Page 221 - FINAL_HANDBOOK_20252026

Faculty of Science Handbook, Academic Session 2025/2026

COURSE SYNOPSIS some of the chemistry behind mineralogy.
Students are also introduced to the rock
LEVEL 1 COURSES forming minerals in a systematic way and
learn to identify them using the
SII1001 INTRODUCTION TO THE EARTH petrographic microscope and standard
reference texts.
Origins and structure of the Earth. Mineral
and rocks. Rock cycle and geological time. Assessment Methods:
Plate tectonics as a force in the formation Continuous assessment: 100%
of earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain
ranges and continental drift. SII1005 FUNDAMENTAL OF FIELD
GEOLOGY
Assessment Methods:
Continuous assessment: 40% Introduction to geological fieldwork, field
Examination : 60% equipment and basic field safety. Field
methods and techniques used in geological
SII1002 EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES mapping and data acquisition. Preparation
of geological map, cross-sections, and
Processes that change the earth's surface. report.
Weathering. Erosion and deposition by
natural agents. Rock cycle. Diagenesis Assessment Methods:
and sedimentary rocks. Principles of Continuous assessment: 100%
stratigraphy, correlation, and facies.
SII1006 SAFETY AND GEOLOGY CODE
Assessment Methods: OF PRACTICE
Continuous assessment: 40%
Examination : 60% This course is designed to expose students
to the importance of ethics and safety in the
SII1003 GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES practice of geology. Students will be
AND MAPS introduced to the concept of geoethics, the
responsibilities of geologists to the public,
The principles of structural geology and and ethics in research and professional
geological map interpretation. Nature and practice. This course also covers safety in
morphology of geologic structures, the practice of geology including in the
including folds, faults, foliations, and field, laboratory and workplace.
igneous bodies. Description, identification,
and interpretation of structures on geologic Assessment Methods:
maps. Construction of cross-sections and Continuous assessment: 100%
interpretations of geologic history

Assessment Methods: LEVEL 2 COURSES
Continuous assessment: 60%
Examination : 40% SII2002 APPLIED GEOLOGY FIELD
COURSE
SII1004 MINERALOGY
Principles and techniques of geological
Examination of mineral hand fieldwork and field data acquisition.
specimens. The study of primary Preparing geological maps using manual
characteristics of minerals such as crystal and digital methods. The course involves
systems, crystal habits, hardness, lustre, four weeks of fieldwork covering general
colour etc. geological mapping, structural geology,
The use of petrographic microscope for the sedimentology, and economic geology.
identification of minerals based on optical
properties. The course introduces some of Assessment Methods:
the concepts used in crystallography, and Continuous assessment: 100%

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