We are pleased to present the 5th edition of Practical Earth Science Exercises, a laboratory manual originally conceived by Drs. Lisa Rossbacher, David Jessey, and David Berry in 1986 during their early teaching years at Cal Poly Pomona.
Exercises in this volume will acquaint students with practical aspects of physical geology, natural hazards, and engineering applications of geology. The chapter sequence is organized such that fundamental concepts and definitions are thoroughly introduced before exercises involving practical applications, natural hazards, and geotechnical analysis. Topics are chosen to compliment lecture materials covered concurrently in introductory level Earth Science, Natural Disasters, and Engineering Geology courses. Key words and/or important technical “jargon” are highlighted in underlined italics. Instructors may select various exercises in different sequences to meet the needs of their lecture itinerary. Each exercise is designed to provide the student with "hands on" experience in geological techniques or analysis. Some exercises may take less than 50 minutes to complete; others may take three hours or more. Students will find it most useful to read the introductory material for the appropriate exercise before class meetings. We also recommend previewing the various web pages cited in the exercises to prepare for assigned problems.
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part 1: Earth Science Fundamentals
Exercise 1 Plate Boundaries and Global Population Distribution
Exercise 2 Mineral Properties and Identification
Exercise 3 Identifying Igneous Rocks
Exercise 4 Identifying Sedimentary Rocks
Exercise 5 Identifying Metamorphic Rocks
Exercise 6 Ordering Geologic Events: Laws of Stratigraphy and Crosscutting Relationships
Part 2: Practical Applications
Exercise 7 Fossil Preservation
Exercise 8 Petroleum Geology
Exercise 9 Interpretation of Topographic Quadrangle Maps
Exercise 10 Construction of Topographic Map and Profile
Exercise 11 Volcano Profiles, Shapes, and Volumes
Exercise 12 Construction of Geologic Maps and Geologic Cross Sections
Exercise 13 Geology and Groundwater Resources of Alluvial Fans
Exercise 14 Water Table Maps, Groundwater Flow, and Seepage Velocity in Unconfined Aquifers
Exercise 15 Drawdown and Subsidence Induced by Pumping an Unconfined Aquifer
Part 3: Natural Hazard Mitigation and Geotechnical Analysis
Exercise 16 Volcanic Hazards
Exercise 17 Rivers and Flood Hazards
Exercise 18 Fault Recognition and Classification; Building in Earthquake Country
Exercise 19 Basic Seismology: Richter Magnitude and Earthquake Epicenter Location; Moment Magnitude and Ground Acceleration
Exercise 20 Neotectonics: Fault Slip Rates and Earthquake Recurrence Intervals
Exercise 21 Neotectonics: Marine Terrace Uplift
Exercise 22 Interpretation of Seismic Hazard and Geologic Quadrangle Maps
Exercise 23 Building in Landslide Country: Part I
Exercise 24 Building in Landslide Country: Part II
Exercise 25 Grading Plans; Cut and Fill Procedures
Exercise 26 Earthquake-Induced Liquefication
Exercise 27 Flood Control Dams of the San Gabriel River Watershed
Exercise 28 Oroville Dam: A Disaster Waiting to Happen
Exercise 29 Southern California Windstorm of January 21-22, 2022
Bibliography
