Instructor: John Stimac
Office: 1039 Physical Science
Telephone: 581-7016
Email: cfjps@eiu.edu
Class time: MWF 1300 - 1350
Office hours: M-F 1000 - 1145 and TW 1800 - 1900, and by appointment - contact me via email to setup an appointment, or talk with me after class.

TUTORING
The Geoscience Club will be offering free tutoring to any GEL 1300 student in room 1060 Physical Science.  They are offering a very good service and are willing to help with class material or labs.  If you cannot stop by my office hours for help, I suggest that you try to stop and talk with them.

Tutoring will be offered Monday and Thursday evenings in room 1060 from 8 - 9 PM.

PRACTICE QUIZZES
Links to practice quizzes will be found here - remember, however, the actual quizzes will NOT be multiple choice, but will instead be short answer, completion, and draw or label the diagram.

Required texts
Physical Geology, 3rd edition, Monroe and Wicander

GeoScience Laboratory Manual, 3rd edition, Freeman - must be purchased during first week of classes

Scope of Course
During this course, I hope that you'll gain an appreciation of science and the world around us - specifically how geology can, and does, relate to your life and the community.  Everyone should be able to discuss, and give examples of, geology's significance to our everyday life and why it's important.  There are a number of geologically important issues that will affect the way you live the rest of your life, such as natural hazards, global warming, and life on other planets: I want you to be able to critically assess those issues, so you don't have to depend on Rush Limbaugh, Al Gore, or Ralph Nader to do your thinking for you.  You will also be able to identify the common rock-forming minerals and be able to identify rocks that are found locally and discuss their significance.  Concepts covered will include geologic time, the Earth's structure and origin, common rocks and minerals, and plate tectonics.  Finally, a number of you will use geology in your careers, and I want you to be prepared for that.
 

Students with Disabilities (Whether learning, physical, hard of hearing, psychiatric, or sensory) Eastern Illinois University promotes equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities. If you have a disability and may need any assistance, please notify your instructor and make an appointment immediately with the Office of Disability Services (Buzzard House, or call 581-6583)

Makeups, Missed, and Late Assignments:
No makeups will be allowed for missed questions of the day or quizzes or labs; examination makeups will only be allowed for unusual circumstances that are discussed with the instructor, preferably ahead of time.  Late assignments will be docked 5 percent of the grade per class, or lab, missed.

Classroom policy
I assume you are in this class to learn so disruptions will not be tolerated.  Not only is this disruptive to me, but also to your fellow classmates.  With this in mind, I ask that you arrive to the class on time and that there be no classroom conversations or other distractions.  If you must talk, please take it outside, or I will ask you to do so.

Grading
Grading will be based on merit; that is, you will be graded primarily against your fellow students.  The "grade" breakdown will be approximately 90 percent for an "A", 80 percent for a "B", and so on.  A tentative breakdown is as follows:

Questions of the Day: 3 pts. each.  The Questions of the Day will be handed out at the beginning of each class and are due at the end of class.  The question will concern some aspect of that day's lecture.  Total value: approximately 102 pts.

Quizzes:  50 pts. each.  Quizzes will primarily cover material taught since the previous quiz or examination, but may also include earlier material.  Format will be short answer, label the diagram, multiple choice, and completion.  Quizzes will last approximately 30 minutes and will be given at the end of class.  Total value: 300 pts.

Labs:  10 pts. each.  Labs will cover the rock-forming minerals, the three major rock types, structural geology and physics of the earth's interior.  Labs will be approached in a hands-on type of atmosphere -- the same manner in which the Lab Final will be given.  There will be fourteen (14) labs.

Mid-term Examination: 150 pts.  The mid-term examination will have the same format as the quizzes and will cover everything up to, and including, metamorphic rocks and processes.  The mid-term examination will last one hour.  Total value: 150 pts.

Lab Practical Examination 100 pts.  There will be a practical lab final.  The final will test the student's ability to correctly identify hand specimens of the basic rocks and minerals - there will be approximately 25 samples and each will have a variety of questions to answer.   The final will also test the student's ability to correctly identify and solve basic geologic exercises using topographic and geologic maps as well the identification of various geologic features from slides.  The exam will last one hour and forty minutes.  Total value: 100 pts.  To be given Monday, 26 April.  No make-ups allowed.

Final Examination: 200 pts.  The final examination will have the same format as the mid-term examination and will cover the entire course.  This may include ideas presented in lab.  The final exam will last two hours.  Total value: 200 pts.  To be given Wednesday, 5 May.

Report:  100 pts.  There will be one report due from each student.  Topics can be anything covered in class or agreed upon with the instructor.  Topics must be approved no later than Wednesday, 4 February.  A reference list is due to me no later than Friday, 25 February.  You must have least five (5) references with a maximum of 40 percent (2 out of five) from the web.  Additional references are allowed.  Your final report is due on Friday, 2 April.  Citations must be in a standard format, e.g., MLA, Chicago-style, AGU, etc.  Total value: 100 pts.  The report must be less than seven pages in length.  There is no minimum length.  All references, including web sources, must be cited.  Figures can be included and do not count towards to the total page length.

Grading of the reports will be done using the following scale.  I will assign two grades varying between 0 and 5 then will scale those to the total value of the assignment.