History of the Earth Systems - Fall 2006


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01:460:476:01 (Geological Sciences - Undergraduate)
11:628:476:01 (Marine and Coastal Sciences - Undergraduate)
16:712:560:01 (Oceanography - Graduate)
Building: Douglass Chemistry Building, Rm 201,  Douglass Campus


Class Time: T4Th4  (2:15pm-3:35pm)

Instructor: Dr. Paul Falkowski
Email: falko@imcs.rutgers.edu
Office hours: by appt. – call 732-932-6555 ext. 244
Office location: Institute of Marine and Coastal Science bldg. Rm. 318D

Syllabus

Class Lecture Slides/Transparencies
(Adobe Acrobat Required to View Files)

Week 1 - September 5, 2006 
Week 1 - September 7, 2006
Week 2 - September 12, 2006

Week 2 - September 14, 2006
Week 3 - September 19, 2006

Tracy Quan's Lecture Slides (powerpoint)

Week 3 - September 21, 2006

Week 4 - September 26, 2006
Week 4 - September 28, 2006

Week 5 - Supplement 
Week 5 - October 3, 2006
Week 5 - October 5, 2006

Week 6 - October 10, 2006

more slides- October 10, 2006
Week 6 - October 12, 2006     International Stratigraphic Chart
Week 7 - October 17, 2006

Week 7 - October 19, 2006    Hardy-Weinberg Law
Week 8 - October 24, 2006    (Mid-term Examination - no lecture)
Week 8 - October 26, 2006    The Big Five -- Bas van de Schootbrugge

Week 9 - October 31, 2006
Week 9 - November 2, 2006

* Natural Selection Notes
Week 10 - November 7, 2006
Week 10 - November 9, 2006

Week 11 - November 14, 2006

Week 11 - Supplement 

Week 11 - November 16, 2006    Ken Miller's Presentation (pdf, 4.79 MB)

Week 12 - November 21, 2006(Thursday schedule class)

Week 12 - November 23, 2006  (Thanksgiving recess-no class)

Week 13 - November 28, 2006 
Week 13 - November 30, 2006
Week 14 - December 5, 2006

more slides 12/5/06 Evolution of Speech
Week 15 - December 7, 2006

Last set of slides - from last 2 weeks lectures

** Final Exam - Dec. 12 (during class period)
 

SAMPLE FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS

Sample types of questions:
 
There will be some short answer questions of the following general type (you will not have options to select questions):

 

1.   What appears to be the "pacemaker" for glacial/interglacial cycles for the past 2.5 million years of Earth's history?    

 

2.  2.    What is one proxy for wind speed that can be inferred from ice core records? What is the rationale for using it as a proxy?

 

3.    How does metabolic rate scale with body size in metazoans?

 

4.    What is one difference between human induced changes to the Earth System compared with natural changes?

 

5.  5.    How has the evolution of language helped humans to escape the Red Queen constraint?


There will be short essays of the following general form:

 

E1. There are two carbon cycles on Earth – a “slow cycle” and a “fast cycle”.  Describe the basic features of both cycles (you can use a diagram if you like) and explain how human activities have disrupted the cycle(s).
 
E2. Explain how mass extinctions differ from “normal” extinction processes, and why mass extinctions are always followed by major radiations.  In addressing these issues choose specific examples, whenever possible.