GEL 101 is an introductory course in physical geology with laboratory.  The only prerequisite for GEL 101 is the same prerequisite for ALL science courses, which is qualification to take MAT 084 (that is, you have taken MAT 081 or higher, or you have tested out of MAT 081).  There are no science or other math prerequisites.

    GEL 101 satisfies your AA degree requirement for a science class in the physical science category.  GEL 101 also satisfies your laboratory science requirement for the AA degree.  GEL 101 is also a pre-requisite to take GEL 208, the Geology of the Northwest field trip class.

    GEL 101 has 6 contact hours per week, four of which are spent in "lecture" and two of which are spent in laboratory.  Normally GEL 101 is taught in a shortened format.  Version A runs 4 days a week instead of 5.  We meet Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for 1:15 (75 minutes) and then EITHER Thursday or Friday for lab, depending on which lab section you sign up for.  Version B runs 3 days a week, 2 days for lecture at 2 hours per day then one day for lab.

    GEL 101 is a 5 credit class.  Students ask:  how come we go for 6 hours and only get 5 credits?  Answer:  the State of Washington believes that sitting in lecture is twice as valuable as actually doing something in laboratory or in the field, that you learn twice as much listening rather than doing.  I am not making this up.

    GEL 101 keeps the cost down.  There is a $32 lab fee, attached to all lab courses.  BUT, you save big bucks in GEL 101, because I provide the laboratory book FREE of charge.  Normally this lab book runs about $100 bucks, but when you come into laboratory, there it is for you to use.  The only book you have to buy is the "lecture" book, which is about $80 used at the SCCC bookstore.

    GEL 101 has no exams:  no midterms, no quarterfinals, no semifinals.  Instead there is a short, 15-minute quiz each week on the previous week's topics.  The quizzes are not cumulative; each week pretty much a  self standing module (though there is a lot of natural continuity and overlap).

    GEL 101 covers a wide range of topics.  We start off with the Earth as a Planet, the Earth's interior, plate tectonics and earthquakes.  There's a middle section on crystals and minerals, volcanoes and magma, sedimentary rocks and fossils, and metamorphic rocks from the deep Earth.  The last portion of the course is devoted to shaping the Earth's surface; glaciers, rivers and streams, landslides, and waves and beaches.

    GEL 101 usually has optional field trips.  Strictly optional, attendance not required.  You can go on a field trip just for fun, or attend the field trip, do the field trip exercise, and skip lab for that week.  Optional field trips start and end at SCCC, usually run from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and/or Friday, and emphasize Seattle geology.  Transportation provided.  Field trips in the past have included:  the Great Seattle Fault, Seattle landslides and mudflows, glacial deposits in Seattle, and Seattle beach processes.

    For more information, email Joe Hull --------   jhull@sccd.ctc.edu

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