Lecture 1

Lecture 1. Revised 8/08 1 LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 ISP203A UNDERSTANDING EARTH: GLOBAL CHANGE MEETS 10:20 ? 11:40 TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS, RM. 326 NATURAL SCIENCES 1.1 WHAT IS GLOBAL CHANGE? SLOW OR RAPID FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATION OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT BY NATURAL AND/OR ANTHROPOGENIC PROCESSES EXAMPLES: PLATE TECTONICS, GLACIATIONS, SEA- LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS, PRODUCTION OF ?GREEN- HOUSE? GASES 1.2 CLASS OBJECTIVES TO EXAMINE THE RECORD OF GLOBAL CHANGE THROUGHOUT EARTH HISTORY AND ACHIEVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROCESSES RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT CHANGE 1.2 CLASS STRUCTURE INSTRUCTOR: GRAHAME J. LARSON 209 NATURAL SCIENCES PHONE: 353 9485 EMAIL: larsong@msu.edu WEB PAGE: https://www.msu.edu/~larsong OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY 12:00 to 2:00 SYLLABUS: CLASS SYLLABUS IS AVAILABLE ON INSTRUCTOR WEB PAGE (SEE ABOVE) Lecture 1. Revised 8/08 2 TEXT BOOK: EARTH SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT BY THOMPSON AND TURK (OPTIONAL) LECTURES: CLASS CONSISTS OF 18 LECTURE TOPICS OVER A 15 WEEK SEMESTER. AN OUTLINE FOR EACH LECTURE IS PROVIDED ON THE CLASS WEB PAGE GRADES: GRADE BASED ON 2 MIDTERM EXAMS AND A FINAL EXAM. EACH EXAM IS WORTH 80 POINTS FOR A POSSIBLE TOTAL OF 240 POINTS. PLEASE NOTE A STUDENT ID IS REQUIRED ON EXAM DAYS. ALSO, THE FINAL EXAM MUST BE TAKEN AT THE TIME AND ON THE DAY SCHEDULED BY THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR. LISTED BELOW ARE GRADE CUTOFFS FOR THE CLASS: 240 to 190 pts. = 4.0 189 to 178 pts. = 3.5 177 to 166 pts. = 3.0 165 to 154 pts. = 2.5 153 to 142 pts. = 2.0 141 to 130 pts. = 1.5 129 to 118 pts. = 1.0 117 to 0 pts. = 0.0 ATTENDANCE: ATTENDANCE IS NOT MANDATORY FOR THIS CLASS, BUT HIGHLY ADVISABLE BECAUSE ALL EXAM QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON LECTURE MATERIAL AND ASSIGNED READINGS FROM THE INTERNET. MISSED EXAMS: PERMISSION TO TAKE A MAKE-UP EXAM REQUIRES A SIGNED NOTE FROM A DOCTOR. Owner Microsoft Word - L01-Meaning of Global Change