Course Information

• These pages provide general information on the course
• They include details of its format, contents, and assignments.
• The two pdf files below provide a summary of the essential details about the class
  

• Two class sessions each week, comprising instruction and discussion.
• MW 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in GY143 for Spring Semester 2006.
• Monday and Wednesday: lectures on course topics.
• About every third Wednesday: discussions of critical topics intended to benefit understanding of key issues.
• Graded Components and Course Assessment 
• A position paper on a class topic developed iteratively by successive reviews. 
• Sequentially 5%, 5%, 5% and 8%, plus 8% for 4 reviews; total = 31%.
• Three on-line quizzes with short answer/multiple choice questions. 
• 5% each, total = 15%.
• Three exams consisting of short answer/multiple choice questions.
• Two in-class exams 10% each, final 18%, total = 38%.
• Preparation and participation in class discussions. 
• Preparative ("Survey and Questionnaire") questions (4%), summative ("Reflections on Discussion") questions (4%), and assessment of contributions during discussions by instructors and peers (8%); total = 16%. 

• Materials and Resources
• Recommended readings are referenced for each discussion sessions, with on-line links to relevant web pages.
• Lecture materials (as pdf files) are avaialable on the resources page, and via Oncourse.
• The recommended text for this class is:
• "Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World" by Jonathan I. Lunine; ISBN 0521644232
• This text covers most of the topics addressed within the class, although the sequence in which they are covered differs from the class lectures.
• The text provides a narrative account of the class topics, that reinforces and supplements materials covered in class.
  

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Department of Geological Sciences, 
1001 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-1403
Phone: (812) 855-5582  Last updated: 6 January 2006
Copyright 2003, The Trustees of Indiana University