Courses:

Introduction to Geology >> Content Detail



Syllabus



Syllabus


Amazon logo When you click the Amazon logo to the left of any citation and purchase the book (or other media) from Amazon.com, MIT OpenCourseWare will receive up to 10% of this purchase and any other purchases you make during that visit. This will not increase the cost of your purchase. Links provided are to the US Amazon site, but you can also support OCW through Amazon sites in other regions. Learn more.



Description


This course introduces major minerals and rock types, rock-forming processes, and time scales; temperatures, pressures, compositions, structure of the Earth, and measurement techniques; geologic structures and relationships observable in the field; sediment movement and landform development by moving water, wind, and ice; crustal processes and planetary evolution in terms of global plate tectonics with an emphasis on ductile and brittle processes. The course includes laboratory exercises on minerals, rocks, mapping, plate tectonics, rheology and glaciers. There are also two one-day field trips.



Textbook


Grotzinger, J., T. Jordan, et al. Understanding Earth. 5th ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman, c2006. ISBN: Amazon logo 9780716766827 (softbound), and Amazon logo 9780716776963 (paperback).



Grading


To earn a final grade in 12.001 students must complete all of the following:


ACTIVITIESPERCENTAGES
4 quizzes50%
Labs, including field trip write-ups and other assignments40%
Intangibles10%



Labs


The class is designed so that labs and lectures are intermixed: there is no "lecture hour" or "lab hour". Time spent in lectures and on labs will be variable throughout the course making it important that students attend for the full two hours every MWF.



Field Trips


There are two field trips: before Ses #12, and before Ses #32, each with an associated write up. Before Ses #12, we will spend half a day taking a walking tour through Boston examining rocks used to create buildings. Before Ses #32 there will be an all day field trip to conduct a mapping project.



Intangibles


This is determined by both class/lab/field trip attendance and participation.


 








© 2010-2021 OpenCollege.com, All Rights Reserved.
Open College is a service mark of AmeriCareers LLC.