic minerals (such as feldspars, polymorphs of SiO₂, and muscovite) and mafic minerals (such as olivine, pyroxenes, amphiboles, and biotite).   Fortunately, as far as the chemical variations go, there are patterns that exist across minerals classes that will make this task easier.

 Identifying and Classifying Rocks:  B.T.E. … identify the major minerals present in a rock sample; describe and sketch the texture of a rock in terms of the sizes, shapes, and arrangement of minerals; and use the mineralogic and textural information to identify and classify the rock.  

 “Interpreting” Rocks:   Rocks are not permanent.  Instead of thinking of a rock as a thing that always has and always will exist, think of them as “snapshots” or still images taken from the action film of the ever-changing and dynamic earth!  Seriously, to expand upon this analogy, when we collect a rock we are picking out one “frame” of the “movie” to analyze in detail.  We do this because want to have an idea of what it can tell us about previous scenes.   To this end, B.T.E… explain which types of rocks tend to form in association with one another, and describe how rocks are linked through the rock cycle.   In particular, you should be able to describe the general geologic conditions under which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are formed, and discuss the changes that occur when a rock is subjected to a set of conditions significantly different from that under which it originally formed.   This includes describing conditions and locations of the places in the earth where rocks melt and magmas crystallize; the chemical and physical changes that occur when rocks interact with the atmosphere and hydrosphere; and the mineralogic and textural changes that occur as a rock is buried successively deeper in the earth.

 Why We Care:  Finally, you should be able to discuss the usefulness of rocks and minerals as natural resources and as historical records of the geologic past.

Week 1 :  Jan. 10 & 12	Introduction to course.  Basic terminology.  Physical properties.  Link to page with photos of some physical properties
Week 2:  Jan. 17 & 19	Physical properties, continued.  Chemical concepts.
Week 3:  Jan. 24 & 26	Minerals important in ore deposits and sedimentary rocks.
Week 4:  Jan. 31 & Feb. 2	Gemstones.  Shapes of crystals.
Week 5:  Feb. 7 & 9	Silicate minerals –felsic minerals.
Week 6:  Feb. 14 & 16	Silicate minerals – mafic minerals.
Week 7:  Feb. 21 & 23	Optical properties of crystals.  Exam I Feb. 23.
Week 8:  Feb. 28 & Mar. 2	Rock cycle.  Rock textures.
Week 9:  Mar. 7 & 9	Origin of magma.  Classification of igneous rocks.
Week 10:  Mar. 14 & 16	Intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks.
Spring Break
Week 11:  Mar. 28 & 30	Weathering and erosion.  Transportation and deposition of sediments.
Week 12:  April 4 & 6	Detrital and chemical sedimentary rocks.  Exam II April 6.
Week 13:  April 11 & 13	Metamorphic processes.  Some class time to begin Group Project.
Week 14:  Apr. 18 & 20	Foliated and non-foliated metamorphic rocks.
Week 15:  Apr. 25 & 27	Presentation of projects.   Review for Final.
FINAL EXAM May 2 4:00-5:50 p.m.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance.  Regular attendance is expected.  

Email and Web access.  Announcements about the class will be sent via email and posted on the course website.  

Assignments.  Portfolio:  Each week, we will have in-class activities and labs, as well as some out-of class homework, to help us learn concepts and achieve our ambitious list of course objectives.  You must collect all of these various assignments in a three-ring binder (or another type of folder in which the contents can be arranged in order and not fall out).  This will be your portfolio of weekly assignments.  Portfolio requirements:
1)    Label the outside of the binder or folder with “ESCI 306” and your name.
2)    Write your name on the first page of each assignment in the portfolio (initial other pages).
3)    Include a table of contents at the beginning.
These portfolios are due on Thursdays after class.  This includes the in-class activities for that day.  I will accept portfolios until 7 p.m.

Exams.  There will be three exams (two mid-terms and a final), equally weighted. 

Group Project.  Near the end of the semester, you will work in small groups to complete a capstone project.  Details will be available later in the semester.

GRADING POLICIES: All course requirements must be completed to pass the course.
GRADES:              
Exam I (100 points)
Exam II (100 points)
Final Exam (100 points)
Portfolio:  Weekly Assignments (15 at 20 points for total of 300 points)       
Group Project (150 points)
                Total: 750 points

The grading scale is as follows:
A 90% to 100%  
B 80% to 89%    
C 70% to 79%    
D 60% to 69%     
F 59% and lower 

No make-up exams will be given.  If you miss an exam, you will not be able to take it at a later time.  Instead, you must take a comprehensive substitute exam on April 25.

Incompletes will be given only in accordance with University policies as published in the catalog.

Important information useful for all of your courses:

Drop Date:  The last date to drop a course in the Spring 2006 session is Friday,  March 17.

Student Responsibilities and Academic Integrity:

“Each student is responsible for knowledge of, and adherence to, all University requirements and regulations.”[From NEIU 2002-2003 catalog, p.30]

“NortheasternIllinoisUniversity students are expected to exhibit the highest standards of academic integrity.Academic misconduct such as plagiarism or cheating is unacceptable and will be investigated in accordance with University policy on academic misconduct. (See Student Survival Kit)”[From NEIU 2002-2003 catalog, p. 31]

EXPECTATIONS OF CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
My expectations for students in my classes are pretty standard.  Basically they are the same as outlined in this list of guidelines copied from the Sociology Home Page at NEIU (http://orion.neiu.edu/~sociolgy/guidelines.html)