This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2016-2017 (archived)
Module GEOL1101: Understanding Earth Sciences
Department: Earth Sciences
GEOL1101: Understanding Earth Sciences
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 1 | 20 | Available in 2016/2017 | Durham |
Tied To
- CFG0: Natural Sciences
- F600: Geology
- F630: Environmental Geosciences
- F643: Geoscience
- F644: Earth Sciences
- F662: Geophysics with Geology
- FGC0: Natural Sciences
Pre-requisites
- None.
Corequisites
- None.
Excluded Combinations
- None.
Aims
- To introduce fundamental subject areas within Earth Sciences, that students will continue in the second year honours programmes: petrology, sedimentology, structural geology and palaeontology.
- To place Earth processes in the context of the plate tectonic cycle.
- To use research-led teaching from the beginning of the first year.
Content
- Four core subjects of approximately half a term each: petrology (igneous and metamorphic), sedimentology, structural geology and palaeontology.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Petrology: understand the principles of melt generation/magmatism and of metamorphic reactions and assemblages. Relationships to chemical cycling and crustal growth.
- Sedimentology: processes of erosion, sediment transport and deposition. Main sedimentary rock associations. Principles of sedimentology (logging, facies analysis, sequence stratigraphy etc). Relationships to climate, tectonics and evolution.
- Structural geology and tectonics: main structural features of the continents and oceans and techniques for their analysis. Relationships to plate tectonic cycles and global and regional climate.
- Palaeontology: understanding fossils and evolution. Relationships to tectonic and climatic drivers.
Subject-specific Skills
- Familiarity with Earth Science literature and it's format
- Understanding of Research Methodologies in Earth Sciences, and an appreciation of the specific research foci in Durham Earth Sciences.
Key Skills
- Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data sets.
- Inter-relation of different branches of science.
- IT (DUO) skills.
- Writing skills.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Lectures. Practical classes to reinforce concepts introduced in lectures.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 | 1 per week | 1 hour | 20 | Yes |
| Practicals | 20 | 1 per week | 2 hours | 40 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 140 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Examination | 37% | two-hour unseen written examination | 100% | ||
| Practical Examination | 37% | three-hour unseen practical examination | 100% | ||
| Scientific writing exercise | 20% | Scientific writing exercise | 100% | ||
| Tutorials | 6% | Tutorials | 100% |
Formative Assessment
Discussion and feedback at every class meeting. Exercises similar to practical examination questions.
Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods
and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative
assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress
procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be
required to leave the University.