GEOL 125: Earth History: A Planet and its Evolution (F2005)

Laboratory Information
(Updated 8/17/05 by deh)

TA	office	telephone	email
Tabitha Esther	ZHS 325C	x05825	tabitha@usc.edu
Madeline Worsnopp	ZHS 325A	x06736	worsnopp@usc.edu



Laboratory Topics

(Note that the lab week cycle begins on Tuesday) Be sure to read the introductory material for each lab before coming to the lab. This material is in your course reader, and it will form the basis for a quiz at the start of each meeting.

Lab #	week starting	Topic
1	8/30	Introduction: Virtual and Neighborhood Field Trips (no quiz).
2	9/6	Sunlight and Black Body Radiation - some properties of visible light and the relation between temperature and spectral characteristics of emitted radiation.
3	9/13	Material Properties - an exploration of the influences of temperature and mean atomic weight on density, convection, rheology.
4	9/20	Radioactivity - the relationship between decay probability and half-life for radioactive isotopes. Use of isotopes for geochronology.
5	9/27	Mineralogy - observations of mineral properties and their relation to composition and crystal structure.
6	10/4	Rock Identification - observation of rock types and the relation of their properties to composition.
7	10/11	Geologic Maps - earth structures and visualization of lithology in 3 dimensions. Construct a geologic map.
8	10/18	Plate Tectonics - geography of the sea floor, identification of plate boundaries, rates of plate motion.
9	10/25	Geology of CA and Western North America - geography, tectonics, and geologic history. Read Chapt. 13 for background.
10	11/1	Fossils - identification of ancient life forms.
11	11/8	Dynamic Systems - looking at feedbacks in linear and non-linear systems.
12	11/15	Overview of Earth History - a chance to see some special rocks.
	11/29	Lab Final.

Field Trip on Saturday Oct. 22 or Sunday Oct. 30 (8:00 AM to 5:30PM): Observing rocks in their habitat, using geomorphology to identify geologic structures, fossils, and evidence for climate change.