Citrus College Course Outline of Record
| Heading | Value |
|---|---|
| Effective Term: | Fall 2026 |
| Credits: | 3 |
| Total Contact Hours: | 54 |
| Lecture Hours : | 54 |
| Lab Hours: | 0 |
| Hours Arranged: | 0 |
| Outside of Class Hours: | 108 |
| Total Student Learning Hours: | 162 |
| Strongly Recommended: | ENGL C1000. |
| District General Education: | B2. Physical Science |
| Transferable to CSU: | Yes |
| Transferable to UC: | Yes - Approved |
| Grading Method: | Standard Letter |
Catalog Course Description
This course examines Earth’s history across the geologic timescale, exploring the progression of life through fossils, the processes that built mountains and shaped continents, and the changing landscapes recorded in rocks. Dinosaurs, mass extinctions, and palaeontologic stages are included as key chapters in Earth’s history. 54 lecture hours.
Course Objectives
- Explain geologic time using both relative dating principles and absolute (radiometric) methods, and apply these tools to reconstruct Earth’s history.
- Interpret stratigraphic sequences using principles of superposition, correlation, facies analysis, and depositional environments.
- Describe fossilization processes and apply classification, biostratigraphy, and evolutionary principles to interpret the fossil record.
- Analyze the significance of major evolutionary and extinction events in shaping Earth’s biotic history.
- Evaluate Earth’s geologic evolution through plate tectonics, including crustal deformation, mountain building, and supercontinent cycles.
- Summarize the major geologic and biologic events of the Archean and Proterozoic eons.
- Summarize the major geologic and biologic events of the Paleozoic Era, including tectonics, biodiversity changes, and mass extinctions.
- Summarize the major geologic and biologic events of the Mesozoic Era, including the rise and extinction of dinosaurs and continental breakup.
- Summarize the major geologic and biologic events of the Cenozoic Era, including climate change, mammalian evolution, and modern tectonics.
- Synthesize paleogeographic maps and data to reconstruct Earth’s surface environments and biological communities through time.
Major Course Content
- Introduction to Earth System History: understanding historical geology and methods of reconstruction
- Geologic Time and Dating Methods: relative dating, stratigraphic correlation, radiometric and absolute dating techniques
- Earth Materials: minerals, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks; rock cycle and interpretation of past environments
- Fossils and Evolution: fossilization processes, classification, biostratigraphy, ecology, evolution, and extinction
- Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Environments: principles of stratigraphy, facies analysis, uniformitarianism vs. catastrophism, depositional systems
- Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Evolution: Earth’s origin and structure, plate boundaries, driving mechanisms, hotspots, crustal deformation, orogenesis, and supercontinent cycles
- Paleogeography and Major Events in Earth History: Archean and Proterozoic tectonics and life; Paleozoic tectonics, biodiversity, and mass extinctions; Mesozoic tectonics, dinosaurs, and continental breakup; Cenozoic climate change, mammalian evolution, and modern tectonics; recent geologic and tectonic events
Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) resources and fact sheets
National Park Service (NPS) geology site guides
Peer-reviewed journal articles (Geology, Journal of Paleontology)
National Park Service (NPS) geology site guides
Peer-reviewed journal articles (Geology, Journal of Paleontology)
Examples of Required Writing Assignments
Extinction Event Paper: Critically analyze the causes and effects of one of Earth’s major mass extinctions using fossil evidence, published research, and geologic data.
Stratigraphic Column Report: Construct a simplified stratigraphic column (from a provided dataset or virtual outcrop) and write an explanation of the depositional environments and fossil content.
Geologic Time Essay: Reflect on the enormity of geologic time and compare it to the scale of human history, using specific examples from the fossil record.
Case Study Analysis: Write a scientific summary of a famous geologic event (the Chicxulub impact, the rise of the Himalayas, or the Great Oxidation Event), citing professional journals and reputable sources.
Stratigraphic Column Report: Construct a simplified stratigraphic column (from a provided dataset or virtual outcrop) and write an explanation of the depositional environments and fossil content.
Geologic Time Essay: Reflect on the enormity of geologic time and compare it to the scale of human history, using specific examples from the fossil record.
Case Study Analysis: Write a scientific summary of a famous geologic event (the Chicxulub impact, the rise of the Himalayas, or the Great Oxidation Event), citing professional journals and reputable sources.
Examples of Outside Assignments
Field Trip: Explore a geologic field site and answer guided questions about depositional environments and geologic time.
Plate Motion Tracking: Use online plate reconstruction software to model continental breakup or collision and report on the tectonic history of a chosen region.
Plate Motion Tracking: Use online plate reconstruction software to model continental breakup or collision and report on the tectonic history of a chosen region.
Instruction Type(s)
Lecture, Online Education Lecture
IGETC Area 5: Physical and Biological Sciences
5A. Physical Science