HR: 1340h
AN: ED13B-0725    [Abstracts]
TI: Preparing Students for Petrography and Beyond: A Practical Approach to Optical Mineralogy
AU: * Fox, L K
EM: lkfox@pacific.edu
AF: Department of Geosciences University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211 United States
AB: Optical Mineralogy at the University of the Pacific is taught as a 1-unit laboratory-based course. In this course students not only learn the techniques for identification of minerals in thin section and get extensive experience studying minerals in thin section. The course meets for one 3-hour lab session each week. In the first half of the semester students learn the techniques of mineral identification: relief, fast/slow directions, interference figures, etc. In the second half of the semester students work independently to compile a notebook of approximately 30 common rock-forming minerals and learn to identify them in thin section. They are provided with numerous thin sections from a wide variety of rocks so that they learn to identify the minerals in context. In the notebook, students compile optical properties and drawings of the minerals in thin section. Students are allowed to use their notebooks on the final exam (identifying minerals in thin section) and thus have additional incentive to generate an excellent product. Students who complete this optical mineralogy lab course are well prepared for the petrographic work they encounter in Petrology the following semester. In addition, they develop confidence in their own investigative and descriptive skills which serves them well in all future work.
DE: 5194 Instruments and techniques
DE: 3694 Instruments and techniques
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting