Dr. Karen Bartels  Office: Main Campus, Science Building Room 146 Phone: (773) 442-6052  E-mail: K-Bartels@neiu.edu Web page: http://www.neiu.edu/~kbartels/bartels.htm

Office Hours:  Monday and Tuesday 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.  Tuesday and Wednesday 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.  Or by appointment

 

Course Description	Objectives	Outline of Topics
Textbook	Structure of the Course	Requirements
Grading Policy	Handouts & Study Guides (on BlackBoard)	Links
	Link to Photos

Link to BlackBoard

Course Description:  Basic concepts of geology, meteorology, oceanography and the solar system.  Discussion of topics of current interest in the earth sciences.  Laboratory involves the study of minerals, rocks, maps and weather instruments.  [From NEIU catalog]

Course Structure:  Class sessions will typically be a combination of hands-on activities, group work, discussions, and lecture.  You will do most of the lab activities in groups.  There are two reasons for this, one logistic and one pedagogic; there are not enough materials to go around for every individual student, and by working in groups, you can help each other learn and understand the concepts.

1.   Identify common rocks and minerals.
2.   Explain the theory of plate tectonics and how it relates to causes of earthquakes and volcanoes.
3.   Describe the major physical processes that shape earth’s surface.
4.   Read and interpret topographic maps and basic geologic maps.
5.   Read and interpret basic weather maps.
6.   Compare and contrast earth with other planets in the solar system.
 
Required text: Earth Science, Eleventh Edition, Edward Tarbuck and Frederick Lutgens, 2006 (Prentice Hall).  There is no lab manual for this class; instead, lab handouts will be provided.  Please visit the "Companion Website" for this text at http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_tarbuck_escience_11

COURSE OUTLINE (subject to revision)

Week 1 JAN 9 & 11 Earth’s place in the universe; Earth’s spheres and systems; materials of the solid Earth	Introduction, Ch. 1-2
Week 2 JAN 16 & 18 Earth’s internal forces: plate tectonics	Ch. 8
Week 3 JAN 23 & 25 Earth materials - Minerals	Ch. 2
Week 4 JAN 30 & FEB 1 Quiz 1 Jan. 30    Earth materials - Rocks	Ch. 3
Week 5 FEB 6 & 8    Sculpting the earth’s surface - Weathering and erosion	Ch. 4
Week 6 FEB 13 & 15   Sculpting the earth’s surface - Streams	Ch. 5
Week 7 FEB 20 & 22 Quiz 2 Feb. 20     Sculpting the earth’s surface - Glaciers and Deserts	Ch. 6
Week 8 FEB 27 & MAR 1  Interior forces - Earthquakes and volcanoes	Ch. 7 and Ch. 9
Week 9 MAR 6 & 8   Interior forces - Mountain building	Ch. 10
Week 10 MAR 13 & 15  Quiz 3 Mar. 13 Earth History and Geologic Time	Ch. 11 and 12
SPRING BREAK
Week 11 MAR 27 & 29 The interaction between earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses	Ch. 14 and 15
Week 12 APR 3 & 5  The atmosphere	Ch. 16
Week 13 APR 10 & 12 Quiz 4 Apr. 10  Clouds and wind	Ch. 17-18
Week 14 APR 17 & 19 Weather patterns	Ch. 19
Week 15 APR 24 & 26 Earth’s place in the solar system	Ch. 22
MAY 1 Final Exam 6:00-7:50 p.m.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance.  Regular attendance is expected.  There are many in-class assignments and group activities that cannot be made-up.

 Email and Web access.  Announcements about the class will be sent via email and posted on the course website (http://www.neiu.edu/~kbartels/IntroToESCI.htm).  You are expected to check for announcements regularly.

 Assessments.  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.

 Assignments. 
Lab Worksheets and Lab Reports.  Some of these will be done in class and others will require additional time outside of class.

Quizzes and Final Exam.There will be four quizzes during the session and a final exam at the end of the session.Quizzes and exams will consist of short answer questions, essay questions, quantitative problems, and questions similar to lab activities (rock and mineral identification, map-reading, etc).

GRADING POLICIES: All course requirements must be completed to pass the course.
Labs            45%
Quizzes        40%
Final Exam   15%

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

No make-up exams will be given.  Of the four quizzes given, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped, and the quiz portion of your grade will be the average of your three highest quiz scores.  If you miss a quiz due to an emergency, the missed quiz will be the one dropped.(In case of emergency, contact Dr. Bartels at 773-442-6052 as soon as possible).

Some lab assignments will be due the day they are assigned.  Other assignments require additional time outside of class and are due at the very beginning of the next class period.  Late assignments will not be accepted.

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 semester is Friday March 30.

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]