GEO 2303w -- Changes

Mon Dec 7 15:09:16 2009

Effective Term: New:  1119 - Fall 2011
Old:  1089 - Fall 2008
Max-Min Credits
for Course:
New:  4.0 to 4.0 credit(s)
Old:  3.0 to 3.0 credit(s)
Term(s) most
frequently offered:
New:  Fall
Old:  Spring
Component 1: New:  LEC (with final exam)
Old:  DIS (no final exam)
Component 2: New:  DIS (no final exam)
Old:  LEC (with final exam)
Auto-Enroll
Course:
New:  Yes
Old:  No
Graded
Component:
New:  DIS
Old:  LEC
Academic
Progress Units:
New:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
4.0 credit(s)
Old:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Financial Aid
Progress Units:
New:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
4.0 credit(s)
Old:  Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Repetition of
Course:
New:   Repetition not allowed.
Old:   Repetition not allowed.
Proposal Changes: New:  Increase to 4 credits
Old:  <no text provided>
Faculty
Sponsor E-mail Address:
New:  edwar001@umn.edu
Old:  
Student Learning Outcomes: * Student in the course:

- Can identify, define, and solve problems

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

Learning outcomes will be addressed by in-class discussions, quizzes, final and required writing assignments

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Progress on all course requirements (quizzes, tests, and writing assignments) will be assessed by monitoring student achievement with time and in comparison with peers. Consultations are planned to discus student performance on individual basis.

Old: unselected


- Can locate and critically evaluate information

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

The required term paper will provide important insight on this learning objective

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Progress, writing assignments will be assessed by monitoring student achievement with time and in comparison with peers. Consultations are planned to discus student performance on individual basis.

Old: unselected


- Have mastered a body of knowledge and a mode of inquiry

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

This criterion will be addressed by in-class discussions, quizzes, final and required writing assignments

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Progress on all course requirements (quizzes, tests, and writing assignments) will be assessed by monitoring student achievement with time and in comparison with peers. Consultations are planned to discus student performance on individual basis.

Old: unselected


- Can communicate effectively

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

In class discussion and end-of semester poster presentations will be used to measure this outcome

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Outcome will be assessed by monitoring student achievement with time and in comparison with peers. Consultations are planned to discus student performance on individual basis.

Old: unselected


- Understand the role of creativity, innovation, discovery, and expression across disciplines

New:

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

The required term paper and end-of semester poster presentation will provide important insight on this learning objective

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Progress, writing assignments will be assessed by monitoring student achievement with time and in comparison with peers. Consultations are planned to discus student performance on individual basis.

Old: unselected


Provisional
Syllabus:
Please provide a provisional syllabus for new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed that include the following information: course goals and description; format/structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (texts, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated.

The University policy on credits is found under Section 4A of "Standards for Semester Conversion" at http://www.fpd.finop.umn.edu/groups/senate/documents/policy/semestercon.html . Provisional course syllabus information will be retained in this system until new syllabus information is entered with the next major course modification, This provisional course syllabus information may not correspond to the course as offered in a particular semester.

New:     Geo 2303W, Fall 2011
Geochemical Principles, 4 credits

Course Description: Introduction:
This course is designed as part of the core curricula for Geology and Geophysics majors, but will be useful to anyone studying geochemistry and the Earth Sciences. The course will cover the origin of the universe and elements, thermodynamics and phase equilibria, aqueous geochemistry with emphasis on the carbon cycle, oxidation-reduction reactions, and kinetics. The course will also emphasize aspects of stable isotope geochemistry, radioisotope geochemistry, geochronology, and a wide range of applications and tools to better illustrate the role of geochemistry as a means of understanding mass transfer reactions and chemical processes in the dynamic earth system.
Class Schedule:
        Lectures:         Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 10:10-11:00, 209 Pillsbury Hall
Recitations: Tuesday 9:05-11:00, 125 Pillsbury or Tuesday 12:20-2: 15, 125 Pillsbury



Professor:         TBA


Teaching Assistants:         TBA

Required Text: Gunter Faure, Principles and Applications of Geochemistry, 2nd edition,
Prentice Hall
        Grading:         Midterm exam - 20%
Homework problems - 25%
Final exam - 30%
Term paper and writing assignments - 25%
Because this is a writing intensive class, students must earn a passing grade on the term
paper in order to pass the course.
Short writing assignments: There will be two short writing assignments during the first half of
the course. For each of these assignments, you will be asked to write a 1 to 2 page summary of
an article from journals Science, Nature, or Geology (published in 2000 or after). These
summaries are due in discussion sections.
Term Paper: Each student will write a term paper. The first step is choosing a topic. A title
and a paragraph about the subject, along with some references are due in class on Wednesday,
October 5. After each topic is approved, the student should research the topic and prepare an 8 to
15 page draft of a paper with abstract, figures, citations and a reference list. The draft is due on
November 9. The draft will be reviewed and returned with comments for preparation of
a revised final draft of the paper. The formal 15-page version of the term paper is due, along with
the edited copy of the draft on Wednesday, November 30.


Homework problems: Homework problems will be assigned most weeks in discussion
sections. Homework problems will be discussed during the discussion sections. They will be
due the following Wednesday (8 days later) in the TA¿s mailbox in 108 Pillsbury Hall by 4:30p.m.


Course Outline

Content        Readings and Problems
Week 1: In the Beginning        Chap. 2       
What is Geochemistry?
Origin of the universe
Origin of the elements, nucleosynthesis

Week 2: The Solar System        Chap. 3
Origin of solar system
Chemical differentiation of the Earth
Meteorites & Cosmic Abundances

Week 3: Chemical Differentiation of the Earth        Chap.4
Internal structure of the Earth
Evolution and Differentiation of Igneous and Sedimentary rocks
Evolution and Differentiation of the Hydrosphere

Week 4: The Electronic Structure of atoms         Chap. 5, 7, 8 (Selected readings)
Chemical bonds, ionic radii and crystals
Ionic substitutions in crystals
Distribution coefficients and geothermometers
Geochemical Classification of the Elements

Week 5: Thermodynamics        Chap.  11 (Plus selected readings)
Homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria
Exchange reactions
Derivation of the law of mass action
The effect of Temperature and Pressure on Chemical Equilibria

Week 6: Aqueous geochemistry (*)         Chap. 9 (plus selected readings)
Solution theory (Raoult's and Henry's Laws)
Fugacity, activity, and the standard state
Activity-composition relationships
Acid-base equilibria

Week 7: Salts and Their ions (*)        Chap. 9, 10 (plus selected readings)
pH Control of Dissociation Equilibria
Hydrolysis reactions
Carbonate equilibria (open and closed systems)
Mineral stability diagrams

Week 8: Oxidation-Reduction Reactions (*)        Chap. 14 (plus selected readings)
Eh-pH diagrams and calculations
Aqueous activity diagrams
Oxidation and reductions reactions in natural waters

Week 9: Rates of Geochemical Processes (*)        Chap. 15 (plus selected readings)
Rate processes in geochemistry
Effect of thermodynamic drive and rate-controlling mechanisms
Introduction to Transition state theory

Week 10: Isotope Geochemistry        (I)        Chap. 16       
Decay modes, nuclear stability
Radioactivity, decay modes, decay law
Applications of radiogenic isotopes

Week 11: Isotope Geochemistry (II)        Chap. 17
Isotope fractionation
Carbon and oxygen isotopes as tracers of biological
And hydrological processes

Week 12: Mixing, Dilution and the Chemistry         Chap. 18, 20
of Surface Waters (*)

Week 13: Geochemical cycles and the Evolution of the        Chap. 22, 23
Earth¿s Atmosphere and Oceans(*)

Week 14: Student Posters(*)
Students will have an opportunity to prepare
And present posters developed about term paper topics

(*) Topics new to the revised 4 Credit course


Old:  <no text provided>