• Outcomes for Week 4
• Tasks for Week 4
• Making Timely and Substantial Contributions to Discussion Threads
• Assigned Discussion Threads for Week 4

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Welcome to the fourth week in Pacific Northwest Geology online. The main topics for this week are plate tectonics and the rock cycle.

Outcomes for Week 4

Now let us take a look at what is happening this week. At the end of the fourth week, you should be able to:

• list the main points of the theory of plate tectonics and define lithosphere, asthenosphere, and tectonic plate
• name and describe the three major types of tectonic plate boundaries
• describe the important types of faults, earthquakes, volcanoes, metamorphism, and sediments that occur at each type of plate boundary
• draw and label a plate tectonic map, including proper map symbols for each type of plate boundary
• draw and label a plate tectonic map of the Pacific Northwest, including plate names, plate boundary names, and location of the Cascade volcanic arc in relation to plate boundaries
• draw, label, and explain the rock cycle, including volcanic and plutonic igneous rocks, clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks, and regional and contact metamorphic rocks
• identify where the nine representative rock types from the Pacific Northwest fit into the rock cycle

Tasks for Week 4

• Read Lecture #4 and the course content Web pages to which it is linked.
• Make timely and substantial contributions to the assigned discussion threads (see below).
• Discuss with the rest of the class the theory of plate tectonics.
• Complete Lab Assignment #4. This week send Lab Assignment 4 on time in two forms
1. drawings you make, mailed to the instructor at:
   Ralph Dawes PNW
   Wenatchee Valley College
   1300 Fifth Street
   Wenatchee, WA 98801
2. the Lab Assignment 4 Written Answers Form in your online classroom. Follow the instructions on the answer form carefully.
• Take the weekly Pacific Northwest Geology quiz online.
• Write your weekly summary on the last day of the week and post it to the classroom discussion area by the end of that day (see below).

Making Timely and Substantial Contributions to Discussion Threads

Each week you are assigned one (or several) discussion threads. You are expected, at minimum, to submit a comment of your own, and at least one response to another student's comment, as your contribution to that thread. You are also expected to provide substance to at least one of your postings. Substance means such things as descriptions of real geological examples that you have encountered, or references (with your own comments) to things you have read about, or references (with your own comments) to other Web pages that are relevant to the discussion thread.

You are also welcome to, and encouraged to, start your own discussion threads and respond to other students' discussion threads. The minimum requirement is to take part in the discussion threads that are assigned at the beginning of each week, in the agenda.

Assigned Discussion Thread for Week 4

Here is a listing of the fourth week's assigned discussion thread.

1. Like all great ideas in science, such as the existence of atoms and the structure of the DNA molecule, plate tectonics is a theory. List one, two or three items of evidence that support the theory of plate tectonics, and explain how each item of evidence supports the theory. If you think you detect a contradiction, you are free to also contribute an item and a logical reason that it does not support the theory.

Your Weekly Summary

Your weekly summary is important. It is to be completed on the last day of the online week. It is to be sent to the Weekly Summary discussion thread.

Writing a summary helps you solidify in your mind what you learned that week. A high-quality summary clearly describes the main ideas you learned, with some specific examples. Demonstrate what you have learned and discuss your experience in learning it, in your own words.

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