State University of New York, College at Cortland

Geology Department

GLY 302-001; GLY 302-501 – Petrology

(Spring, 2015)
Instructor: Dr. Robert Darling
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: 324 Bowers
Office hrs: Tuesdays & Thursdays., 11:30 am – 2:00 pm.

Lecture Room 339 Bowers Hall, Tuesday & Thursday, 10:05 am to 11:20 pm.
Lab Room 333 Bowers Hall, Monday, 12:40-3:30 pm.
Website http://web.cortland.edu/darlingr/class/petrology/index.html

Texts: 1) Blatt, Tracy, & Owens 2005, Petrology: Igneous, Sed. and Metamorphic: 3rd Ed., Freeman.
2) Minerals in Thin Section, Perkins, D. and Henke, K.R., 2000, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
3) One issue of Elements magazine.

Course Description: Petrogenesis of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks; description and classification
and interpretation based on hand specimens and thin-section. Three lecture hours and three hour laboratory;
required all-day field trip. Prerequisite: GLY 301. (4 cr. hr.)

Course Attendance Policy: There is no formal attendance policy. However, exam questions are derived from
lecture material. Therefore, students who regularly attend lectures will have a decisive advantage over those who
do not. If you miss an exam or lab quiz, you will be given a chance to make them up only if your absence was a
valid absence. Valid absences are those due to approved College activities (see undergraduate college catalog). If
you miss an exam or lab quiz because of illness, I will administer a make-up exam or quiz only if you contact me
by phone before the scheduled exam or lab quiz. My office number is 2923. It is always best to talk to me about
an expected absence before it occurs, when possible, so that we can work out a make up time.

Field Trip Attendance Policy: The field trip is required. Failure to attend the field trip will result in an
incomplete (INC) grade for the course. The incomplete grade can be made up the following year by attending the
field trip. An incomplete grade in GLY 302 can prevent you from: 1) graduating if you are a senior, 2) student
teaching if you are a junior Adolescence Education / Earth Science [AES] major, or 3) receiving financial aid.

Evaluation of Student Performance: Your final course grade will be based on two exams, a cumulative final
exam, three laboratory quizzes, two writing assignments including a 5 or 11 p. term paper, and an oral
presentation. The relative weight of each is outlined below along with letter grade numerical equivalents. All
course requirements (including the field trip) must be completed to receive a grade. GLY 302-001 students will
complete the 5 page term paper; GLY 302-501 students will complete the 11 page paper.

Breakdown of final grade:

10% 1st Exam 15% Laboratory Rock Quizzes (each = 5 %)

10% 2nd Exam 37% Writing Assignments:
8% Oral Presentation 1 page outline with 1 page of references (5%),
20% Final Exam (cumulative) 5 or 11 page term paper + 1 page abstract + 1 page references min.,
(1st draft - content 16%; 1st draft - tech 8%; 2nd draft - tech 8%)

Grades = A+ = 97-99 B+ = 87-89 C+ = 77-79 D+ = 67-69

A = 94-96 B = 84-86 C = 74-76 D = 64-66
A- = 90-93 B- = 80-83 C- = 70-73 D- = 60-63 E = 0-59
Late Written Assignments: I will accept late written assignments, but at a penalty of one third of a letter grade
per hour up to 3 hours, one additional letter grade penalty between 3 and 24 hours late, and then one additional
letter grade penalty per 24 hr period afterwards.

Course Requirements: All course requirements, including written assignments, must be completed to receive a
grade. If not, an incomplete (INC) grade will be awarded for the course. See Field Trip Attendance Policy
(previous page) for consequences of an INC grade.

Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please
contact the Office of Student Disability Services located in B-1 Van Hoesen Hall or call (607) 753-2066 for an
appointment. Information regarding your disability will be treated in a confidential manner. Because many
accommodations require early planning, requests for accommodations should be made as early as possible.

GLY 302 – Petrology Course Objectives

At the end of this class, each of you should be able to:

1) Classify igneous rocks and interpret their textures in thin section and hand specimen.
(lab. exercises on Plutonic and Volcanic Igneous Rocks)
2) Interpret binary and ternary igneous phase diagrams.
(lab. exercises on Simple Binary Phase Equilibria, and Complex Binary & Ternary
Phase Equilibria)
3) Make use of the phase rule.
(lab. exercises on Simple Binary Phase Equilibria, and Complex Binary & Ternary
Phase Equilibria)
4) Understand igneous processes such as fractional crystallization and partial melting.
(lecture on Fractional Crystallization & Partial Melting)
5) Understand the relationship between plate tectonic processes and magma sources.
(lectures on Fractional Crystallization & Partial Melting; Origin and Rise of Magma)
6) Classify sedimentary rocks and interpret their textures in thin section and hand specimen.
(lecture on Sedimentary Rocks and Classification; laboratory on Sedimentary Structures)
7) Understand the controls on and significance of textural maturity
(lecture on Sedimentary Provenance and Environments)
8) Understand the chemical and physical controls on sediment formation and deposition.
(lectures on Sedimentary Rocks and Classification; Sedimentary Provenance and Environments)
9) Classify metamorphic rocks and interpret their textures in thin section and hand specimen.
(lecture on Petrogenetic Grid, Facies, Isograds; laboratory on Metamorphic Rocks)
10) Understand the significance of index minerals, isograds and mineral assemblages.
(laboratories on the Petrogenetic Grid, Metamorphic Isograds)
11) Understand the role of external variables (temp. and pressure) on mineral assemblages.
(lectures on Metamorphic Controls [P + T]; Experimental Metamorphic Petrology)
12) Understand the role of compositional variables (bulk and fluid) on mineral assemblages.
(lecture on Bulk Rock Composition Controls, Phase Rule; Oxidation and Fluid
Composition Controls)
13) Understand the relationship between tectonic processes and metamorphic environments.
(lectures on Metamorphism and Plate Tectonics, PT Paths; Ultra High Pressure Metamorphism).

NSTA Standards: Students enrolled in GLY 302 and majoring in Adolescence Education: Earth Science 7-12
will focus on acquiring knowledge and developing skills aligned with learning outcomes from the College's
Conceptual Framework for Teacher Education and those established by the National Science Teachers
Association. In particular, this course addresses Conceptual Framework Learning Outcome 2: Possess in-depth
knowledge of the subject area to be taught; NSTA Standard I: Content; NSTA; Standard 2: Nature of Science;
and NSTA Standard 3; Inquiry.
Date Lecture Assign. Laboratory
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Jan 26 Mineral / Melt behavior, the Phase rule

Jan 27* More Binary Igneous systems Ch. 5
Jan 29* Complex Binary and Ternary Systems Ch. 5
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Feb 2 Binary Phase Equilibria

Feb 3 Fractional crystallization & Partial melting Ch. 5,6
Feb 5 Effect of water on magma; Classific. of Granites Ch. 5,3
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Feb 9 Complex Binary & Ternary Equilibria

Feb 10 Origin and rise of magma; Granite textures Ch. 1,2
Feb 12 Pegmatites; Mafic classification, Ch. 3
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Feb 16 Plutonic rocks (HS+TS)

Feb 17 Processes in mafic magmas; Layered intrusions, Ch. 6
Feb 19 Ophiolites, Magma origin and Plate Tectonics. Ch. 8,9,10
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Feb 23 Plutonic rocks (HS+TS)

Feb 24* Basaltic, Andesitic volcanic processes Ch. 4
Feb 26 Rhyolitic volcanic processes
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Mar 2 Volcanic rocks (HS+TS)

Mar 3 FIRST HOUR EXAM
Mar 5*. Sedimentary rocks and classification Ch.11,12
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Mar 9 Ig. rock qz., Clastic rocks (HS+TS)

Mar 10 Clastic sed. rocks: sandstones, cong.
Mar 12 Clastic sed. rocks: mudstones, Sed structures Ch. 13
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Mar 16 Spring Break, No Lab.

Mar 17 Spring Break, no lecture.
Mar 19 Spring Break, no lecture. Ch. 14
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Mar 23 Sedimentary structures

Mar 24 Sedimentary Provenance and Environments Ch. 13
Mar 26 Crystalline sedimentary rocks (lms + dolo) Ch. 15
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Mar 30 Crystalline sedimentary rocks (HS+TS)

Mar 31* Crystalline rock environments + interpret. Ch. 15
Apr 2 Evaporites + banded iron formations Ch. 16
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Apr 6 Evaporites + banded iron formations

Apr 7 SECOND HOUR EXAM
Apr 9 Isograds, Facies, Petrogenetic grid, Ch.17,18
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Apr 13 Sed. rock quiz, Meta. rocks (HS)

Apr 14 Metamorphic controls: Pressure & Temperature Ch. 19
Apr 16* Law of limiting reagents, bulk rock controls Ch. 20
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Apr 19 Petro Field Trip (departure 7 am!) Adk igneous & metamorphic rocks.
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Apr 20 Meta. rocks (HS), Petrogenetic grid

Apr 21 Fluid composition & oxidation controls Ch. 20
Apr 23* Mineral composition controls Ch. 19
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Apr 27 Meta. Rocks (HS+TS) Thermobarometry I

Apr 28* Experimental techniques Ch. 17
Apr 30 Prograde & Retrograde metamorphsim, PT paths
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May 4 Oral Presentations (PowerPoint req.)

May 5 Blueschist & Ultra high-pressure metamorphism
May 7 Meta. Rock quiz
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May 11 FINAL HOUR EXAM (Cumulative) (Monday; 10:30 am to 12:30 pm)

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HS = hand specimen; TS = thin section

All laboratory exercises are to be turned at the end of the lab period.
*Jan 28 Topics for writing assignment distributed.
*Jan 30 Topic for writing assignment selected by student.
*Feb 25 1st writing assignment due (1 p. proposed outline + 1 p. references).
*Mar 6 Writing assignment 1 returned.
*Apr 1 2nd writing assignment due (5 or 11 p. term paper + 1 p. abstract + 1 p. references).
*Apr 17 Return of 2nd writing assignment.
*Apr 24 Resubmission of 2nd Writing assignment due.
*Apr 29 Return of resubmission of 2nd writing assignment.

Classroom Etiquette:

1) Please come to class a few minutes early.

2) Please turn your cell phone off while in class or lab (no calling, texting, surfing, gaming)

3) Please do not talk to your neighbor while I’m lecturing.

4) Please do not close your notebooks five minutes before class is over. I will let you know when
class is over.