| PREREQUISITES | GEOL 101 and 102 (Grade C or above) CHEM 211 (can be a co-requisit) |
| CLASS MEETS | Monday / Wednesday 9:00 - 10:15 am, Innovation 136 LAB either Monday 11:00 - 1:45 pm, 2074 David King Hall or Monday 3:00 - 5:45 pm, 2074 David King Hall |
| INSTRUCTORS | Dr. Julia Nord, 3055 David King Hall Email Address - jnord@gmu.edu Andrew Bowen, 3056 David King Hall Kim Cone, 3056 David King Hall Stephanie Strothers, Mineralogy TA & Geology Lab Manager |
| OFFICE HOURS | Julia - Wednesday 10:30 - 12:00 in the lab others TBD |
| TEXTS | Dyar, Gunter, & Tasa, Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy, Mineralogical Society of America, 2008 order from MSA |
| LABORATORY TEXT | Nesse. Introduction to Optical Mineralogy. Oxford University Press. 2nd edition.
Simon and Schuster. Guide to Rocks and Minerals
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| SUPPLIES | Pen Knife Magnifying glass (10* or better) Pencils Colored pencils |
| OBJECTIVES |
* Skills in identifying and classifiying minerals in hand-samples in both the laboratory and the field
* Ability to observe, document concisely and correctly, and interpret mineralogical data collected in both the laboratory and the field setting.
* Appreciation of the importance of mineral resources in society |
| LABORATORY GUIDELINES | Each lab has been designed to take approximately 6 hours of conscientious work. If this is a problem - or labs are taking much longer than this - please come and see me. You may work with a partner, but all work handed in must be entirely your own. Labs must be handed in at the beginning of the next lab period. Late labs will be graded for one half credit. Labs will not be accepted after graded labs have been returned |
| LAB EXAM | You must pass this to pass the course Identify the "big ten" minerals in Hand Sample and Thin Section Demonstrate proficiency in microscope techniques You may retake this exam if needed |
| FIELD TRIPS | Three fields trips will be offered. You may attend all BUT you must attend one. Friday, Sept. 23 - Sunday, Sept. 25th. - Franklin NJ Sunday, Oct. 16th - Gold panning. Saturday, Nov. 19th - Contrary Creek I would like you to participate in the Mineral Show November 11-13 |
| DATE | TOPIC | READINGS | LABORATORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEEK 1 AUGUST. 29 |
What is Mineralogy? What is a mineral? The "Big 10" minerals. | Preface and Chapter 1 | LAB 1 Physical properties of Minerals. Tactics to identify minerals in Hand Sample (HS) Hardness, fracture and luster. |
| AUGUST. 31 Wednesday | Chemical elements. Physical properties of minerals | Chapter 2 | |
| WEEK 2 SEPTEMBER 5 | LABOR DAY | Labor Day - no lab | |
| SEPTEMBER 7 Wednesday | Atoms and bonding. Silicate structures. Ionic sizes. | Chapters 1, 2 and 3 | |
| WEEK 3 SEPTEMBER 12 | Light | Nesse. Chapters 1, 2 & 3 DGT, Chapter 5 | LAB 2 Hand Specimen Mineralogy. Streak, color, diaphaneity, and cleavage. The "Big 10" minerals |
| SEPTEMBER 14 Wednesday Geological Society of Washington | Crystallization. 6 Crystal Systems. Mineral classification | Chapter 1, 2 and 6 Literature Assignment 1. |
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| WEEK 4 SEPTEMBER 19 | EXAM 1 | LAB 3 Introduction to petrographic microscope Thin Sections (TS). Light (PPL and X-pols) Nesse. Chapters 1, 2 & 3 DGT, Chapter 5 |
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| SEPTEMBER 21 Wednesday | Systematic mineralogy. Symmetry concepts, 2-D and 3-D space, symmetry operations and elements. Cubic symmetry. | Chapters 4, 6, | |
| SEPTEMBER 23rd - 25th friday saturday sunday | Field trip - Franklin NJ | ||
| WEEK 5 SEPTEMBER 26 Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting. | Big Bang and elements. Journey to the Center of the Earth. Minerals and Igneous rocks | Chapter 7, 20 | Mineral Quiz 1 LAB 4 |
| SEPTEMBER 28 Wednesday | Color in Minerals. Chemical substitution One component phase diagrams e.g. quartz | Chapter 21 Literature Assignment 1 due today. |
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| WEEK 6 OCTOBER 3 | Minerals in Sedimentary rocks Carbonates and solid solution | Chapter 20 Literature Assignment 2 due October 17th |
LAB 5 Precipitation. Anisotropic minerals. Pleochroism Extinction Interference colors or birefringence Carbonates in TS and HS Nesse Chapters 5,6 &10 |
OCTOBER 5 Wednesday Geological Society of Washington | Bonding revisited, Phase diagrams and phase rule. | Chapter 20 |
| WEEK 7 OCTOBER 11 | Mineral formulae. Minerals in Metamorphic rocks. | Chapter 10, 20 | Mineral Quiz 2 LAB 6. |
OCTOBER 12 Wednesday Geological Society of Washington | Platting mineral compositions on diagrams Phase diagrams - binaries and soild solution. | Chapter 10, 20 |
| WEEK 8 OCTOBER 17 | Inernal order and symmetry Plane lattices. H-M symbols | Chapter 11 Literature assignment 2 due today. |
LAB 7. Anisotropic minerals. Uniaxial an biaxial monoclinic, orthorhombic and triclinic symmetry Biaxial interference figures and 2V. |
| OCTOBER 19 Wednesday | Stereographic projections Point groups and space groups Miller indicies | Chapter 11 Literature Assignment 3 |
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| WEEK 9 OCTOBER 24 Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting. | Exam 2 | Mineral Quiz 3 LAB 8 |
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| OCTOBER 26 Wednesday Geological Society of Washington | Economic Minerals | Chapter 21, 23 | |
| WEEK 10 OCTOBER 31 | Phase diagrams, ternary. | Chapter 10 | LAB 9 |
| NOVEMBER 2 Wednesday | Silicate minerals | Chapter 6 ,22 Literature assignment 3 due today. |
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| WEEK 11 NOVEMBER 7 | Introduction to thermodynamics | hand outs Literature Assignment 4 |
Mineral Quiz 4 In lab today Mineral Quiz 5 LAB 10. |
| NOVEMBER 9 Wednesday Geological Society of Washington | Thermodynamics and Phase diagrams | Hand outs | |
| NOVEMBER 11th-13th friday saturday sunday | 20th Annual Gem Mineral and Fossil Show | ||
| WEEK 12 NOVEMBER 14 | Robert Hazen's paper. An Introduction. | Chapter 11 | LAB 11 Phyllosilicates and Inosilicates. |
| NOVEMBER 16 Wednesday | Extraterrestrial mineralogy | ||
| WEEK 13 NOVEMBER 21 | Mineral Show Show and Tell | Literature Assignment 5 Literature assignment 4 due today |
Mineral Quiz 6. This is done one-on-one. Get Andrew, Kim, Stephanie or me when you are ready to take this quiz LAB 12 Lab 12 is due on Wednesday November 30th |
| THANKSGIVING NOVEMBER 23 - 27 | NO CLASS | ||
| WEEK 14 NOVEMBER 28 Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting. | Mineralogy and magnetism. | Chapter 11 | LAB 13 Describing a thin section |
| NOVEMBER 30 Wednesday | Asbestos | TBD | |
| WEEK 15 DECEMBER 5 | Hot topics in Mineralogy | TBD | Presentations LAB 14 Smithsonian lab - do anytime, LAB EXAM |
| DECEMBER 7 Wednesday | Robert Hazen's paper | TBD | |
| DECEMBER 14th wednesday Geological Society of Washington | | ||
| DECEMBER 19th monday Northern Virginia Mineral Club meeting. | FINAL EXAM 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. |
| Exam I | 25 points |
| Exam II | 30 points |
| Final Exam | 35 points |
| 12 of 14 Labs lowest 2 are dropped | 60 points |
| 5 of 6 Mineral quizzes lowest is dropped | 25 points |
| Literature assignments | 20 points |
| Pesentation | 5 points |
| TOTAL | 200 points |
Please be familiar with THE HONOR CODE.