Catalog description: Examines geologic hazards including both the physical processes that cause them and society's attempt to regulate them Taught winter quarter. 4 credits
Course web site: http://www.cocc.edu/breynolds/classes/Geol353/index.htm
Homework assignments. Each week you will receive a homework assignment related to the lecture and reading material. The assignment is due one week from the date that it is handed out. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Hazard Summaries. Part of your grade will include compiling a record of hazardous geologic events that occur during the course. Each weekly entry should include the date of the event together with a ˝ to 1 page summary of the event. Be sure to include the specific location of the event, the extent of the area affected, type(s) of hazard(s) reported, current activity, past activity, amount of death and destruction, and source(s) of the information. Your sources will most likely be a newspaper (include name, date and page), television (channel, program and time you watched) or the internet (web address and date you accessed it). Each reported event should be noteworthy enough to “make the news”. For example, an event such as a magnitude 2.5 earthquake occurring at 4 am on 1/25/03 in rural Peru” is not particularly noteworthy. By the end of the course you should have a total of ten events; one for each week. Moreover, you must have at least one event from each of the following major categories of geologic hazards: flood, mass wasting, earthquake, volcanic eruption. Your summaries are due on Wednesday Dec 1st. I will not accept late summaries.
Term Paper. You will research and write a formal paper on a geologic hazard of your choice. Additional details on how to organize and prepare your report are included in the course packet. You must select your topic and have it approved by me by Monday, Oct 18th. Your paper will be due on Wednesday, Dec 1st. I will not accept late term papers. Guidelines for preparing your term paper are provided with this syllabus.
Exams. Two exams will be given during the course. The dates of these exams are listed on the accompanying schedule. The exams will consist of a combination of essay, multiple choice and fill in the blank drawings and will cover material from both lecture and the text. All exams are “closed book” which means you may use only the information stored in your brain to complete a test. You cannot use notes, texts, or another student to assist you, nor can you assist another student in completing their exam. I consider all of these to be cheating offenses which will result in a score of zero for the exam. You must take the exams at the designated date and time. If you miss an exam you will get an F for that test. In the event of an emergency (or if you have special testing requirements) you should contact me ahead of time. In the rare case that a makeup exam is permitted, there will be a mandatory 10 % deduction.
Grading. There are a total of 580 possible points for the course. The value of each assignment is provided in the table below. The grade that you earn will be based upon the scores you receive in the categories listed below. Letter grades will be assigned as follows: A+ = > 97%, A = 93-97%, A- = 90-92%, B+ = 87-89%, B = 83-86%, B- = 80-82%, C+ = 77-79%, C = 73-76%, C- = 70-72%, D = 60-69%, F = less than 60%.
Grading category Point value
Mid-term exam 100
Final exam 100
9 Homework assignments (20 points each) 180
Summaries of 10 weekly geologic hazard events 100
Geologic Hazard Term Paper 100
Total Points Possible 580
How to View your grade. You can view your scores and keep track of your overall grade at any time during the course by following these instructions.
1. Launch an Internet browser (ex: COCC Home page)
2. Type in: http://www.eClassInfo.com/home.asp?id=breyn. You will be taken to the WebGrade Reports posted by Bob Reynolds.
3. Click on the hyperlink for the course you are taking (Ex: Geol 353). You will be taken to the Login for WebGrade.
4. Enter your Student ID (first initial and last name in lower case letters, ex: epresley) and Password (student ID number)
5. Click the Login button. You'll be taken to YOUR student page, containing the grade report that I’ve has posted regarding your work. No one else other than me has access to your grades.
6. When you are finished, close the browser window.
