Course Syllabus

Jump to Today
A-gas-station-in-Sweden-1965.Chile earthquake Building destroyed in Concepción.SLC flood photo.Dinosaur National Monument vertebrae.Vale District Leslie Gulch.

Welcome to Geology 109: Introduction to Geology!

We are excited that you want to learn more about the earth, its history, its structures and mechanisms, and how the earth functions. There are many reasons to study geology. Here are a few that stand out:

 

  1. Natural resources: Geology plays a crucial role in the discovery, extraction, and management of natural resources such as minerals, oil, and gas. Understanding the geology of an area can help locate deposits of these resources and guide responsible and sustainable extraction.
  2. Environmental protection: Geologists are key players in efforts to protect the environment. By studying the earth's systems and processes, geologists can identify and mitigate natural hazards like landslides and floods, as well as human-caused environmental problems like pollution and climate change.
  3. Geohazards: Geology is critical in identifying and mitigating geohazards, such as landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Understanding the geology of an area can help predict the likelihood of such events and guide the development of safe building practices.
  4. Beauty: Earth's structures are beautiful! Studying the endless different patterns, forms, and colors of minerals and the varied, stunning landscapes of mountains, oceans, canyons, and deserts provides a lifetime of inspiration.

GEOL-109 fulfills the BYU-Idaho Natural Science requirement. However, there are quite a few classes you can take to fulfill this requirement, so we hope you are here to learn more about the earth, its beauty, and how it works and are not just trying to check off a graduation requirement or get a grade. 

In fact, we hope you won’t even think about your grade while working on this class and instead enjoy focusing on the many things on this earth that fill you with curiosity and wonder. While this class has grades (this is a BYUI requirement) it is designed to help you not worry about your grade and focus on learning. There are no exams or quizzes in this class for this purpose.

Learning activities are formatted as quizzes, but we don’t look at them that way. You can go through them as many times as you like, we give you feedback after each question, and they don’t count for that much of your grade. We encourage you to complete each learning activity at least once before reading the weekly reading because that will help you learn more from your reading. Then, complete the learning activity as many times after you have completed the reading until you are confident in your recall of the week’s important ideas. 

Since the learning activities have question banks, you will be going through a slightly different activity each time which will help you learn more. It’s important that you only read the textbook chapters once (note-taking is encouraged) but complete the learning activity more than twice because practicing recall is much more effective for learning than rereading material. 

You will be working with groups a lot in this class for a few different reasons. One reason is that it’s more fun to learn together. Another is that students typically learn better in groups. That’s because if you understand a concept, you cement it in your memory by explaining it, and if you are struggling with something, someone else can help you learn it. Each week you will have a weekly learning project that has an individual and a group component and for each module, you will have a group project. Please have fun with these projects. They are designed to give you an interesting way to apply what you are learning. Help each other with any part of this class, meet some new friends, and talk a lot about geology.

Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the physical and chemical structure of the earth and how plate tectonics form major geologic features (faults, folds, domes, basins, etc.).
  2. Explain how mineral properties are used to identify minerals and explain the processes and resulting textures and mineralogy of major rock types.
  3. Recognize the roles and functions of the tectonic and hydrologic cycles as they pertain to shaping the earth.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of the geologic time scale and the importance of both relative and radiometric dating techniques.
  5. Use observational skills to identify topographic features in the world around them and describe the geologic processes that formed them.

Requirements

Required Resources

  • Free textbook
  • Laptop / Desktop Computer
  • Phone with a camera, or a digital camera

Weekly Patterns

Expectations

Feedback

You can expect to receive grades and feedback within seven days of the due date for all assignments.

Workload

This is a three-credit class. You should expect to spend around 9–12 hours a week on this course.

Extra Credit

There is extra credit available for your team winning certain activities. You may want to look through the group activities at the start.

Grading Scale

Letter Grade Percent
A 100%–93%
A- 92%–90%
B+ 89%–87%
B 86%–83%
B- 82%–80%
C+ 79%–77%
C 76%–73%
C- 72%–70%
D+ 69%–67%
D 66%–63%
D- 62%–60%
F 59% and lower

announced in class.

 

 BYUI Policies and Resources

All university policies, student rights, and responsibilities codes are enforced, including no tolerance for plagiarism (e.g., no copy and pasting answers from the internet and no copying your buddy’s answers) and other forms of cheating. First Minor Violation will result in a failing grade for that assignment 2nd and/or Major Violations will be reported to the University and may result in an F for the entire class. Refer to the Student Honor Office page: https://www.byui.edu/student-honor-office/academic-honestyLinks to an external site.

Students who need accommodations because of a disability should contact the BYUI Accessibility ServicesLinks to an external site., located in 181 Manwaring Center. To schedule an appointment, or speak with a counselor, drop by or call their office at (208) 496-9210.

AI Syllabus Statement: AI programs are not a replacement for your human creativity, originality, and critical thinking. Writing, thinking, and researching are crafts that you must develop over time to develop your own individual voice.  At the same time, you should learn how to use AI and in what instances AI can be helpful to you. 

“‘Light and truth’ are a scriptural definition of intelligence,” Elder Gong saidLinks to an external site., speaking of Doctrine and Covenants 93:36. “While generative artificial intelligence may be quick to offer information, it can never replace revelation or generate truth. If something does not feel right or is inconsistent with what you know is true, seek to discern before believing.”

The use of generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Google Bard, etc.) is permitted in this course for the following activities:

    • Brainstorming and refining your ideas;
    • Fine tuning your research questions;
    • Finding information on your topic;
    • Drafting an outline to organize your thoughts; and
    • Checking grammar and style.

The use of generative AI tools is not permitted in this course for the following activities:

    • Impersonating you in classroom contexts, such as by using the tool to compose discussion board prompts/responses assigned to you or content that you put into a Teams/Canvas chat.
    • Writing a draft of a writing assignment.
    • Writing entire sentences, paragraphs or papers to complete class assignments.

You are responsible for the information you submit based on an AI query (for instance, that it does not violate intellectual property laws, or contain misinformation or unethical content). Your use of AI tools must be properly documented and cited in order to stay within university policies on academic honesty.

Any student work submitted using AI tools should clearly indicate what work is the student’s work and what part is generated by the AI. In such cases, no more than 25% of the student work should be generated by AI. If any part of this is confusing or uncertain, please reach out to me for a conversation before submitting your work.

Withdrawal Policy

If you do not wish to take this course or find that you are unable to continue, you should officially withdraw by the deadline stated in the current semester BYUI Student Timetable. https://www.byui.edu/academic-deadlines/Links to an external site.

You can officially withdraw from a course by dropping it through the online registration system or the campus registration desk by the listed date. If you officially withdraw from a course by the "Last Day to Drop and Not Show on Transcript," the course will not appear on your academic transcripts. If you officially withdraw from a course by the "Last Day to Withdraw," a "W" will appear on your transcripts. Although your GPA will not be affected — a "W" will indicate that you chose to withdraw. If you fail to complete the course and do not drop it before the "Last Day to Withdraw," a "UW" or "F" (a failing grade) will appear on your transcripts.

Withdrawing from a course may impact your financial aid status. For more information, see: BYUI Financial Aid.

 

Fair Use Disclaimer

This course is for educational purposes only.

Fair Use

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.

Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Fair Use Definition

Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test.

 

Technology Support Services 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due