Instructor: Dr. Melinda Hutson
                   Sylvania ST 312
                   (503) 977-4146
                   e-mail: mhutson@pcc.edu
                   Office Hours: 10:00-10:50 am MTW
                   Please call for an appointment if you need to see me at
                   a time other than my office hours.

Web site: http://spot.pcc.edu/~mhutson/

Course Description: Introduces physical geology which deals with mass wasting, streams, glaciers, deserts, beaches, groundwater, and use of topographic maps.   Prerequisite: WR115, RD115 and MTH20 or equivalent placement test scores.  A complete description of this course and the expected outcomes for this course can be found on the course content outcome guide at: www.pcc.edu/ccog (click on Geology, then on the course title for G202 Physical Geology).

Text: Lecture: Geology: An Introduction to Physical Geology, by Chernicoff and Whitney, a custom edition for PCC with additional content, Pearson Publishing Co. Lab: Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, by Richard M. Busch and Dennis Tasa, Pearson/Prentice-Hall.

E-mail Policy:  Because I get a huge volume of unwanted e-mails, I delete many without looking at them.  If you want to reach me by e-mail, please indicate G202 in the subject line of your message.  Also, I do NOT open attachments.  If you are sending me something, include it in the body of the text (you can cut and paste).

Exams: There will be three exams during the term.  In addition, there is a comprehensive final on Monday March 15, from 11:00 am -1:00 pm. The lowest of the four exam scores is dropped.  Consequently....

No make-up exams will be given for any reason.  The final exam is your make-up exam.

Laboratory Exercises: A laboratory exercise will be done during lab time each week during the term.  Students work in groups in lab, therefore, if you are more than 15 minutes late to lab, you will find the door locked and you will not be allowed to attend lab. You are expected and required to attend the full three hours of lab and participate in your group to work through the assigned problems.  Half of your lab score will be on participation in your group.  The other half is on the write-up that you turn in. Your lab write-up will consist of answers to questions and accompanying figures and maps that you will mark up.  All answers to questions must be typed in a legible font.  No handwritten answers will be accepted.  Lab write-ups are due at the start of lab on the following week.  The last write-up will be due the day of the final.  No late labs will be accepted (no labs accepted after the start of lab one week after you work with your group on that lab exercise).   You may turn in lab write-ups early either by leaving them in my mailbox in ST 312 or sending them to me via email.  I will drop your lowest combined lab score (participation plus write-up). Consequently, there are no make-ups given for missed lab work. You will need a calculator and ruler for lab.

SAESS:  All of the Geology/General Science courses will be conducting student surveys this term as part of a program review.  Students will take a survey at the beginning of the class and then take a follow-up survey at the end of the class.  Time will be made available during labs for students to take these surveys.  If you miss one of these labs, you should find time during the first and last weeks of class to take the surveys on your own.  Instructions and a link will be provided on the class web site.

Project:  You will be going out into the field to examine and document features discussed in this class.  Details about what is expected of you, and an example of a grading rubric will be posted by the start of the second week of class on the class web site and announced in class.

Your project will be easy to do IF you work on it a little bit each week.  It will be almost impossible to do if you wait until the last minute.  Your project is due at the start of class on Monday March 1.  “Start of class” means before I start lecturing.  Once I’ve started lecturing, your project is late.  Projects can be turned in late for partial credit as follows:

Turned in after start of class March 1, but by start of class on March 3 – project loses 10% of grade
Turned in after start of class March 3, but by start of class on March 8– project loses 20% of grade
No projects accepted after start of class on Monday March 8.

Grades: PCC official Grading Guidelines can be found at: www.pcc.edu/resources/academic/standards-practices/G301.html.  The traditional grade system, A, B, C, D, F is defined in document at this link.  Students are responsible for reading about and selecting a grading system option for the class.  Students do not receive an A for “doing all of the assigned work” and “satisfactory completion” of  a course (that is the criteria for a C).  An A means “Superior”, while “Above Average” is a B.  Please familiarize yourself with these grading guidelines.  Students who choose to take a pass/no pass option need to be aware that their grade must be equivalent to or better than a C to pass the course.

Faculty may assign a mark of NS (no show) and deny access to any registered Student who does not attend the first class session.  The drop deadline for this class is Friday, January 15 (both for a drop with a refund and a drop without a “W” grade).  Students will be assigned a “W” grade when a withdraw is processed between January 16th and February 26th.  After that, students will receive an F or NP.  Students who stop attending class without formally withdrawing will receive an F or NP for the course and will be liable for all charges on their account.

For this class, grading is done on a straight scale (90% and above = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, and below 60% = F).

Grades will be determined from performances on:

• 3 best exams 45%
• SAESS 5%
• Project 25%
• Lab 25%

At one time, PCC's policy on incompletes was as follows: When the quality of the work is satisfactory, but some minor, yet essential, requirement of the course has not been completed, and for reasons acceptable to the instructor, a report of "I" may be made and additional time granted for the completion of the work. If the course is not completed within a year, the "I" will be administratively changed to an "NP" unless the instructor submits another grade. The conditions for completion of the work should be stated in writing, signed by the instructor and the student, and kept on file in the department or program office.

I think that this is a good policy, and  I do not generally give "I" grades.

Academic Integrity and Code of Student Conduct: The official policies of PCC on Academic Integrity and the Code of Student Conduct can be found at www.pcc.edu/about/policy/student-rights. Please familiarize yourself with the policies outlined on this site.  “Students are expected to be honest and ethical in their academic work.  Cheating, plagiarism, falsifying, and working with others to cheat are all forms of academic dishonesty.”  The penalty for academic dishonesty in this course is automatic failure of the assignment or exam in question.

Disability: Students who have a documented disability and require a classroom adjustment or accommodation should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities [www.pcc.edu/resources/disability] and provide the OSD Approved Academic Accomodation to the Instructor.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes. Each student is responsible for all of the content of all of the classes, including lecture material which may not be in the text. If you miss lecture or lab, then it is YOUR responsibility to learn the material covered. I will not be grading on attendance, but will keep track of who is attending. Please be sure to sign the attendance sheet each class period.

Announcements:  The course content and requirements may be adjusted in response to institutional, weather or class situations as needed.  Notice of changes will be announced during lecture or lab and will be posted on an announcements page on the class web site.  The lectures may also cover material not included in the textbook.  You are responsible for ALL of the material discussed in class, whether you are present or not.

The course outline given below is TENTATIVE and may be subject to revision. Any changes will be announced in class and are your responsibility.
 

Week	Monday	Wednesday	Lab
1	Chapter 1- Introduction, review sediments and rocks	Displaying geologic features via maps and other diagrams	SAESS and Introduction
2	Chapter 5 – Weathering and Soils	Chapter 5 – Weathering and Soils	Lab 9 – Topographic Maps
3	No Class – MLK day	Chapter 14 – Mass Movement	Lab 10 – Geologic Maps
4	First Exam	Chapter 15 - Streams	Lab 11 – Mass Wasting
5	Chapter 15 - Streams	Chapter 19 - Shorelines	Lab 11 - Streams
6	Chapter 16 - Groundwater	Chapter 16 - Groundwater	Lab 15 – Coastal Processes
7	Second Exam	Chapter 18 Deserts	Lab 12 - Groundwater
8	Chapter 17 - Glaciers	Chapter 17 - Glaciers	Lab 14 - Drylands
9	Chapter 17 – Glaciers/ Ice Ages PROJECT DUE	Chapter 20 - Resources	Lab 13 – Glacial Processes
10	Third Exam	Review	SAESS and Resource Lab – to be handed out
Finals	Final Exam