Important links for Dr. Koziol's mineralogy course Course topics Important dates Grading policies Detailed schedule & reading list (also has links to web sites) link to powerpoint lectures Mineralogy Lab Syllabus Min. research paper guidelines Web page for our book

Important WWW links Physics 2000 Flashed teaching resources in geology from the University of Tromso, Norway Click on the mineralogy module Mineralogy and Petrology Research on the Web WebMineral: Mineralogy database Mineral Gallery Mineral web: Structures as seen in class. Update your browser (if necessary) and follow the instructions for downloading the CHIME plug-in. Greg Finn's Mineral gallery Steve Dutch's Rock-forming minerals in thin section Atlas of minerals in thin section (Univ. of North Carolina)

(Autumn 2008)

General Information

Dr. Andrea Koziol	Office: SCI Center 076(basement)
Office Hours: M, Tu, Th 2-4; Tu Th 9-10	Phone: 229-2954
(See schedule outside my office)	E-mail:andrea.koziol@notes.udayton.edu

Lecture: Tues & TH, 12 - 1:15 AM SC 064 3 credits.

Textbook: Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy by Dyar, Gunter and Tasa. (required).

Course Description
Introduction to crystallography, crystal chemistry and crystal structure. Study of the major groups of rock-forming minerals, their association and occurrence with emphasis on identification by physical properties and optical techniques. The laboratory section is required of geology and environmental geology majors.

Prerequisites
GEO 109, 115, or permission of the instructor. I strongly recommend that you have had Chem 123 or 115, or are taking it concurrently with this course.

Objectives
Mineralogy is the study of the major groups of rock-forming minerals, their associations and occurrence with emphasis on identification by physical and optical properties. This course will also introduce you to crystallography, the study of the structure and symmetry of minerals. Rocks hold in them the history of the Earth. If as a geologist you wish to interpret this history you must know and understand the minerals - their association, chemistry, texture and so on - that make up these rocks.
Two themes or ideas that are important in mineralogy are the ordered structure of the crystalline state, and the composition and chemical bonding for each particular mineral. Both determine how a crystal appears and what physical properties it has. Information on both must be known to identify and fully describe a mineral.

Course topics and schedule

Lecture	Reading (See Detailed schedule & reading list)
Round I: Introduction to Mineralogy
Big 10 Minerals	Ch. 1
Essence of Mineralogy	Ch. 1
Hand sample ID	Ch. 2
Round II: Mineralogy for Undergraduates
Crystal Chemistry	Ch. 3
Introduction to Crystallography	Ch. 4
Systematic Mineralogy	Ch. 6
Optical Mineralogy	Ch. 5

Please consult the detailed schedule and reading list!!

(http://homepages.udayton.edu/~koziol/courses/201sched.html)

Important dates:

No class on Oct. 7, Oct. 9, Nov. 27, Nov. 28
First exam: Sept. 22 Others TBA
Final: Dec. 18, 10:10 Ð 12:50.
Last day to add a class: Aug. 26.
Last day to withdraw without record: Sept. 1
Last day to withdraw with a 'W': Nov. 10
Last day of class: Tuesday, Dec. 9

Required Text
The textbook necessary for this course is Introduction to Mineralogy by William Nesse. I will supplement the book by various handouts as the course progresses. I recommend the purchase of a copy of the periodic table. Laminated ones are available in the UD bookstore.
You are also required to obtain a handlens by the end of the first week. Reasonably priced ones (about $10) are available from Mrs. Hess, the Geology Secretary. Her office is WH 179, and her office hours are 8:30-12, and 1-4:30.

Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures. Arriving late to class is distracting to students and professor and will be counted as an absence. Do not schedule medical appointments that conflict with the class schedule. A written medical excuse must be submitted if you cannot attend class due to illness. Do not purchase tickets for transportation that conflict with official school days. Attendance is part of your grade (see below).

Grading Policies
All students should be aware of the University policy on academic dishonesty, which in part is defined as "any attempt by a student to obtain, or to assist another student to obtain, a grade higher than honestly earned." I need to evaluate your progress in this course, which I will do in the following ways:

Exams: There are two exams and a final exam. The format is a few multiple choice questions, mostly short-answer questions, with some problem-solving questions. The dates of the exams are indicated in the syllabus and will be announced in class well ahead of time. There will be no make-up exams except for students with legitimate reasons for missing the exam. The final exam is cumulative.

In-class work. Every class period there will be an interactive exercise, a student response, a quiz, or a 'minute essay'. Interactive exercise will require some reading and answering questions before hand('homework') and, usually, answering some synthesis questions afterwards. You will be graded on your preparation, participation and any followup exercises. On days with no interactive exercise, a student response or a 'minute essay' will be assigned. You earn two points for a good thoughtful answer, 1 point for a partial or poorly done answer, and zero points if you are not present.

Mineral Paper Project: this is a semester-long project, during which you will learn skills in scientific observation, description, research, and writing. You may write upon a mineralogical project of your choice. Another option is to choose a "pet rock" or "pet mineral". With some input from the professor, you will learn to observe and describe this specimen. Five or so assignments spaced out over the semester will take you step by step from your first description or outline to a paper detailing the results of your research.

Overall Evaluation

Exam I	12% of your grade
Exam II	12%
Final exam	20%
In-class exercises	26%
Mineral paper:
Preliminary exercises	5%
Paper itself	25%

Note on "extra credit": Generally, there is little extra credit, except for several questions on the exams, or perhaps one extra homework exercise. There may be one trip to a mineral museum. Prepare for class and attend class.

Final Note: Dates, assignments, and policies are subject to change during the course of the semester.

Last updated: Aug. 10, 2006.

Dr. Koziol's homepage

GEO 201 lab syllabus

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