Spring 2027

Physics of the Earth II

Physics of the Earth II covers theory and observations of earthquakes, seismic waves, and plate tectonics.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 2

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2008: 3.50 GPA, 57.1% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Fall 2012: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=5 letter grades); Fall 2016: 3.62 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain, quantitatively, the physical principles that govern seismic wave propagation.

  • Identify and describe the major features of a seismogram.

  • Incorporate seismic data in an inverse framework to generate geophysical models.

  • Interpret the results of common seismic analysis techniques in terms of informationgained about the Earth’s structure, geological processes, and/or seismic source mechanisms.

  • Communicate information and uncertainties about seismic hazards to scientific and general audiences.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
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Prerequisites

Course map

Graduate/professional standing

  • Graduate/professional standing
GEOSCI 796

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Graduate/professional standing

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.

Meeting source records

No records available.

Student experience

the class

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2008: 3.50 GPA, 57.1% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Fall 2012: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=5 letter grades); Fall 2016: 3.62 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Earthquakes
  • Seismic waves
  • Plate tectonics

Skills

  • Quantitative explanation of seismic wave propagation physics
  • Identification and description of seismogram features
  • Inverse modeling using seismic data
  • Interpretation of seismic analysis results for Earth structure and processes
  • Communication of seismic hazard information and uncertainties

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2016— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2016

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

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Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "74557f1ab187e8a9ea75237d376d03d812727facba40a48da35b8de473294932",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}