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EPS 038: Introduction to Earth Sciences

EPS 038:  Introduction to Earth Sciences

Professor Cyrena A. Goodrich
cgoodrich@kingsborough.edu

ATTENDANCE:  You are required to arrive on time at all lectures and lab.  Attendance will be taken during every class period.  If you are not there when attendance is taken, you will be marked absent.  Your attendence record may be taken into account in determining your grade for the course.  You are responsible for learning all material presented in lectures and labs, as well as all assigned reading material.  Missed quizes or exams may not be made up.

LABORATORY:  The laboratory is a required and essential part of this course.  You must pass lab in order to pass the course, and your laboratory grade will count as ~25% of your total grade for the course.  

EXAMS:  There will be three exams (see syllabus for approximate timing).  Each exam will be a combination of short answer questions and multiple choice questions. 

QUIZES:  Short quizes will be given from time to time.  Quizes may or may not be announced.  The purpose of these quizes will be to ensure that you keep up on course material as we go along.

READING/WRITING ASSIGNMENT (TAKE-HOME):  Part of the work for this course (20% of your grade) will be a take-home assignment that is designed to help you improve reading comprehension and writing skills necessary to pass the CPE exam.  You will be given an essay to read (not from the textbook) on a topic related to earth sciences, and assigned to write a short essay about it, answering questions similar to those that might appear on a CPE exam.   This assignment will come in two parts, and will be explained to you in detail within a few weeks of the start of the semester.  Note that your essay will be graded on your understanding of the reading, your ability to relate the reading to class topics, writing style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

GRADING:  Your final grade for the course will be calculated according to the following formula.
                Reading/Writing Assignment                           20%
                Exams                                                             40%
                Lab                                                                 25%
                Quizes                                                            15%

ACADEMIC HONESTY:  Cheating will not be tolerated.

OTHER:  Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and put away during class.  Failure to comply may result in your being asked to leave the classroom.