This list contains the minimum basic objectives for this course, as set forth by the Geology Curriculum Committee. Additional topics may be presented in the course, as deemed appropriate by the individual instructor.

On completion of Historical Geology Laboratory, a student should be able to:

Relative Dating of Rocks:

1.      Apply Steno's Laws to interpret the order of events and relative ages in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

2.      Distinguish older features from younger features in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

3.      Apply the Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships to interpret the order of events and relative ages of various geologic features in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

4.      Identify various types of unconformities in cross-section or block diagram (Disconformity, Angular Unconformity, and Nonconformity).

5.      Select the sequence of events required to produce various types of unconformities.

6.      Select the sequence of events required to produce various types of features in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

7.      Identify lithologic symbols and associate them with various types of rocks.

8.      Distinguish plutons from lava flows, and distinguish various types of igneous intrusions (dikes, sills, stocks) in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

9.      Distinguish normal faults from reverse faults.

10.  Distinguish anticlines from synclines.

11.  Distinguish clasts from xenoliths in a geologic cross-section or block diagram.

Rock and Minerals:

1.      Distinguish between rocks and minerals in hand specimen or photo.

2.      Identify minerals important to Historical Geology (Feldspar, Quartz, Biotite, Olivine, Muscovite, Pyroxene, Amphibole, Clay minerals, Calcite, Dolomite, Gypsum, Halite, Pyrite, Hematite).

3.      Identify the common Igneous Rocks. (Granite and Basalt)

4.      Identify the common Metamorphic Rocks. (Gneiss, Slate, Schist, Marble, Quartzite, Amphibolite)

Weathering of Rocks:

1.      Classify sediment using the Wentworth Scale - Gravel (Boulder, Cobble, Pebble, Granule), Sand, Silt, Clay.

2.      Identify the minerals in granite and gneiss and their weathering products.

3.      Distinguish between different types of sand

1. Distinguish well sorted from poorly sorted sand

2. Distinguish rounded from angular sand

3. Distinguish carbonate sand from terrigenous sand

4. Distinguish heavy mineral sand from quartz sand

4.      Interpret processes acting in the depositional basin - energy level (high vs. low) and consistency of energy - from examination of sediment or sedimentary rock in hand specimen, photo, or from a description.

5.      Interpret time duration in the depositional basin (long vs. short), from examination of the mineralogy and texture of sediment or sedimentary rock in hand specimen, photo, or from a description.

6.      Interpret paleoclimate (arid vs. humid) from examination of the mineralogy and texture of sediment or sedimentary rock in hand specimen, photo, or from a description.

7.      Interpret tectonic activity in the source area (active vs. passive) from examination of the mineralogy and texture of sediment or sedimentary rock in hand specimen, photo, or from a description.

8.      Interpret source area rock type from examination of the mineralogy and texture of sediment or sedimentary rock in hand specimen, photo, or from a description (for example, arkose has granite in source area).

Sedimentary Rocks:

1.        Distinguish sediment from sedimentary rock.

2.        Categorize sedimentary rocks according to whether they are terrigenous (clastic or detrital) or chemical/biochemical.

3.        Identify the major minerals present in sedimentary rocks.

4.        Distinguish between conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and shale on the basis of grain size.

5.        Distinguish between breccia and conglomerate on the basis of clast shape.

6.        Identify sandstone (quartz sandstone, arkose, and graywacke or litharenite) based on the minerals present.

7.        Use a chemical test to distinguish between limestone and dolostone, or between carbonate and non-carbonate sedimentary rocks.

8.        Identify the common sedimentary rocks in hand specimens or photos without using notes.

9.        Identify the three common cements (quartz, calcite, and iron oxide) in sedimentary rocks.

10.    Identify carbonate sedimentary rocks based on their texture and type of particles (fossils, oolites, intraclasts).

11.    Identify evaporites and chemically precipitated minerals and relate them to their depositional environment.

12.    Identify the material from which coal forms.

13.    Distinguish between the four major types of coal (peat, lignite, bituminous, and anthracite), and place them in order of increasing temperature and pressure.

Sedimentary Structures:

1.      Identify sedimentary structures in hand specimens, photos, or diagrams.

2.      Distinguish between inorganic and organic sedimentary structures.

3.      Interpret the processes which formed the common sedimentary structures (running water, desiccation, organisms, etc.).

4.      Distinguish between bedding and lamination.

5.      Interpret paleocurrent direction using primary sedimentary structures such as cross-bedding or ripple marks in hand specimens or pictures.

6.      Contrast the depositional settings of symmetrical vs. asymmetrical ripples.

7.      Interpret the depositional environment in which stromatolites are found today.

8.      Distinguish between sedimentary structures formed in high energy vs. low energy environments.

Depositional Environment:

1.      Distinguish between continental (non-marine), transitional, and marine sedimentary environments.

2.      Distinguish between the various types of continental, transitional, and marine sedimentary environments.

3.      Interpret the depositional sedimentary environment from specimens, descriptions, or pictures of sediment, sedimentary rocks, or associations of sedimentary rocks, and sedimentary structures using features such as rock type, color, grain size, grain shape, sorting, sedimentary structures, and fossils.

4.      Match sedimentary rocks and sedimentary structures with possible sedimentary environments.

Stratigraphy and Lithologic Correlation:

1.        Correlate lithologic units between stratigraphic sections.

2.        Relate sedimentary rock types (sandstone, siltstone, shale, limestone) to distance from shore and lateral facies change.

3.        Relate lateral facies changes to vertical changes in a stratigraphic section using Walther’s Law.

4.        Interpret transgressions and regressions in stratigraphic sequences from the order of the rock units.

5.        Draw a stratigraphic section given written data on rock types, sequences and thickness.

6.        Identify rock types associated with standard lithologic symbols.

7.        Predict depth to a particular sedimentary rock layer given a nearby stratigraphic section.

8.        Distinguish between a stratigraphic section and a bed or a formation.

9.        Interpret pinch-outs and changes in thickness of sedimentary units.

10.        Identify unconformities in stratigraphic sections or photographs.

Microfossils:

1.          Distinguish between microfossils and macrofossils.

2.          Identify the common microfossil groups (foraminifera, radiolaria, diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithophores, sponge spicules, ostracodes, conodonts, pollen and spores) in hand specimen, through the microscope, or from pictures.

3.          Match the microfossil group with the composition of its hard parts.

4.          Distinguish between multicellular and unicellular microfossils in hand specimen, under the microscope, or in pictures.

5.          Match the microfossil group with whether they are unicellular or multicellular.

6.          Match the sedimentary rock with the microfossil group that dominates it (chalk → coccolith, diatomite → diatom).

7.          Match the microfossil groups with whether they are living or extinct.

8.          Match the microfossil with the environment it inhabited (marine vs. nonmarine).

9.          Given the geologic range of a fossil, plot it on a geologic time chart.

10.      Given the geologic ranges of several fossils, evaluate the geologic periods in which they may have coexisted.

Invertebrate Macrofossils:

1.          Distinguish between microfossils and macrofossils.

2.          Identify the common invertebrate macrofossil groups in hand specimen and from pictures.

3.          Match each invertebrate sub-group with its larger groups in the taxonomic hierarchy (for example, trilobite → arthropod; gastropod → mollusc; blastoid → echinoderm; belemnoid → cephalopod → mollusc; rugose coral → cnidaria, etc.)

4.          Match the macrofossil groups with whether they are living or extinct.

5.          Identify the geologic period when each of the extinct major invertebrate groups went extinct.

6.          Identify the times of major extinctions in the geologic past.

7.          Given the geologic range of a fossil, plot it on a geologic time chart.

8.          Given the geologic ranges of several fossils, evaluate the geologic periods in which they may have coexisted.

9.          Distinguish between solitary organisms and colonial organisms.

10.      Distinguish between sponges, corals and bryozoa.

11.      Distinguish the three types of corals (tabulate, rugose, and scleractinian) commonly found as fossils.

12.      Distinguish brachiopods from bivalve molluscs on the basis of their symmetry.

13.      Distinguish between inarticulate and articulate brachiopods.

14.      Distinguish the three major groups of molluscs (bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods).

15.      Distinguish between different groups of cephalopods (nautiloids,  ammonoids, belemnoids).

16.      Distinguish between four groups of echinoderms (crinoids, blastoids, echinoids, and asteroids).

Fossil Preservation and Trace Fossils:

1.               Identify the type of preservation of a given fossil specimen, photo, or diagram of a specimen.

2.               Identify the composition of unaltered and unaltered hard parts of fossils in hand specimen or from photos.

3.               Use a chemical test to distinguish the composition of fossils (calcite vs. silica).

4.               Match the fossil group with its original composition.

5.               Distinguish between chemically altered and unaltered hard parts.

6.               Distinguish between replacement and recrystallization.

7.               Distinguish between hard parts and impressions of hard parts.

8.               Distinguish between internal and external molds.

9.               Distinguish between casts and molds.

10.           Identify various types of trace fossils or ichnofossils, and stromatolites.

11.           Distinguish between burrows and borings.

12.           Distinguish between tracks, trails and burrows.

Biostratigraphy:

1.      Given the geologic range of a fossil, plot it on a geologic time chart.

2.      Given the geologic ranges of several fossils, evaluate the geologic periods in which they may have coexisted.

3.      Reconstruct the basic geologic time chart from memory and use it to plot geologic ranges of fossils in eons, eras, and periods of the Phanerozoic.

SUGGESTED ORDER OF LAB EXERCISES

 WEEK

1.  Relative Dating

2.  Rocks and Minerals

3.  Weathering of Rocks and Formation of Sediment

4.  Sedimentary Rocks

5.  Sedimentary Structures

6.  Depositional Sedimentary Environments

7.  Stratigraphy and Lithologic Correlation

8.  Microfossils

9.  Invertebrate Macrofossils

 10.  Fossil Preservation and Trace Fossils

 11.  Biostratigraphy

 12-14.  Instructors Choice (for example, Fossils on the Internet, Evolution of the Vertebrates, Sand sieve analysis, Interpreting Geologic History from Maps)

 15.  Final Exam

Return to Historical Geology Online Laboratory Manual

This page created by Pamela J. W. Gore

Georgia Perimeter College

Teaching Objectives Revised June 15, 1998
Web page created June 29, 1998
Revised December 1, 2003

Revised July 17, 2009