ESC 103 - History of Life 3 cr.

Designed for the non‐science major, this course provides an introduction to the over 3.5 billion‐year history of life on planet Earth as preserved in the geologic record. This course will examine the origin of life on Earth, how life on Earth has changed dramatically through time by the mechanism of evolution, the influence of plate tectonics and other geologic forces on the evolution of life, how organisms are preserved as fossils in sedimentary rocks, famous fossil localities, and the impact of mass extinction events in the geologic record. This course includes a Saturday field trip. 3 hrs. lect.