Instructor: William Hirt  hirt@siskiyous.edu
Office: LS-15
Phone: (530) 938-5255
Office hours: MWF 10:00-10:50AM, TTh 8:30-9:20AM, and by appointment

Meeting times: online
Meeting place: online
Units: 3.0
Advisories: ENGL 1A (College Composition) and MATH 56 (Elementary Algebra). Assessment data show that students who have successfully completed these advisories succeed in courses comparable to this one at a rate (68%) more than twice that of students who have not (32%). If you have not completed these advisories you are strongly encouraged to complete them before you enroll in this course.

Textbook (required): Parks and Plates by Robert Lillie (ISBN 0-393-92407-6)
CD-ROM (required): Hazard City: Assignments in Applied Geology, 3rd ed. by King, Carpenter, and Wilson (ISBN 0-13-156682-2)

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to:

• Explain the geologic processes that created the variety of landforms he or she would see on a trip across the continent;
• Outline the geologic history of any of North America's major physiographic provinces and explain how it has influenced the development of modern landscapes in that region;
• Apply his or her knowledge of geologic processes to critically examine and evaluate proposed solutions to environmental problems and so act as an informed participant in future political and economic decisions regarding the use of the United States' public lands;
• Formulate, solve, and interpret the results of a variety of problems relevant to the introductory earth sciences;
• Determine whether or not a proposed explanation, experimental result, or observation is consistent with a scientific hypothesis for a natural phenomenon and effectively communicate that analysis to others.

2010 Course Schedule:

Dates	Lesson topic(s)	Reading	Exercise
11-Jan to 16-Jan	Orientation	websites	discussion board post
18-Jan to 23-Jan	Plate Tectonics	1 : 1-20	plate boundaries
25-Jan to 1-Feb	Geologic Processes I: geologic time and crustal deformation	2 : 22-30	relative dating
1-Feb to 8-Feb	Geologic Processes II: rocks and minerals	2 : 30-34	absolute dating
8-Feb to 15-Feb	Geologic Processes III: earthquakes and volcanoes	2 : 34-45	earthquakes
15-Feb to 22-Feb	Continental Rifting	3 : 49-70	outline 1
22-Feb to 1-Mar	Passive Margins I: modern margins and coastal processes	4 : 72-81	shoreline hazards
1-Mar to 8-Mar	Passive Margins II: ancient margins and facies changes	4 : 81-86	abstract 1
8-Mar to 15-Mar	Subduction Zones I: Cascade and Aleutian arcs	5 : 89-123	volcanic hazards
15-Mar to 19-Mar	SPRING BREAK	---	---
22-Mar to 29-Mar	Subduction Zones II: Sierra Nevada and alpine glaciation	5 : 123-125	snowpack monitoring
29-Mar to 5-Apr	Collisional Mountain Ranges: collision dynamics and streamflow	6 : 129-146	river discharge
5-Apr to 12-Apr	San Andreas Fault and Transform Boundaries	7 : 149-164	earthquake damage
12-Apr to 19-Apr	Oceanic Hotspots: Hawaiian Islands	8 : 167-190	tsunami/storm surge
19-Apr to 26-Apr	Continental Hotspots: Yellowstone and the Snake River Plain	9 : 193-206	outline 2
26-Apr to 3-May	North American Craton I: undeformed regions and groundwater	10 : 209-228	groundwater contamination
3-May to 10-May	North American Craton II: deformed regions	10 : 228-236	abstract 2
10-May to 17-May	Accreted Terranes: continental growth and landslide hazards	11 : 239-254	landslide hazards
17-May to 20-May	final exam	all	---

Evaluation: Grades will be based on total scores for:

• 17 weekly quizzes (170 total points);
• 13 weekly exercises (125 total points);
• 4 writing assignments (60 total points);
• 1 comprehensive final exam (45 points).

A student should expect to spend about 9 hours per week reading, taking notes on the text, and working on their activities and homework assignments. Preparation of the writing assignments will require about an additional 12 hours over the course of the semester.

Attendance/withdrawal/incomplete statement: Regular participation and punctual submission of assignments are required for satisfactory completion of this course. If a student incurs two unexcused "absences" (fails to submit two assignments on time without notifying the instructor) the instructor has the option of dropping the student from the class. If a student incurs four unexcused "absences" (fails to turn in four assignments on time without notifying the instructor) the instructor will drop the student from the class. A student may withdraw before the end of fourteenth week (23-Apr-2010) and is responsible for notifying the admissions office and completing all necessary forms. Arrangements for an incomplete contract must be made with the instructor, and an "I" grade will only be issued in the case of an unforeseen personal or family emergency.

Cheating policy: Students are encouraged to collaborate with one another as they work on their weekly reading assignments and exercises by posting questions to the discussion board, sending one another private messages, and using the class chat area. I expect that a student will work independently, however, when he or she submits exercise results, takes quizzes and the final exam, and writes his or her outlines and abstracts. If I find evidence that any students are not living up to this code of academic integrity (for example, because they submit identical or nearly identical writing assignments) I reserve the right to drop them from the class unless it is after the fourteenth week, in which case the students will receive F grades regardless of accumulated points.

Make-up policy for missed work: Although our class schedule will be the same throughout the semester (new assignments will be posted on Monday mornings by 8:00 AM and be due by 10:00 PM on the following Saturdays) I realize that, occasionally, a student will have unforeseen problems or simply "space out" and miss turning in an assignment in on time. The key to avoiding this problem is to complete your assignments well ahead of the Saturday due dates. If you do end up missing a deadline, however, do not start the assignment in Etudes and contact me before 9:00 AM on the Sunday immediately following the due date. I will re-open the missed assignment for a brief period (typically one day) and suspend the accompanying review for the same period. Each student will be allowed two such "excused" make-ups, after which the late assignment policy given below will apply. Because of the tight schedule for turning in final grades, the final exam may not be made up.

Late assignment policy: Except for the excused make-ups mentioned above, late assignments will not be accepted for full credit. If you find yourself having to turn a third or fourth assignment in late you probably should carefully consider whether you have the time or inclination to give this course the attention it requires. Nevertheless, it better to submit work late than not at all. So, if you are going to be late with a third or fourth assignment contact me at or before 9:00 AM on the Sunday immediately after the original due date and I will arrange to extend the submission period for one day. Such assignments will be penalized 10% of their original values for each day (or part of a day) they are late.

Date and time of final exam: This exam will be available online for four days during finals week (May 17-20, 2010) and may be completed any time during those four days. It must, however, be submitted no later than 5:00 PM on 20-May-2010.