GEOLOGY 307 - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY AT PARKERSBURG
PALEOBIOLOGY OF DINOSAURS - SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION
SPRING SEMESTER 2002
PROFESSOR: Dr. Edward L. Crisp
Office: 3310 C
email: Ed.Crisp@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 424-8327
email at home: Edwrcrisp@aol.com
Office Hours: 1:00-2:00 p.m. MW, 4:00-5:00 p.m. TR and
5:00-6:00 p.m. W
Homepage: http://www.wvup.edu/ecrisp/crisphomepage.htm
Course Page: http://www.wvup.edu/ecrisp/geology307.html
REQUIRED TEXT:
Martin, Anthony J., 2001, INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF DINOSAURS: Blackwell Science, Inc., Malden, Massachusetts, 426 p.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS:
1) Lambert, David, 1993, THE ULTIMATE DINOSAUR BOOK: Dorling Kindersley Publishers, London, 192 p.
2) Norman, Dr. David, 2000, THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS:
Salamander Books Ltd, London, 400 p..
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
The dinosaurs, rulers of the Earth for over
160 million years and most of the Mesozoic Era, have always fired our imagination
as ferocious meat eating monsters or huge lovable plant eating reptiles.
The word dinosaur, first used by Sir Richard Owen (a British anatomist)
in 1842, means “Terrible Reptiles” (from the Greek deinos, meaning terrible,
and sauros, meaning lizard or reptile). Today, the term dinosaur
is popularly used to describe something that is obsolete, unsuccessful,
or inefficient, a view that paleontologists now believe is certainly far
from the truth. In fact, dinosaurs were one of the most successful
groups of land vertebrates of all time. New discoveries, and new
studies of museum specimens of dinosaurs by vertebrate paleontologists,
have led to a much different modern view of dinosaurs. It is now
hypothesized by many paleontologists that some dinosaurs may have been
warm-blooded (endothermic, like mammals and birds) and several paleontologists
argue that the dinosaurs are not really extinct, they theorize that the
birds are the living remnants of the dinosaurs.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Geology 307, Paleobiology of Dinosaurs, is
an upper level college course designed as an elective course for those
interested in exploring the fascinating world of dinosaur paleontology.
This course will explore the evolution, history, and paleobiology of the
dinosaurs; from their appearance in the geologic record about 228 million
years ago to their extinction about 65 million years ago. The course
will also cover the relationship of dinosaurs to ancestral vertebrates
of the Paleozoic Era; and to the birds and mammals, two groups which also
emerged in the early Mesozoic Era. Hypotheses dealing with the extinction
(perhaps catastrophic) of the dinosaurs and other groups at the end of
the Mesozoic Era will also be studied. In order to understand dinosaur
natural history it will be necessary to study principles of evolution,
taxonomy, fossilization, geologic time, sedimentary rocks and sedimentary
environments, vertebrate anatomy, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, plate
tectonics, and other principles of geology and biology.
The prerequisites for the course are: 1) a
lower level (100 or 200 series) natural science course, 2) Math 021 (or
placement test scores above this level), 3) English 111, and 4) English
112. Although the course deals with dinosaur paleobiology, evolution,
and natural history; scientific principles and methods emphasizing critical
scientific thinking will be stressed in the course. The course will
carry three hours of credit and will consist of 3 hours of lecture per
week. This is a reading, writing, and critical thinking intensive
course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. To increase the ability of the student to think critically.
2. To emphasize the scientific method of investigation
of a problem or idea, using the paleobiology of dinosaurs as a
model.
3. To appreciate experimentation and observation and their
importance in scientific Investigations.
4. To stress the importance of accurate data collecting
techniques, and the scientific analysis and interpretation of scientific
data.
5. To learn and practice methodical study and work habits.
6. To study the origin, evolution, and extinction of dinosaurs.
7. To understand past Earth processes and rates of change
and how the same processes and rates of change may affect the future, using
the paleobiology of dinosaurs as a model.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance to all classes is highly recommended. A record of attendance will be kept. If you choose to miss a class it is your responsibility to cover the material. Material that is covered in class is not always readily obtained by just reading the text. So, PLEASE, try to attend all regularly scheduled classes. ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED FOR ALL TESTS! Preparing make-up material for tests is very time consuming for the instructor. Make-up will be allowed for valid excuses, such as severe illness or death in the family. The student must make arrangements with the instructor immediately upon returning to class to schedule a make-up test, otherwise the grade for the missed test will be recorded as a zero. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS POLICY LIGHTLY!
TESTING POLICY:
There will be 3 major one hour lecture exams in the course (not including the final exam) spaced approximately 4 weeks apart. The lecture exams will include both objective questions (i.e. multiple choice, true/false, etc.) and subjective discussion type questions or analytical problem type questions. The final exam will be 50% comprehensive and 50% material covered after the 3rd major exam. In addition there will be numerous short quizzes at unannounced times (only the 10 highest scores on the quizzes will be counted in the students grade). There will also be a library research paper on some topic dealing with dinosaurs. The topic for the library research paper will be chosen by the student, but will need to be approved by the instructor. In addition to writing the library research paper, the student will give a 5-10 minute oral summary of the paper near the end of the course. The grade for the library research paper will be based on both the written and oral presentations. The following is a summary of the basis for student evaluation:
Short quizzes...............................................................
10%...............100 Points
Major Lecture Exams (20%
each)...................…........ 60%............. 600 Points
Library Research Paper.....................................….......
10%..............100 Points
Final Exam ...................................................................
20%...............200 Points
Total.............................................................................100%.............1000
Points
GRADE CUTOFFS:
Greater than 90% -------------- A
80 to 89% -----------B
70 to 79% -----------C
60 to 69%----------- D
Less than 60% -----------F
NOTE: The instructor, division, or university may modify any
of the above in order to better serve the objectives of the student, the
course, and the university.