Teaching
Objectives for
GEOL 1122 Lecture - Historical Geology
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, a student should be able to:
Geological Time and the Geological
Principles
1.
State the age of the Earth, and
discuss how age is determined.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of relative dating.
3.
Demonstrate an
understanding of the basic principles
of radiometric dating.
4.
Name the various units of geologic
time (Eons, Eras, Periods, Epochs) and reproduce the geologic time scale,
listing Eons, Eras of the Phanerozoic Eon, Periods of
the Phanerozoic Eon, the epochs of the Cenozoic, and
the dates between the Eras and Eons.
1. Distinguish
between rocks and minerals.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the Rock Cycle, the characteristics of
the three types of rocks (Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic), and their
relation to plate tectonics.
3. Distinguish
between granitic and basaltic rocks, felsic and mafic rocks, and plutonic vs.
volcanic rocks.
Depositional Environments and Sedimentary Rock Record
1.
Understand the basics of lithologic
correlation.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
difference between transgressions and regressions and how they influence the
geologic record.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of
sandstones, limestones, and shales, their
distribution and environmental interpretation.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between grain size, roundness and sorting and the transport of
sediment.
5.
Discuss the basic sedimentary
environments and the rocks that form there.
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
ideas which led to the theory of evolution.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
various models for speciation.
Life on Earth and the Fossil Record
1.
List the biological kingdoms/domains
and describe each of them.
2.
Explain how and where organisms are
preserved as fossils.
3.
Discuss the characteristics of an
index fossil or guide fossil.
Plate Tectonics
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of
Plate Tectonics, and the interactions at the three types of plate boundaries
(divergent, convergent, transform).
Origin of the Earth and Universe
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
origin of the Universe and the Big Bang Theory.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
Nebular Hypothesis for the origin of the Solar System.
Precambrian History
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
term "craton", and the types and ages of rocks likely to be found in
cratons.
2.
Discuss the significance of banded
iron formations
3.
Discuss the origin of oceanic crust
and continental crust.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the origin of
oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere and the evidence for an anoxic atmosphere in
the Precambrian.
Origin of Life and Precambrian Life
1.
Compare and contrast prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells, and how they relate to the endosymbiotic theory.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the Miller‑Urey
experiment.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of stromatolites,
including their distribution in space and time.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
probable sequence of the evolution of life, beginning with chemical evolution,
and proceeding to the origin of multicellular organisms.
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
possible contributions of meteorites to the origin of life on earth.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of Precambrian fossils (such as the Ediacara
fauna, Gunflint Chert, Figtree group)
3.
Discuss the earliest skeletonized
faunas; the function and adaptive advantages of hard parts, and possible causes
for the advent of skeletonization.
Paleozoic Life
1.
Demonstrate
an understanding of the significance of the Burgess Shale and similar faunas
from other localities around the world
2.
List fossil groups
characteristic of each of the geologic periods or systems of the Paleozoic.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of factors leading to the
colonization of the land by plants, and later by animals
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the age of the world's
Paleozoic major coal deposits, and the origin of coal.
5.
Demonstrate an understanding of the differences in
ecology of the spore-bearing plants vs. the seed-bearing plants.
6.
Demonstrate an understanding of the changes in diversity
of life through time, noting times of major adaptive radiation and extinctions.
7.
Identify the following Paleozoic fossil groups from
photographs, sketches, or descriptions:
trilobites, eurypterids, brachiopods (articulate and inarticulate),
cephalopods, gastropods, bivalves/pelecypods, tabulate corals, rugose corals, blastoids,
crinoids, starfish, bryozoans, and recognize which of these groups are extinct.
8.
Demonstrate an understanding of Paleozoic extinctions,
with emphasis on the Permian.
Paleozoic History and Tectonics
1.
Identify the three major orogenies
affecting the
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of how
the locations of continents changed through time during the Paleozoic, with an
emphasis on
Evolution of Vertebrates
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
major evolutionary changes among the fishes (such as development of jaws and
armor), and the transition to amphibians .
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
difference between warm- and cold-blooded organisms, and be able to cite
examples of each.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
transition from amphibians to reptiles to mammals.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
marine reptiles of the Mesozoic.
5.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
dinosaurs, including their geologic range, and classification. Be aware of the fact that humans and dinosaurs
did not live at the same time.
6.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
significance of Archaeopteryx and the transition from reptiles to birds.
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
differences between Pangea, Gondwanaland, and Laurasia, and when they rifted
apart.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
major developments in the evolution of plants.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period, including organisms
affected, and hypotheses to explain the extinction.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
various types of protists that are significant in the geologic record.
5.
Demonstrate an understanding of sea
level changes through time, their causes, and
geologic record.
Cenozoic History and Tectonics
1.
Demonstrate an understanding of
geologic evidence for paleoclimatic interpretation.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of
Milankovitch cycles and their effects on global climate during the Cenozoic.
3.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
effects of Pleistocene glaciations on
the landscape of
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of
Cenozoic orogeny and mountain ranges that formed primarily during the Cenozoic.
5.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
mammals, including their geologic range, major distinguishing features, and
evolutionary trends.
6.
Demonstrate an understanding of the
character and evolution of primates.