CroninProjects.org/ Vince/ Course/ PhysGeol/ 1405SyllabusSpring20.html


Merry student units engaged in a pyramid quiz in an introductory physical geology course, spring 2020.


Tentative Syllabus, Modified for Distance Learning:
Professor Vince Cronin's Section of
Geology 1405 The Dynamic Earth


The course syllabus prior to the extended Spring Break, 2020, is accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/1405SyllabusSpring20-2covid.html .
That document is superceded by this document, which will change as the semester progresses.

We all wonder, "How can we proceed under these circumstances?" I think my friend Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., has the best answer. To paraphrase, the response to all important problems is kindness . If needed, add mercy . All in a context of boundless hope and love .


Contact information for Vince Cronin

I prefer that you continue to contact me via email, using your Baylor email address.
My email address is Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu

If (and only if) you need to speak with me directly, call me on my personal cell phone. Check the course announcements on Canvas for that mobile phone number. Please be respectful and congnizant of the fact that I have 110 students, limited time and energy, and my own family to care for during this health crisis.

If you have concerns or face challenges in completing the work in this course, please let me know. My role is to facilitate your learning, and we are all called to help each other through this difficult experience.


Online Etext Availability from Pearson

To access the etext of the lecture textbook (Tarbuck and others, 2020, "Earth")

Sign-in to Canvas and then go to Mastering Geology from within Canvas. There should be a link to the etext that will give you free access to the textbook for the "lecture" part of the course, written by Tarbuck and others (2020) and titled Earth -- An Introduction to Physical Geology [13th edition]

To access the etext of the laboratory manual (Cronin, 2017)

You need to access the Pearson resources from outside of the Canvas learning management system . This free access to the etext requires you to register, following the instructions provided on the PDF document you can access via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/CroninLab_StudentRegistration.pdf .

Once successfully registered, you can access the etext of the lab manual via http://www.pearson.com/mastering


Tentative Due Dates (Revised March 27)


The logic and role of this document ( et cetera )


Contact Information for Teaching Assistants

All Tuesday labs: Zequn Wu Zequn_Wu1@baylor.edu
Wednesday 12:20-2:25 lab: Kate Hobart Kate_Hobart1@baylor.edu
Wednesday 2:30-4:25 lab: Amanda Wang Zhao_Wang1@baylor.edu
All Thursday labs: Sam Barber Samuel_Barber1@baylor.edu


——— New Material Will Be Deposited Below Here ———




Climate Change (April 26 — May 4)


Step 1 Review the video and audio files associated with Chapter 21 (Global Climate Change) from Tarbuck and others Earth (pages 592-618 in the paper textbook), so that you have a feel for the information it contains. They are listed below:

Step 2 For each of the following questions, go back into the text of Chapter 21, find the answer, and then study the surrounding material (text and illustrations) so that you understand the answer.
The quiz this week will involve these questions.

  1. Are most mountain glaciers (a.k.a. alpine glaciers) growing or shrinking?
  2. Given that arctic sea ice expands every winter and contracts every summer, is the overall extent of arctic sea ice growing or shrinking over recent decades?
  3. Is Greenland's ice sheet growing or shrinking? ...thickening or thinning?
  4. How does weather differ from climate, in terms of the time interval associated with each term?
  5. Where do we extract ice cores for climate studies that extend over tens or hundreds of thousands of years?
  6. The fossil record indicates that humans like us ( Homo sapiens ) have existed on Earth for the past ~200,000 to ~300,000 years. Does the climate record preserved in ice cores indicate that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has varied over the past 800,000 years, both with and without Homo sapiens ? Hint: examine Figure 21.4.
  7. About what concentration (in parts per million or ppm) was the greatest concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in Earth's atmosphere for the 800,000 years prior to about the year 1700 AD? Hint: examine Figure 21.4.
  8. Does the climate record preserved in ice cores indicate that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) today is smaller, about the same, or greater than it has been in the past 800,000 years?
  9. What is the most abundant gas in clean, dry air in Earth's atmosphere?
  10. What is the second-most abundant gas in clean, dry air in Earth's atmosphere?
  11. Why is carbon dioxide an important gas in Earth's atmosphere?
  12. What do we call a very small solid particle that is suspended in the atmosphere?
  13. How do small solid particles suspended in the atmosphere contribute to cooling of the atmosphere?
  14. How do small solid particles suspended in the atmosphere contribute to heating of the atmosphere?
  15. How might the injection of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere during a major volcanic eruption affect the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth's surface? Does it increase, decrease, or have no effect on radiation hitting the surface?
  16. How might a major volcanic eruption affect the temperature of Earth's surface due to increasing the greenhouse gas concentration in the atmopshere? Would such a volcanically induced increase in greenhouse gases tend to increase, decrease, or have no effect on the average global temperature?
  17. If Earth's atmosphere had a larger concentration of greenhouse gases, would its surface temperature likely be cooler, about the same, or hotter than it is now?
  18. Has Earth's temperature decreased, stayed about the same, or increased between about 1880 and the present?
  19. What is a primary reason for the increased concentration in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in Earth's atmosphere during the past ~200 years?
  20. Does raising the temperature of sea water cause sea level to decrease, stay the same, or increase? Hint: watch the video available at https://qrgo.page.link/Hd51t
  21. Does melting of floating sea ice cause sea level to decrease, stay the same, or increase? Hint: watch the video available at https://qrgo.page.link/Mr42z
  22. Does melting of glaciers and ice caps on continental crust cause sea level to decrease, stay the same, or increase? Hint: watch the video available at https://qrgo.page.link/bhXHa
  23. What are the most important greenhouse gases — important either because of their prevalence (this gas forms a larger portion of the atmosphere) or potency (the same volume of this gas has a larger temperature effect than other gases)?
  24. Approximately what is the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) now? Hint: look for an answer at https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html
  25. How does the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) relate (if at all) to the acidity of the world's oceans? Does an increased concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere result in less, about the same, or greater acidity in the world's oceans?

MasteringGeology and assessment of your knowledge

Step 1 Work on (and complete this week if possible) the MasteringGeology material related toclimate change. These online assignments are due by 11:59 PM May 1 — the last class day of the semester — but it is much better if you complete them before taking the lecture quiz.

Step 2 Review the chapter contents by studying the "Concepts In Review" (pages 618-623 in the paper textbook). Then, without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lecture Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Monday May 4. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 29.


Optional information about this topic

Items relevant to this topic that would have been used in the face-to-face version of this course can be accessed via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Climate-Change.html .
Note that any references to homework, extra credit, or other assignments on this optional page should be ignored as irrelevant to this distance-learning experiment that we are engaged in.





Groundwater (April 17 — April 24)


17.1 The Importance of Groundwater, and
17.2 Groundwater and the Water Table

Step 1 Read chapter 17 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 17.1 and 17.2 and all of their subsections, (pages 474-479 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 12 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , "Introduction" (pages 326-328 in the paper lab manual).
To prepare for Activities 12.2 and 12.3, read the material in Lab 9 Topographic Maps, specifically the section titled "What Are Topographic Maps?" on pages 244-250, studying the content in Figures 9.11-9.14, to familiarize yourself with contours and the process of making a contour map. To help with Activity 12.2, take a look at the map in question 5 on page 500 from the "Give It Some Thought" section near the end of Tarbuck and others Earth , chapter 17.

Step 3 Complete Activities 12.1 and 12.2 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 12 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/PhysGeoLab/First-Last-Lab12Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed. Note that there are videos of Experiment 2 in Activity 12.1B that you will need to watch via http://CroninProjects.org/Vince/GW/index.htm


17.3 Storage and Movement of Groundwater

Step 1 Read chapter 17 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 17.3 and all of its subsections, (pages 479-481 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 12 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Introduction and its subsection "Mapping Groundwater Below the Water Table" (page 330 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 12.3 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 12 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/PhysGeoLab/First-Last-Lab12Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


17.4 Wells and Artesian Systems, and
17.5 Springs, Hot Springs, and Geysers

Step 1 Read chapter 17 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 17.4 and 17.5 and all of their subsections, (pages 482-487 in the paper textbook).


17.6 Environmental Problems

Step 1 Read chapter 17 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 17.6 and all of its subsections, (pages 487-493 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 12 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Land Subsidence Hazards Caused by Groundwater Withdrawal and all of its subsections (pages 335-336) in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 12.6 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 12 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab12Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


17.7 The Geologic Work of Groundwater

Step 1 Read chapter 17 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 17.7 and all of its subsections, (pages 493-496 in the paper textbook).


MasteringGeology and assessment of your knowledge

Step 1 Work on (and complete this week if possible) the MasteringGeology material related to geologic time. These online assignments are due by 11:59 PM May 1 — the last class day of the semester — but it is much better if you complete them before taking the lecture quiz.

Step 2 After you have finished working on the lab and without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lab Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 24. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 22.

Step 3 Review the chapter contents by studying the "Concepts In Review" (pages 497-499 in the paper textbook). Then, without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lecture Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 24. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 22.


Optional information about this topic

Items relevant to this topic that would have been used in the face-to-face version of this course can be accessed via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Groundwater.html .
Note that any references to homework, extra credit, or other assignments on this optional page should be ignored as irrelevant to this distance-learning experiment that we are engaged in.






Streams (April 5 — April 17)


16.1 Earth as a System: The Hydrologic Cycle
16.2 River Systems

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 16.1 and 16.2 and all of their subsections, (pages 440-445 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 View the introductory video for Laboratory 11 at https://goo.gl/225WpT

Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Introduction and What are the Components of Stream Systems? (pages 294-295 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 11.1 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 11 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab11Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


16.3 Streamflow Characteristics, and
16.4 The Work of Running Water

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 16.3 and 16.4, and all of their subsections, (pages 446-452 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , How Does Water Flow Across a Surface? and all of its subsections (pages 295-301) in the paper lab manual).


16.5 Stream Channels

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 16.5 and all of its subsections, (pages 453-454 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Stream Channels and Floodplains and all of its subsections (pages 301-303) in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 11.5 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 11 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab11Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


16.6 Shaping Stream Valleys

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , sections 16.6 and all of its subsections, (pages 455-462 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Stream Profile (pages 304-305 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 11.6 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 11 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab11Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


16.7 Depositional Landforms

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 16.7, and all of its subsections, (pages 459-462 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , How Does Water Flow Across a Surface? and all of its subsections(pages 295-301 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 11.3 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 11 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab11Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


16.8 Floods and Flood Control

Step 1 Read chapter 16 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 16.8 and all of its subsections, (pages 462-466 in the paper textbook).

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 11 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Flood Hazards and Risks and all of its subsections (pages 305-306 in the paper lab manual).

Optional Step 3 Complete Activity 11.7 in your lab manual, which compliments the reading in both the lecture text and laboratory manual. You need not hand-in this completed activity.


MasteringGeology and assessment of your knowledge

Step 1 Work on (and complete this week if possible) the MasteringGeology material related to geologic time. These online assignmens are due by 11:59 PM May 1 — the last class day of the semester — but it is much better if you complete them before taking the lecture quiz.

Step 2 After you have finished working on the lab and without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lab Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 17. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 15.

Step 3 Review the chapter contents by studying the "Concepts In Review" (pages 467-469 in the paper textbook). Then, without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lecture Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 17. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 15.


Optional information about this topic

Items relevant to this topic that would have been used in the face-to-face version of this course can be accessed via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Streams.html .
Note that any references to homework, extra credit, or other assignments on this optional page should be ignored as irrelevant to this distance-learning experiment that we are engaged in.





Earthquakes (March 30 — April 9)


11.1 What Is An Earthquake?

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.1 and all of its subsections, (pages 312-316 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 View the introductory video for laboratory 16 at https://goo.gl/gMj34o
Read through the introductory text in laboratory 16 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual (pages 409-416 in the paper lab manual).


11.2 Seismology: The Study of Earthquake Waves

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.2 and all of its subsections, (pages 316-318 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 16 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Earthquake and Seismic Waves and Interpreting Seismograms (pages 411-412 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 16.2 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 16 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab16Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


11.3 Locating the Source of an Earthquake

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.3 (pages 318-319 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 16 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Interpreting Seismograms (pages 412-413 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 16.3 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 16 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab16Answers.docx ).
You might choose to complete this exercise with the assistance of the following IRIS Web ap:
Earthquake Triangulation : https://www.iris.edu/app/triangulation/
More information about this Web ap is available via https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/software-web-app/earthquake_triangulation
Direct access to ap: https://www.iris.edu/app/triangulation/
Then transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


11.4 Determining the Size of an Earthquake

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.4 and all of its subsections (pages 320-322 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)


11.5 Earthquake Destruction

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.5 and all of its subsections, (pages 323-328 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)

  1. IRIS animation , Alaska: The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 (6 min 42 sec.) https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/uploads/videos/A_007__alaska_1964.mp4
    More information about this video is available at https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/alaska_the_great_alaska_earthquake_of_1964
  2. IRIS animation , Alaska: Tectonics and Earthquakes (8 min 39 sec.) https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/uploads/videos/A_007_alaskatectonics.mp4
    More information about this video is available at https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/alaska_tectonics_and_earthquakes
  3. IRIS animation , Building Resonance: Structural Stability During Earthquakes (5 min 31 sec.) https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/uploads/videos/A_005_buildingresonance.mp4
    More information about this video is available at https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/building_resonance_the_resonant_frequency_of_different_seismic_waves
  4. IRIS animation , Buildings & Bedrock: Effects of Amplification & Liquifaction (1 min 12 sec.) https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/uploads/videos/A_4D_amplificliquefaction.mp4
    More information about this video is available at https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/buildings__bedrock_effects_of_amplification__liquefaction
  5. IRIS animation , Subduction Zone: Tsunamis Generated by Megathrust Earthquakes (5 min 43 sec.) https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/uploads/videos/A_2_megathrustearthquakes.mp4
    More information about this video is available at https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/subduction_zone_tsunamis_generated_by_megathrust_earthquakes

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 16 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Effects of Earthquakes on Structures (pages 411-412 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 16.1 sections C, D, and E (only) in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 16 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab16Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.


11.6 Where Do Most Destructive Earthquakes Occur?

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.6 and all of its subsections, (pages 328-330 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)



11.7 Earthquakes: Predictions, Forecasts, and Mitigation

Step 1 Read chapter 11 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 11.7 and all of its subsections, (pages 330-336 in the paper textbook).

Related IRIS resources (optional but recommended)

Related activities in the Lab Manual

Step 2 Read laboratory 10 in the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Brittle Deformation and Types of Faults (pages 273-277 in the paper lab manual). Then look at the following two short videos from IRIS:

Step 3 Complete Activity 16.4 in your lab manual. You can download and print a copy of Figure A16.4.1 for use in Activity 16.4 at http://croninprojects.org/Vince/PhysGeoLab/FigureForActivity16-4.pdf

Transcribe your answers onto the lab 16 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab16Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.

MasteringGeology and assessment of your knowledge

Step 1 Work on (and complete this week if possible) the MasteringGeology material related to geologic time. These online assignmens are due by 11:59 PM May 1 — the last class day of the semester — but it is much better if you complete them before taking the lecture quiz.

Step 2 After you have finished working on the lab Without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lab Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Thursday April 9. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 7.

Step 3 Review the chapter contents by studying the "Concepts In Review" (pages 284-285 in the paper textbook). Then, without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lecture Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Thursday April 9. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 7.


Optional information about this topic

Items relevant to this topic that would have been used in the face-to-face version of this course can be accessed via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Earthquakes.html .
Note that any references to homework, extra credit, or other assignments on this optional page should be ignored as irrelevant to this distance-learning experiment that we are engaged in.





Geologic Time (March 22 — April 3)


Dating geological objects and events relative to each other

Step 1 Read chapter 9 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 9.1 Creating a Time Scale: Relative Dating Principles and all of its subsections, (pages 264-270 in the paper textbook).
View the Condor Video "Principles of Relative Dating" at https://goo.gl/CgDBtv
View the Tutorial Video "Smart Figures: Relative Dating" at https://goo.gl/D4gFk9
View the Tutorial Video "Smart Figures: Unconformities" at https://goo.gl/GaMXhn
View the Tutorial Video "Smart Figures: Geologic Histories" at https://goo.gl/RpFf54
Work through Concept Checks 9.1 (p. 270) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/w9iosG

Step 2 View the introductory video for laboratory 8 at https://goo.gl/k3LPxG
Read laboratory 8 from the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Introduction , Principles for Determining Relative Age , and Contact Relations and all of their subsections (pages 207-213 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activities 8.1 and 8.2 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 8 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab8Answers.docx ) that you will transmit to your TA via email when it is entirely completed.

Fossils and correlation of rock layers

Step 1 Read chapter 9 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 9.2 Fossils: Evidence of Past Life and section 9.3 Correlation of Rock Layers and all of their subsections (pages 270-275 in the paper textbook).
Work through Concept Checks 9.2 (p. 273) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/LJnUSC
Work through Concept Checks 9.3 (p. 275) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/PNCXC8

Step 2 Read laboratory 8 from the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , The Geologic Time Scale and all of its subsections (pages 214-217 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activity 8.3 in your lab manual, using the revised version of Figure 8.13 that is available to you via Canvas, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 8 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab8Answers.docx ).

Numerical dating of geologic materials

Step 1 Read chapter 9 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 9.4 Numerical Dating with Nuclear Decay and section 9.5 Determining Numerical Dates for Sedimentary Strata and all of their subsections (pages 277-282 in the paper textbook).
View the Tutorial Video "Smart Figures: Half Life" at https://goo.gl/hkbqK2
Work through Concept Checks 9.4 (p. 281) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/nNqhDB
Work through Concept Checks 9.5 (p. 282) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/FGtFDr

Step 2 Read laboratory 8 from the AGI/NAGT Laboratory Manual , Determining Numerical Ages by Radiometric Dating and all of its subsections (pages 218-220 in the paper lab manual).

Step 3 Complete Activities 8.4 and 8.5 in your lab manual, and transcribe your answers onto the lab 8 answer sheet (accessible via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/First-Last-Lab8Answers.docx ).

Geologic time scale

Step 1 Read chapter 9 from Tarbuck and others Earth , section 9.6 The Geologic Time Scale and all of its subsections (pages 282-284 in the paper textbook).
Work through Concept Checks 9.6 (p. 284) and then listen to the Concept Checker at https://goo.gl/RnF4hb

MasteringGeology and assessment of your knowledge

Step 1 Work on (and complete this week if possible) the MasteringGeology material related to geologic time. These online assignmens are due by 11:59 PM May 1 — the last class day of the semester — but it is much better if you complete them before taking the lecture quiz.

Step 2 After you have finished working on the lab Without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lab Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 3. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 1.

Step 3 Review the chapter contents by studying the "Concepts In Review" (pages 284-285 in the paper textbook). Then, without referring to (or help from) any other people or resources (books, notes, internet sources, people), complete the Lecture Quiz through Canvas by 11:59 PM Friday April 3. The quiz should be accessible through Canvas by the end of the day April 1.

Optional information about this topic

Items relevant to this topic that would have been used in the face-to-face version of this course can be accessed via http://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geologic-Time.html . Note that any references to homework, extra credit, or other assignments on this optional page should be ignored as irrelevant to this distance-learning experiment that we are engaged in.




MasteringGeology

Assignments in MasteringGeology will become available to you to work on in the general order in which the content is presented, but the due dates will all be set for the last day of class this semester. This is to provide you with the flexibility you might need to complete them. You are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to complete MasteringGeology assignment as we are passing through the corresponding material (i.e., do the MG assignments associated with geologic time while I am providing you with online material about geologic time).


If you have any questions or comments about this site or its contents, drop an email to the humble webmaster .
All of the original content of this website is © 2020 by Vincent S. Cronin