Subsections

• Test Preparation:
  • Test Procedure:
  • Final Exam:
  • Grade Determination:
  
  
• Rules and Regulations

Course Organization

Table 1: Lecture and testing schedule. The course content is divided into 4 parts, or ``units''. One exam is given over each unit, exam dates highlighted by ``'' in first column.

Unit	Text Chapter	Topic	Test Date
1	1	Philosophy & Fundamental Concepts
	2	Plate Tectonics
	3	Minerals & Rocks
	4	Ecology & Geology
	5	Intro. to Natural Hazards	Fri. Feb. 10th
2	6	Earthquakes
	7	Tsunami
	8	Volcanoes
	9	Rivers & Flooding
	10	Slope Processes, Landslides, Subsidence	Fri. Mar. 2nd
3	11	Coastal Hazards
	12	Extraterrestrial Objects
	13	Water Use, Supply
	14	Water Pollution
	15	Mineral Resources	Fri. Apr. 6th
4	16	Energy & the Environment
	17	Soils & Environment
	18	Global Climate Change
	19	Geology, Society & the Future	Fri. May 4th
``5''	All	Comprehensive, Optional Final Exam	8:00a.m. Friday, May 11th

Course grade will be based on 4 during-semester tests, with an optional final exam. Generally a test review will be given during the lecture prior to each testing date (see last column in Table 1). Most tested material will be from the textbook, but up to 25% will come from lecture. So, while lecture attendance isn't required, it is highly recommended.

Test Preparation:

Study the assignments in the syllabus (Table 1) thoroughly. The "Learning Objectives" will help you understand the goal of each textbook chapter. You are responsible for all material in the textbook. Pay particular attention to boxed text, graphs and diagrams as these help to explain the text material. Terms in boldface type in the textbook will often appear in test questions. You should thoroughly understand the concepts presented in the ``Summary'' the end of each chapter.Online versions of the lecture notes, with supplementary materials are expected to be available through eLearning and the class website. The practice exams offered through the publisher's textbook companion website are useful study guides, although not guaranteed to be accurate! Approximately 80% of the test questions will be taken from the textbook. Additional questions will generally be based on local or current examples allowing practical application of the concepts given in the textbook. Test review sessions will be offered approximately every other Friday (see Table 1), at which time the instructors will be available to clarify any questions raised by the class.

Test Procedure:

Unit tests will be given on the designated days (usually Fridays) in SOM 1.117. If you are unable to attend these sessions you must notify us in advance, and a single makeup session will be scheduled outside of class time (generally the following Tuesday). Please bring a photo ID. We will check these and take attendance when distributing tests. Tests are not returned to you, nor are they available for later review. They are kept, however, as a check on our record-keeping and, should there be a discrepancy between our record and yours, we can pull your old tests to correct the record.

Final Exam:

An optional comprehensive final exam may be taken during the regularly scheduled final exam period (scheduled for 8:00a.m. Friday, May 11th). This exam is strictly for extra credit

Grade Determination:

Each of the unit exams will comprise 25% of your grade, with the optional final counted as a 10% extra credit.

Rules and Regulations

• All official communication with you will be posted on this Website in the ``Late Breaking News'' section (sec. 4); you are responsible for all posted information. Additional information (help aids) about some of the course material is posted on the website as well.

• Cell phones and other communication devices are prohibited in the testing room. Please turn these off prior to starting your test. Cell phones used during any test are subject to confiscation by the testing room monitor.

• All electronic communication (e-mail) with the professor or teaching assistants MUST be done from a UTD account. In general this will be most easily done via eLearning. E-mail may not be received by instructors if sent from a non-UTD account, and instructors are prohibited from sending personal or grading information to non-UTD addresses.

• The last day for dropping this course without WP/WF is Feb. 1st; students dropping from Feb. 1st to Mar. 26th will receive a grade of WP or WF. After Mar. 26th you may only drop for non-academic reasons (see UTD Drop/Add Policy).

• Incompletes are not given in this class unless a valid, documented major medical or similar excuse is provided. Procrastination does not constitute an acceptable excuse.