Student Engagement in 100-level Units

In an effort to develop good study skills from the outset the Faculty of Science and Engineering have made participation compulsory for 100 level units - this is now a hurdle assessment for the unit i.e., you must comply with this requirement to pass the unit. 

While we expect 100% attendance at all lectures/workshops and practical laboratory classes to guarantee a successful outcome, the GEOS1120 hurdle assessment requires that you attend and participate in at least 10 out of the 13 weekly lectures/workshops and practical laboratory classes. Your tutor will provide you with further details on what we define as participation.

Please contact your convenor [nathan.daczko@mq.edu.au] as soon as possible if you have difficulty attending and participating in any classes. We will endevour to enable you to attend a practical class later in the week. If there are circumstances that mean you miss a class, you can apply for a disruption to studies request through ask.mq.edu.au and if approved this practical will be removed from your record of absences.

The dates for submission of assessment tasks are listed on the schedule. Extensions for submission of assessment tasks will be given only for illness or misadventure, which must be supported by documentation through the online request portal (ask.mq.edu.au). Assessment tasks submitted late without approval will be penalised 10% of the potential total mark per day late. Students must keep a photocopy of their reports.

INTRODUCTION

Dynamic Earth is a hands on unit of study, that sets out to acquaint you with the essential features of the materials that constitute the Earth, processes that shape the Earth’s surface, and the interaction of people and the geologic environment. The unit is an introduction to geology and not only forms the vital stepping stone for future studies in geology, but also sets out to give students from other disciplines a basic understanding of the physical Earth that will be helpful in studies and careers in environmental science, geomorphology, geophysics, biology, geodesy, gemology and economics.

We aim to help you develop the skills necessary for study of the physical Earth. By the end of the unit, you should have the skills to:

• Make critical observations of geology for yourself
• Identify minerals and rocks
• Determine geometric relationships between rock units, as depicted on simple geological maps
• Use geological information to better understand the physical Earth

These different threads come together via an understanding of the cyclic nature of rock-forming and rock degrading processes of our planet, in terms of the Plate Tectonic Theory.

Geology is a vital, living science that touches our everyday lives. For example, materials such as diamonds, natural resources and energy are essential to our modern civilisation, and precious stones add to our appreciation of nature's beauty. Processes such as volcanism, earthquakes, landslides and erosion may dramatically affect our well being. Knowledge you gain of these materials and processes, based on scientific approaches of observation, testing and evaluation, will assist you towards a better understanding of this planet, Earth.

STUDY PROGRAM

Students coming into this unit have a variety of backgrounds, since there are no set pre-requisites. Some of you will have no geology or physical geography at all in your previous studies, others will have taken Earth and Environmental Science at HSC level, and still others will have completed GEOS1110 Planet Earth here at Macquarie. However, previous studies in geology and related subjects are not necessary and in terms of your geological knowledge, by the end of this unit it should not matter what background you had before you started. In spite of this, inevitably in the early stages some of you might find many more new concepts to come to grips with than others. DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, as by persevering into the unit of study, you will gain the satisfaction of seeing how the pieces of the overall Earth puzzle start to come together.

This unit concentrates on five major themes that will be explored and revisited in various ways throughout the unit. These themes include:

• Deep time (prehistorical and ancient geological past)
• Plate tectonics
• The rock cycle
• Geological skills e.g. mapping and mineral/rock recognition
• How geoscience can be used to solve some of the problems of the 21^st century

There are three modules that investigate different aspects of geoscience. The main ideas and objectives for the modules are:

Module 1: Tools of Geoscience (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Understand that the rocks we see today have undergone change through geologic time and are still undergoing change (this is known as the rock-cycle)
• Recognise that there are 3 main groups of rocks (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) and be able to distinguish typical hand specimen examples of each type (Note: this skill will be reinforced throughout the unit)
• Understand the basic concepts of the plate tectonic theory and appreciate that it is the major unifying idea of geoscience
• Describe the main tools of geoscience and give examples of how they are used: e.g. mapping, satellite imagery, air photos, geophysical investigations, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Read and interpret topographic maps, and understand how contours are constructed and how to interpret them
• Use geological maps including legends, scales, grid references, etc. to solve simple problems and navigate
• Understand that maps are two dimensional representations of a three dimensional world, and the graphical techniques that are used to illustrate what is under the surface (e.g. making and interpreting geological cross sections)
• Explain the sequence of events that led to the geological configuration of an area (geological history)

Module 2: Hot Rocks (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Analyse volcanic processes, the landforms produced, and volcanic hazards
• Account for differences between volcanoes in terms of lava type (chemistry, appearance, explosiveness, etc) and their geographic position in relation to plate tectonic theory (e.g. boundary, intra-plate, etc)
• Examine intrusive igneous processes (e.g. magma composition and behaviour), and the features these processes produce
• Recognise common volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks and be able to use a classification scheme to identify them; interpret the origin of igneous rocks from hand specimens and field relations
• Describe and appreciate the significance of deeper Earth processes (e.g. mantle plumes)
• Understand the impact of plate tectonic theory on igneous processes
• Identify the main silicate rock-forming minerals
• Comprehend the basic chemical structure of the main groups of minerals (e.g. silica tetrahedra) and how this structure determines their appearance and physical properties
• Illustrate how knowledge of igneous processes can be useful to people (e.g. natural resources and energy; building materials)

Module 3: Rocks Under Stress and Deep Earth (approximately one-third of the unit)

By the end of this unit students should be able to:

• Comprehend that metamorphism causes change to existing rocks by the application of heat and pressure
• Comprehend that rocks slowly change form and shape under the application of forces
• Match parent rocks with metamorphosed equivalents
• Establish that rock microstructure and the existence of particular minerals indicate that rocks have undergone change
• Discern the difference between contact and regional metamorphism and be able to distinguish this difference in hand specimens showing a visible difference
• Understand the concept of metamorphic grade
• Use and interpret geological maps with intrusive rock bodies and simple structural features
• Describe how knowledge of metamorphic processes can be of benefit to people
• Understand the relationship between metamorphism, deformation and plate tectonic theory
• Understand how geophysics is used to understand the deep Earth and to monitor geological hazards

STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCES

This unit can be seen as two interconnected streams. A lecture/workshop stream involving short presentations and hands on activities that will give a broad overview of the topic, provide background information and introduce new ideas and concepts that link in with the other stream. Parallel to the lecture/workshop stream are a series of laboratory and field-based activities and case study workshops.

There will be two case studies. These case studies will be extended enquiries into real geo-scientific problems, extending over several weeks. These problems are different to the ones that you would typically find in textbooks, and more closely resemble the investigations that scientists face in the real world, with many interacting factors and a number of possible solutions.

Each of the case studies will allow you to explore the ideas in depth and will provide an effective and, we hope, enjoyable method of learning. There is also the added benefit of providing you with opportunities to develop generic skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication, accessing and evaluating information and in using scientific approaches to solve problems.

You will be working individually or in small teams for each case study, both in attempting to solve the problem and to produce a final report. The reports will be awarded marks for your individual synthesis. You will be expected to do substantial research outside of the scheduled time (e.g. library and/or web-based literature search).

FIELD TRIPS

During this unit of study you will be required to participate in two field trips: one on-campus (in-person) and one off-campus (virtual in 2020). These excursions form an essential part of the unit and give you an introduction to field geology. You should take special note of the following:

Equipment: The basic requirements are a hand lens, magnet, and some method of testing mineral hardness (e.g. a pocket knife, copper coin, etc.). Buy a geological hammer only if you intend to continue in a geological field. As the weather is not always kind, note taking can be a problem if ballpoint or ink pens are used. Pencils are recommended. Bring several, and keep them sharp. Learn to be neat and tidy in these initial stages, and form a good habit early. It is much easier to discipline yourself now than to change habits later.

Clothing: Everyone has their own idea of comfort, but some common features of field clothing are obvious. Wear sensible, tough footwear, such as boots or strong sneakers. Thongs, fashion shoes and street shoes are useless and unacceptable. We will be walking over some irregular rock outcrops and may be in snake-infested areas. We cannot guarantee good quality weather; so you should have waterproof clothing. Long trousers, such as jeans, are safer than shorts. Bring a hat and sunscreen.

TEXTS AND REFERENCES

Unit of study booklet

This is available through iLearn and contains the lecture/workshop activities, laboratory practicals and case study assignments. The booklet is essential for you to have to follow the unit. You must print this yourself. The completed worksheets are invaluable as an aid during revision for the examination.

Textbook

The recommended text is:

Tarbuck, E.J., Lutgens, F.K. and Tasa, D. (2016). Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology (12th Global). Pearson . ISBN 9781292161839

This gives more background information, often written from a different perspective from the workshops and practical class notes. It also contains photographs and diagrams for use in the workshops and laboratory exercises. In the library you may find several other basic textbooks on Physical Geology that will be of use to you. The other text mentioned is Merali, Z. and Skinner B.J. Visualizing Earth Science. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-74705-5.

Reading List

You may find the following books helpful for reference. They should provide useful supportive material to the workshops, case studies and laboratory exercises, and supplement the prescribed textbook and the Unit of Study booklet.

Dynamic Earth is a subject relying heavily on observation, so it will be of great help to look at a variety of illustrations of the features that are covered in the unit of study. The books listed below are generally well illustrated, with striking colour photographs and diagrams.

** indicates a book in Special Reserve in the Library; * indicates a book on 3-day loan.

**Branagan, D.F. and Packham, G.H., 2000. Field geology of NSW. NSW Dept of Mineral Resources. Sydney. QE45.B7

*Busch, R.M., Tarbuck, E.J. and Lutgens, F.K, 1993. A study guide to accompany "The earth — an introduction to physical geology". Merrill. QE28.2.T37

*Cattermole, P., 2000. Building Planet Earth. Cambridge University Press. QE26.2.C384

*Hamblin, W.K. 1998. Earth's Dynamic Systems. Macmillan (8th Ed.) QE28.2.H35

*Hamblin, W.K. and Howard, J.D. 1995. Exercises in Physical Geology. QE28.2.H36

**Herbert, C. and Helby, R., 1980. A Guide to the Sydney Basin. Geological Survey of NSW Bulletin 26. QE341.N4

**Kimberley, M.M and Kimberley, S.J. 1995. Study guide to Skinner/Porter's The Dynamic Earth: an introduction to physical geology. Third Edition. Wiley (3rd Ed) QE28.2K56

*Merritts, D.J., De Wet, A., and Menking, K., 1998. Environmental Geology: an earth system science approach. Freeman, New York. QE38.M47

*Monroe, J.S. and Wicander, R. 1992 Physical Geology — exploring the earth. Harper Educational Publ.; West Publ. Co St. Paul. QE28.2.M655

*Montgomery, C.W., 1993. Physical Geology. Wm C. Brown (3rd Ed.) QE28.2.M66

*Morrison, R., 1988. Voyage of the Great Southern Ark. Ure Smith Press. QE340.M67

*Morton, R.D., 1995. Student’s Companion to Skinner and Porter’s The Dynamic Earth; an introduction to Physical Geology, Third Edition. Wiley QE28.2.S552

*Murck, B.W., Skinner, B.J. and Porter, S.C., 1996. Environmental Geology. Wiley and Sons, New York. QE38.M87/1996

*Plummer, C.C. and McGeary, D., 1999. Physical Geology. Wm C. Brown Publ., Iowa (8th Ed.). QE28.2.P58

*Press, F. and Siever, R. 1998. Understanding Earth. Freeman, New York (2nd Ed.) (replaces Earth, 4th Ed.). QE28.P9

**Scheibner, E., 1999. The geological evolution of New South Wales. Dept of Mineral Resources. QE341.S296

**Skinner, B.J. and Porter, S.C., 2000. The Dynamic Earth: an introduction to physical geology. Wiley , 4th Ed. QE28.2.S55

**Skinner, B.J., Porter, S.C. and Botkin, D.B., 1999. The Blue Planet. Wiley , 2nd Ed. QB631.S57

*Smith, D.G., 1981. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. QE26.2.C35

*Stanley, S.M., 1989. Earth and life through time. W.H. Freeman and Company, N.Y. QE28.3.S73

*Tarbuck, E.J., Lutgens, F.K. and Tasa, D. (2016). Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology (12th Global). Pearson . ISBN 9781292161839

**Van Andel, T.H., 1994. New views of an old planet: continental drift and the history of the earth. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge (2nd Ed.). QE26.2.V36

*Veevers, J.J., 2000. Billion-year earth history of Australia and neighbours in Gondwanaland. GEMOC Press, Sydney. QE340.B55

CD-ROMS

**Dunning, J and Onesti, L.J., 1998. Earth Matters. Freeman and Co., New York. QE38.D8

**Tasa, D., 1999. Illustrated dictionary of earth science. Tasa Graphic Arts. QE5.I45

Library Loans

The Library at Macquarie will have provided you with information on library loans. The procedures differ for metropolitan and country students. Please familiarise yourself with the procedures appropriate in your case. If you have any enquiries contact the Library on (02) 9850-7500.

Date	Week	Workshop (compulsory participation) Tuesday 12–14 [14SCO 163]	Laboratory Practical (compulsory participation) Thu 9-12, 13-16, Fri 10-13 [11WW 220]
27 Jul	1	A tour of Planet Earth [Nathan Daczko] (1.4, 1.6, 2, 9.5)*	Practical 1: Topographic Maps	Volcanoes Case Study
3    Aug	2	Minerals [Elena Belousova] (3)	Practical 2: Campus Excursion
10 Aug	3	The Deep Earth-Volcano Connection [Heather Handley] (4, 5)	Practical 3: Geological Map Reading
17  Aug	4	Explosive Volcanism and Hazards [Heather Handley] (4, 5)	Practical 4: Minerals
24   Aug	5	Supervolcanoes and Below [Heather Handley] (4, 5)	Practical 5: Mafic and Intermediate Igneous Rocks
31 Aug	6	Geochemical Tools and Dating the Earth [Bruce Schaefer] (9.4, PDF of chapter in iLearn)	Practical 6: Felsic Igneous Rocks
7 Sep	7	Hydrocarbons and Other Fuels [Simon George] (7, 23.2)	Practical 7: Introduction to Geochemistry
		Session 2 break
28 Sep	8	Metamorphism [Nathan Daczko] (8)	Practical 8: Metamorphic Minerals	Hartley Case Study
5 Oct	9	Crustal Deformation [Nathan Daczko] (10, 14)	Practical 9: Metamorphic Rocks
12 Oct	10	Earthquakes and Earthquake Hazards [Kate Selway] (11)	Practical 10: Geological Cross Sections
19 Oct	11	Earth’s Interior [Kate Selway] (11,12)	Practical 11: Geological History
26 Oct	12	Understanding the Earth System [Bruce Schaefer] (22)	Practical 12: Exam Revision
2 Nov	13

*Numbers in brackets represent chapters from Earth: An introduction to Physical Geology

 

IMPORTANT DATES: (submit assignments to admin office 12WW level 3)

Week 3 – Monday 10^th August (2pm): Part A of Volcanoes Case Study is due

Week 5 – Monday 24^th August (2pm): Part B of Volcanoes Case Study is due

Week 7 – Monday 7^th September (2pm): Part C of Volcanoes Case Study is due

During session 2 break: Thursday 17^th September: Full-day virtual field trip online

Week 12 – Monday 26^th October (2pm): Report for Hartley Case Study is due

Week 12 – Monday 26^th October (2pm, in workshop): Hartley Case Study Quiz

Exam: To be advised once the examinations timetable is drawn up

 

TIME ALLOCATION

According to Macquarie University guidelines, you are required to spend 39 hours of study per credit point. For GEOS1120 this works out to approximately two hours per week in workshops, approximately three hours per week at the practical laboratory sessions, one day on the off campus field trip and approximately six to seven hours per week doing at home study. Conscientious use of this time, particularly if it is spread over the whole semester will provide its reward.

 

EVALUATION

We are interested in your ideas about how the unit is progressing and how it can be improved. At certain points during the semester, you will be invited to fill out a brief survey to give us some feedback on how you find the unit content and presentation methods.

Two key messages: (1) lecture/workshops are online in 2020 and (2) field trip is virtual in 2020.

This year sees our third year of some significant changes to the GEOS1120 offering and we ask for your patience and feedback. There have been major changes to the content delivery format to incorporate more hands on activities in the lecture/workshop and laboratory components. Participation in both the lecture/workshop and the laboratory practical components is compulsory. We have shortened the laboratory practical component from 3 hours to 2 hours following feedback from students.

Swapping traditional lectures for novel two-hour workshops has seen a dramatic improvement in first year geology students’ engagement, depth of learning and final grades. The lecture/workshops—which involve 10 to 15 minute ‘mini-lectures’ interspersed with object-based and active learning exercises—are conducted in the new active learning spaces at Macquarie. In 2020, these will be online for the first time. First year geology is ideal for object-based and active learning as it is strongly skills-based with students learning how to identify minerals and rock types, think in three dimensions and understand geophysical principles. Each week a mystery box is placed on each of the tables that contains the workshop objects and instructions for the activities. Our goal is to deliver new information that advances the students’ learning, while including a process of immediate feedback on the effectiveness of their learning during the activities. We found in 2018 and 2019 that the object-based and active learning stimulated discussion, group work and lateral thinking at each table, along with excellent engagement with the workshop leader and tutors. The objects enhanced the delivery of unit-specific knowledge while also improving students’ generic skills such as communication, teamwork, and observational and drawing ability. The results from the 2018 and 2019 sessions showed the success of the new format. The failure rate dropped from around 20 per cent to less than five per cent of the cohort, and the percentage of students scoring a distinction or high distinction jumped from approximately a quarter to more than half the class.

You are required to research, prepare and write the case study reports at the standard expected at tertiary level. Since most of what you learn is tested in written form, it is essential that you learn to write effectively. Organisation is the key to achieving this, and the following steps should assist you.

Preparation

1. Determine what is required in the case study report. Make sure you understand each word used to ensure that you are writing to the topic set, not to one of your own invention.
2. Read the relevant unit material and generate a list of key words, which will help you locate other references in the Library. Do this early. Remember that reference books may be hard to find if you leave your library research too late.
3. When taking notes from a reference always note the bibliographical information and Call Number. If you write down a quotation, take a note of the page it was on. There is nothing more frustrating than having to look back through a book for one sentence.

The Outline

1. Introduction. Define terms and outline your approach to the topic.
2. Discussion. This section is for explanation and discussion of the topic. It may help to write down a list of major points that will become your paragraphs, so that you can arrange your notes under each point.
3. Conclusion. This is not a reiteration of the discussion, but a summary statement that rounds off the report.

The Drafts (at least one — more probably two or three)

1. Keep referring back to the question — have you strayed from the topic?
2. Single sentences or paragraphs should not express too many ideas. A logical development of your theme should be the aim throughout the essay.
3. In your initial draft, do not worry too much about the word limit. It is a simple matter to cut down extraneous or repetitive material in subsequent rewrites — in fact this should be your aim.
4. Support your statements with facts and references.
5. References: quotations should be used only if the point being made is vital to your argument and if you could not express it better yourself. If you paraphrase, you must acknowledge your authority as you would when quoting directly – after the paraphrased section or quotation, i.e. (Smith, 1981, p.132). Make sure you document this reference in your Bibliography or list of References. Remember, plagiarism is cheating! All references must be clearly documented at the end of your assignment. For more details on referencing of material see Appendix 2 of your Unit of Study Booklet.

The Final Product

1. If possible, allow a few days between writing your final draft and the finished report, to allow you to critically read and edit it. There is a danger that if it is too fresh in your mind, you will read what you think is there, rather than what you have actually written. Read your final draft through several times — once for fluency and clarity of ideas, once for punctuation and once for spelling. For clarification of problems, refer to an authority such as the Australian Government Publishing Service Style Manual.
2. Write (or type — learn now if you are an untidy writer) your assignment for submission, and then check it again. Is there a title, your name on each page, page numbers, etc.?
3. Submit your case study report on or before the due date to the admin office on level 3 of 12 Wally's Walk (12WW), and keep a digital copy or photocopy. Campus maps are available at http://www.bgo.mq.edu.au/campus.htm. All assignments are to be submitted before class on the date specified and must include a completed and signed coversheet stapled to the front cover.

Formatting

1. All typed text submitted for case studies is to be 12 point font at double line spacing. Margins should be approximately 2cm. Place your name in the header and number each page.
2. Page limits should be strictly adhered to.
3. In all that you hand in, marks will be given for “communication”; that is how effectively you communicate your ideas. This will include how well your text/maps/profiles/sketches convey your concepts, and how well written your report is (including correct use of English and of referencing procedures – see Appendix 2).

Now, perhaps, you can see how important it is to start the whole process early if you are to do a good job. If you are having problems along the way, consult your Tutor, and consult a how-to-do-it text.