William A. Ranson Fall 2003 - 10:00
PH 102/294-3364 100 Plyler Hall

Texts: Manual of Mineral Science & Mineralogy Tutorials (CD), 22nd ed., 2001, Klein (K); Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals, 1978; Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic, 2nd ed., 1996, Blatt & Tracy (B&T).

Course Objectives:
1) To understand minerals as the basic Earth material in terms of their physical and chemical properties, use, environmental importance, and stability; 2) To be able to identify in hand specimen common silicate and non-silicate minerals; 3) To understand minerals as the basic building blocks of rocks; 4) To be able to identify common rocks in hand specimen and understand the nature of their origin, evolution, significance, and use.

Suggested Materials:
Field notebooks are provided free of charge, but the following items should be purchased from the department secretary: handlens, hammer, magnet. Other recommended materials include a small pack of colored pencils, 10 cm/6 inch ruler, loose-leaf notebook large enough to accommodate notes for both EES 32 & 35. The latter facilitates the interleaving of notes and handouts that will be referred to in both classes.

Student Evaluation:
Twenty-five minute quizzes weekly on dates shown in bold (45%) - one of these grades may be dropped, Lab (25%), Homework plus field trip participation (5%), Group project (15%), Final exam (10%).

Students with disabilities who need academic accommodations should contact Ms. Susan Clark at the Office of Disability Services in the lower level of the infirmary (ex 2322) in a timely manner prior to contacting me.

Grading: 10 point scale; 90-100 = A, etc. Please feel at ease to consult me at any time concerning your class standing.
Attendance: As EES majors you are expected to attend every class. If you must be absent please consult me in advance. If you are ill, please call or email and inform me as soon as you are able. Each unexcused absence will result in appropriate wacks with a rock hammer.
Field trips: Afternoon trips during lab (see dates on lab schedule). Weekend trip to Spruce Pine, NC and vicinity, 30 October through 1 November.
Group Projects: Students in groups will be responsible for a power point presentation on an assigned topic and a display with rocks, minerals, photographs, maps, etc. for the hallway cabinets. See examples from past years.

Academic Integrity: "Rather fail with honor than succeed with fraud." -Sophocles Students are expected to abide by the principles of integrity for Furman outlined in The Helmsman and the booklet Plagarism and Academic Integrity. Cheating on an exam or paper will result in a grade of zero. Serious or repeated offenses may result in an F in the course. In our small department we are like family, and trust among faculty and students has always been implicit.

REFERENCES

Health Effects of Mineral Dusts, Guthrie, G. D. and Mossman, B. T., editors, Mineralogical society of America, Reviews in Mineralogy, v. 28, 1993. (G&M)
Resources of the Earth, Craig, J. R., Vaughan, D. J., Skinner, B. J., Prentice Hall, 1988. (CVS)
Environmental Geology, Fifth Edition, Montgomery, C.W., McGraw Hill, 2000.
Mineralogy Tutorials, Klein, C., John Wiley, 1995.
Textbook of Lithology, Jackson, Kern C., McGraw Hill, 1970.
Smith, Robert L., 1960, Zones and zonal variations in welded ash flows. USGS Prof. Paper 354-F.
Ross, C. S. and Smith, Robert L., 1961, Ash-flow tuffs: Their origin, geologic relations and identification. USGS Prof.
Paper 366.
American Mineralogist, Journal of the Mineralogical Society of America
Earth's Materials, Sen, G., Prentice Hall, 2001.

Tentative Lab Schedule - Fall 2003
105 Plyler

09 Sept. - Tuesday Field trip! Minerals and rocks of the Upstate - upclose and personal. Field observations and note taking in mineralogy and petrology. Assignment: identification in hand specimen: nesosilicates, sorosilicates, cyclosilicates. Ch 11, Klein. Mineral specimens in the lab, 105 Plyler.

16 Sept. - Tuesday Physical properties of minerals and their Identification in hand specimen. Chemistry and Structure of Silicates. Identification in hand specimen: Inosilicates and phyllosilicates. Ch 2 & 11, Klein.

23 Sept - Tuesday Field Trip! Minerals and rocks of the Upstate & the Clemson University Mineral Museum. Continue identification of silicates in hand specimen: tectosilicates. Ch 11, Klein.

30 Sept. - Tuesday X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) as tools in Earth materials analysis. Review all silicates. Ch 11, Klein.

07 Oct. - Tuesday Field Trip! Vulcan Materials Liberty Quarry and Pickens County Recycling Facility.

14 Oct. - Tuesday Lab Quiz 1 on Silicates. Assignment: Begin identification in hand specimen: native elements, sulfides, oxides. Ch 8 & 9 Klein.

21 Oct. - Tuesday Identification in hand specimen: hydroxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, and phosphates. Ch 9 & 10, Klein.

28 Oct. - Tuesday Description of rocks in hand specimen. Igneous textures and structures. Identification of igneous rocks. Read p 33-59, B&T. See also Jackson Ch 5.

04 Nov. - Tuesday Lab Quiz 2 on Non-Silicates.

11 Nov. - Tuesday Igneous rocks in handspecimen.

18 Nov. - Tuesday Metamorphic textures and structures. Identification of metamorphic rocks. Read p 357-374, B&T. See also Jackson Ch 7.

25 Nov. - Tuesday Thanksgiving Holiday.

02 Dec. - Tuesday Lab Quiz 3 on Igneous & Metamorphic Rocks in Hand Specimen.

N.B. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) requires that all persons using X-ray equipment pass an exam on X-ray safety. All students must pass this exam before conducting their XRD experiment, preferably by 30 September 2003
.