Petrography

 
GEOL 3235 : Introduction to Petrography


%The Butler Does It%


Dr. John C. Butler
Introduction to Petrograpy
Room 317 SR I
1:00 to 2:00 PM T/TH
Spring Semester, 1999

Office: Room 304 Science Research I
743-3411
Send Email


This two hour course is scheduled to meet for two hours per week for lecture and at least three hours per week for the laboratory. Most of you will be taking Field Methods concurrently with Petrography and Dr. Casey and I will coordinate our activities wherever possible. There will be a weekend field trip to Central Texas (late February) that Dr. Casey and I will lead.

There will be two examinations held during the semester. Each is worth 100 points. There are 8 exercises - each worth 15 points. There are 6 laboratory assignments - each worth 25 points. The "final" will be held during the last laboratory meeting. It will be worth 30 points. Thus, there are a total of 500 points available. To pass you must earn a minimum of 300.

Assignments are due at the beginning of class (or prior) on the day noted on the assignment list. For each late class period you will loose half of the total value of the assignment.

The Internet will be used as the medium for exchange -- reading assignments, homework and e-mail communication.

Each of you should have an active e-mail address. I will collect addresses on the first class day and create a class mailing list. I will post the addresses of the class on the course home page so that you can communicate with your classmates. If you do not currently have an e-mail account, I strongly urge you to do so during the first week of class. If you take your fee statement to the Social Work Computer Cluster you should be able to get your e-mail account and address while you wait. Information Technology offers numerous short courses on e-mail use.

If you feel in the need for some help with the Internet, please check with the reference librarians. The Library has about 120 terminals running Netscape. Even if you have access to the Internet where you live, you will probably use the facilities in the Library....they don't charge for laser printing. Some of you will be "old hands" with respect to the Internet whereas others will feel the need for some sort of Introduction.

I encourage you to work in small groups on all projects except for the written exams!

A good geologic glossary is present on WWW (this is a rather large file and will take some time to download) : Glossary. Try this when you are not sure of the meaning of a term. [Try porphyritic]

Images are an integral part of any geology course. Try the following searching algorithm to locate images of particular features. For example, try and find a picture of a porphyritic texture.

The following reading list should be followed throughout the semester. Petrology by Harvey Blatt and Robert Tracy is the text and the reading assignments refer to this book. In addition, the reading list will indicate where good background material is located.

It is your responsibility to use all of the resources that are available. In particular, you should check the course home page at least twice a week. The address of the home page for the course is www.uh.edu/~jbutler/petrography/petrography.html

Return to the petrography home page.