GEOB 103: Lectures and Examinations

Do I need to buy the 4th edition of the textbook?

No. The 3rd edition is almost identical, and for that matter, other first year physical geography textbooks are likely to be just as useful as this one, though you will have to use the table of contents to find the relevant chapters.

Will material from the textbook that is not covered in class be examinable?

No. The examinations will focus on the material covered in class. This includes the lecture notes provided online at the course website, the diagrams that we draw during class, as well as other sources that we use extensively in class that are also made available on the course website (e.g., the wiki page on the 1700 Cascadia earthquake).

How should I study for the midterm and final examinations?

The best approach is to be on top of the lecture material from the very beginning. A good strategy is to read the textbook and scan the lecture notes prior to lecture, making sure to note things that are particularly confusing. Then, following lecture, identify the 3 or 4 major themes covered in lecture. You can even go so far as writing a few multiple choice questions that would test these concepts right after the lecture (this is what the instructor does!). Also, be aware that the course emphasizes a systems approach that relates one set of concepts to another, and places far less emphasis on memorizing details. One key is realizing the the diagrams we draw are actually conceptual models for how the concepts fit together. Try to avoid memorizing facts, and try to find as many ways as possible of relating different ideas and concepts to each other.

I am sick/away/etc. and cannot hand in my laboratory assignment by the deadline. Can I hand it in late?

The short answer is no. In smaller classes we can be more flexible, but with a course having multiple instructors and so many students, my colleagues and I find it necessary to set precedents and stick to them: in this case, the precedent has already been set through our experiences with previous classes and fairness demands that we respect those precedents.

Geological Terms

The following terms are reasonably well described in the textbook as well as on Wikipedia, but will not be explicitly discussed in class (you SHOULD know them for class, though)

Plate Tectonics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics
Orogeny:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orogeny
Continental Shield: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Shield
Wilson Cycle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_cycle
Active Margin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_margin
Passive Margin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_margin