CroninProjects.org/ Vince/ Course/ PhysGeol/Geo1405-GeolTime-2021.html

Outcrop along Salsbury Crags near Edinburgh, Scotland, that James Hutton studied as he formed his ideas of geologic time in the late 1700s.



Geologic Time (Deep Time)




Assignments For This Topic...

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The reading assignments are in the required textbooks listed on the main course syllabus (https://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geo1405-Spring2021.html. A reminder about how to get to the eText is provided HERE

  1. Read : the study questions for this section, listed at https://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geo1405-GeolTime-Q.html and keep them in mind as you read the following assignments. Most, if not all, of the answers will be in the reading assignments for this topic.
  2. View three short videos by Dave McConnell and friends —
    The Geological History of Earth,
    Unconformities: Finding Missing Time, and
    Numerical Time (Candy and Radioactive Decay).
  3. Scan: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.1 Creating a Time Scale: Relative Dating Principles, in its entirety.
  4. Scan: Earth, chapter 9, sections 9.2 (Fossils: Evidence of Past Life) and 9.3 (Correlation of Rock Layers).
  5. Read: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.4 Numerical Dating with Nuclear Decay (p. 277-281 in the paper version of the text)
  6. Read: Earth, chapter 9, section 9.6, The Geologic Time Scale
  7. Complete the lab assignment as described below

    Important Notes
    Lab Assignment to be largely or entirely completed before your weekly lab meeting
    1. View the pre-lab video Dating of Rocks, Fossils, and Geologic Events at https://goo.gl/k3LPxG
    2. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, the cover page and the following sections: Introduction; The Geologic Record; Principles for Determining Relative Age; and Contact Relationships, Pages 207-213.
    3. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 8.2 Determining Sequence of Events in Geologic Cross Sections, pages 223-224. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
    4. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, section The Geologic Time Scale, Pages 212-217.
    5. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 8.3 Using Fossils to Date Rocks and Events, page 225. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
    6. Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Determining Numerical Ages by Radiometric Dating, p. 216-220
    7. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Activity 8.4, Numerical Dating of Rocks and Fossils, p. 226. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
    8. Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 8, Activity 8.5, Infer Geologic History from a New Mexico Outcrop, p. 227-228. If you get stuck, contact your Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) or Dr. Cronin and they'll try to help you get unstuck. Submit a PDF of your completed activity sheet to the Geologic Time assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
  8. Complete the assigned work in Mastering Geology
    Complete the Dyamic Study Module called Geologic Time and HW09 by going to Mastering Geology through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). A reminder about how to get to the Mastering Geology assignments is provided HERE


Summary of Assigned Lab Activities for This Week: Activities 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5




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