Department of Geology
What is Geology A-level?
Most students have not taken geology at GCSE, but you will have covered much of this subject in Sciences or Geography. You may know more Geology than you think!
Check out our promotional presentation, Geology Rocks, to find out more (this may take a minute to download)
WJEC AS Level
GL1 Foundation Geology and GL2 Practical Geology
- The earth - earthquakes and meteorites
- Minerals
- Igneous and volcanic rocks - the study of a volcano
- Sedimentary rocks and weathering -sandstones, shales, limestones
- Metamorphic rocks - slate, schist, gneiss and marble
- Plate tectonics
- Geological time, relative and absolute dating
- Fossils
- Geological maps and cross-section drawing
- Rock structures - folding, faulting and unconformities
- Field-work - investigations of quarries, fossil deposits, other rock exposures
Exam: GL1 - MAY; GL2 PRACTICAL exam - APRIL of the AS year
GL 3 Geology and the Human Environment
- Volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides - hazards and prediction
- Geology and human activity - water supply, mining and tunnelling, buildings and dams, waste disposal
- Geophysical site investigations
Exam MAY of the AS year
WJEC A-Level (A2)
If you want to gain an Advanced-level (A2) qualification in Geology you can continue into the A2 year and take three more units at the end of your second year at Greenhead College.
GL4 Extension Geology and GL6 Geological Investigations
- Igneous environments and magmas
- Sedimentary rocks - weathering, erosion, transport, deposition
- Metamorphic rocks - formation of new minerals in different heat/pressure conditions
- Folds, faults and joints - analysing stresses and strains in the earth's crust
- Fossil preservation - exceptional preservation, eg. the Burgess shale
- Dinosaurs, hominids and the development of life
- Mass extinctions and evolution
- Interpreting coloured geological maps
- Long and short term climate change from geological observations
Exam JUNE of the A2 year
GL5: Advanced Plate Tectonics and Quaternary Geology
- Changing climate in Britain during the Quaternary
- Global plate tectonics - opening of the Atlantic Ocean
- Advanced Plate Tectonics
- Where earthquakes happen
- Sediment analysis to understand global climate change
- Snowball earth hypotheses
Exam JUNE of the A2 year
Coursework
Two small courseworks are completed in the A2 year of the course. They should be no more than 2000 words of writing and include a large number of data presentation techniques, ie graphs, maps, annotated photographs and interpretations of field sketches.
Lessons
Geology is a practical subject and lessons usually involve an initial reading, followed by a mix of note-taking with slides or drawing and looking at samples of rocks, fossils and minerals. This gives the groups a relaxed atmosphere and we also get to know each other better on residential field-courses. Many students find the subject different and interesting and some enthusiasts follow it on to University, where there is a wide choice of courses leading to careers in geology or the environment. There is a huge demand for geology graduates in quarrying and oil/gas/mineral fields as well as environmental areas.
Resources
Study Guides are provided for each section of the specification and they will direct you to specific books and DVD's that will help you understand the ideas or widen your knowledge. The college library has a superb Geology collection (class mark: 550), including up to date DVDs, books and magazines which you can borrow on overnight loan.
Teaching Powerpoints cover the majority of the course and are available on the college virtual learning environment (Moodle), along with additional case study materials: You will be expected to access the VLE and build a case study portfolio over the academic year. Revision materials are provided on the VLE.
About the department
The head of department is Dr. Victoria Hopgood, teaching in the Geology Room F7 in the Main Building. F7 contains the rock, mineral and fossils collections which we use in many lessons. You can use the room for private study when there are no classes timetabled.
Geology fieldwork
AS Tenby, South Pembrokshire: A five day field course to the Orielton FSC in February for all those students taking the AS qualification. This is essential practice for the practical exam and is a compulsory fieldwork, for which a fee is payable.
A2 Tenby, South Pembrokshire: We revisit Orielton for a further five days in October to carry out our field coursework investigation. You will see a variety of rocks and geological structures on a themed course that links closely with your GL5 option modules: Lithosphere (advanced plate tectonics) and Quaternary Geology. This is an essential part of the A2 GL6 coursework component and so the fieldwork is compulsory, for which there is a fee payable.
AS Iceland The Geology department (in conjunction with the Geography department) will take interested students to Iceland during the AS year to study plate tectonics, coasts and igneous features. This is an optional field course which we have been running successfully for several years now. The week is a fantastic experience and students have felt that it was well worth the high cost.
