Numerical models are widely used to simulate systems ranging from climate to traffic jams, yet a high percentage of college-level students have little awareness of how they are constructed and their limitations. This activity is intended to introduce students to the construction and use of a simple conservation equation model using MATLAB. Students will construct, with the help of the instructor, a MATLAB script to simulate inputs and outputs to and from a water tank and the tracking of water volume through time. The activity includes calibration and verification of their model using data on flows observed in the water tank.

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Different approaches to conservation and how they can protect species and habitats. Video by California Academy of Sciences. Created by California Academy of Sciences.

In order to be able to undertake this assignment, students will not only have to follow and interact in class but also read and understand papers at home. After a first simple question on the tectonic style of the mountain range students will have to apply what they learn from the paper from DeCelles and Giles (1996) and Graham et al. (1986), assigned to read as homework, to answer the first set of examples. Consequently, I have developed a second-part exercise designed to help students understand the relationship between source and sediments; they will use data provided in the exercise to constrain the rates and patterns of source exhumation. In order to answer the second-part exercise students will have to read a suite of papers on detrital thermochronology (Bernet et al., 2002; Carrapa et al., 2003); this will enhance their capability of independently assess complex scientific issues. They will also have to apply simple equations to calculate the rate of source exhumation (through the concept of lag time).

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This assignment is meant to illustrate how the advection of heat by groundwater leads to the elevated temperatures at shallow sedimentary basin margins at which Mississippi Valley-type Zn-Pb hydrothermal ore deposits are formed. The assignment is based on analytical solutions for groundwater flow and heat transport published by Domenico & Palciauskas (1973). Students use a spreadsheet to calculate and plot the flow field and temperature in a sedimentary basin, and to investigate the conditions needed to produce ore-forming temperatures. These results have further implications for the length of time available for ore formation and the concentration of metals and pH of the groundwater, which are also explored in the assignment. The assignment provides an example of how groundwater plays a fundamental role in an important geologic process in the Earth's crust. The activity also shows the linkages of hydrology to other disciplines such as heat transport, geochemistry, and economic geology.

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An interactive lecture in which students use data on feeding habits and habitat, skeletons, and DNA sequences to draw phylogenetic trees.

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The objective of this lesson is to introduce students to rainfall-runoff modeling using machine learning algorithms. In this lesson, students will walk through the process of accessing data, visualizing the data, statistically analyzing the data and using machine learning software packages to construct rainfall-runoff models.

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Contaminación de Plancton a Plástico Equipo STEM. El Centro de Extensión y Educación en Ciencias Naturales colabora con la facultad de CSU, los Parques Nacionales y los programas de ciencia ciudadana para traducir su investigación científica actual en experiencias STEM únicas para los estudiantes en forma de kits educativos que se pueden prestar. Cada kit contiene casi todos los materiales necesarios (menos cosas comunes como agua y toallas de papel) para explorar algunos temas de investigación científica realmente interesantes enviando un formulario de recogida local o un formulario de entrega disponible en el sitio web vinculado. Utilice la información de contacto en la página de descripción general del kit STEM para obtener más información. https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/stem-kits/ Este kit se proporciona de forma gratuita para uso educativo.

A quantitative skills-intensive exercise using data from the Mineral Mountains, Utah, to calculate mass balance and to address the "space problem" involved with emplacing plutons into the crust.

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To prepare for this exercise, students participate in a teacher-led discussion about processes of erosion and deposition in different environments under and around continental ice sheets. They then work in small groups of 2-3 to examine stereopairs of examples of landforms representative of subglacial and end-glacial settings. The culminating set of questions require them to find and analyze the sequence of formation of a dozen or so landforms from different glacial environments scattered over one topographic quadrangle.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Has minimal/no quantitative component

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Students measuring elevations in a model map area.

Provenance: Lynne Elkins, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
This exercise was designed in a department that has some basic support for developing inexpensive classroom equipment in cooperation with a machine shop. The shop built gridded mapping frames to my specifications using a simple aluminum design (a square frame of aluminum with small pins inserted at one-inch intervals). An even simpler DIY design could use thin but sturdy pieces of wood to create a wooden frame, with steel nails. My initial design called for 2'x2' frames, which turned out to be too large: mapping a 4 sq. ft. space at 1-inch resolution took more than a standard lab period for most students to complete. The attached exercise instructs students to use a smaller portion of the mapping grid; this can be revised for different size grids. Another issue to be aware of when designing mapping grid frames is whether to label the spaces with letters and numbers (as is done on many maps and was thus my original thinking) or to label the lines between the spaces, which is easier for data collection.


At the start of the lab, I typically give my students a few ground rules: they should avoid extremely flat areas, because the elevation rounding they are likely to do will make contouring them very difficult; their highest point should be at least 2 inches and not more than 4-5 inches high; they may not have vertical walls or overhangs (and should really keep the slopes less than 60-70�� at their steepest); the table surface is sea level with zero elevation; and most of their model area must be mappable land (not ocean, i.e. bare table). I give them large sheets of wax paper to construct the model on, for easy cleanup. I also provide large sheets of 1" grid paper so they can create a 1:1 map of their model (and I impose a scale calculation later for the model), and remind them several times not to invert the map labels when setting up their map grid. Typically this is all they need to know to begin creating and mapping a landscape. The mapping tools are pieces of string (to string across the pins on the mapping frames and position the grid points) and wooden skewers labeled with quarter-inch markings.


After an initial attempt to make the playdough for this lab, my department opted to purchase 6-lb. tubs of commercial playdough. It is ultimately relatively inexpensive because it is reusable almost indefinitely, as long as it is stored tightly sealed (we use zip-loc bags inside the commercial containers) and occasionally spritzed with water--once a year usually works fine for keeping it hydrated for storage over the rest of the year, but that may vary with climate and frequency of use. Typically I walk around while they are getting started and make commentary on their landscapes, and then when there are no further questions I go to the board and create an example data set and contour map. While a photocopied paper example map would accomplish the same thing, this approach lets me tailor my examples to what I see they are doing (e.g., including circular depressions, saddles, or ridges). I also have handy and frequently refer the students to USGS quads from around the country when they are mapping, e.g. a very flat quad with depressions in central Florida and a very steep quad from the Grand Canyon.


When they are mapping, I typically advise them to 1) sketch in the shoreline around their zero-elevation values by comparing to the model, 2) add major peaks between grid lines as needed, and 3) map from the highest parts of their map area downward. I also discourage contour intervals smaller than 1/2-inch, particularly when their model contains flat terrain. Many students want to be more precise, and if they have estimated depths to the nearest 1/8-inch it is possible to contour at 1/4-inch intervals, but typically their rounded measurements in flat areas make this quite tricky. It often is necessary for me (and/or TAs) to walk around and give them advice in places they are stuck and remind them how contours work.


Making the profile is usually very quick. The graph provided would need to be adjusted/replaced for different size mapping grids, but works well for a grid that runs from A to O on one side and from 1 to 10+ on the other.


If they are kept on task everyone except the most cautious or disorganized groups can typically finish elevation measurements for about 2 sq. ft. of map area within 1.5 hours. With an introductory spiel, that leaves about an hour for finishing most of the contouring and transferring data for the profile. Faster groups will probably finish all the final details but are well-advised to take the lab home to double check the details. Slower groups may finish coloring and looking at the local topo map on their own. Longer lab periods would permit a more detailed study of the local USGS maps and/or a larger model size--this was written for a 3-hour lab period.

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Students use gesture to describe the bulk deformation and local deformation apparent in images of a contractional analog experiment. Students then calculate bulk shortening and bulk thickening for the experiment and describe the structures accommodating that strain.

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Weathering pits are well known from granite terrains and they also form in metaquartzite along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. We will drive to Flat Rock Trail, along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Linville, NC. After a short hike up the trail we will observe the weathering pits exposed on the bedrock surface overlooking the Linville Valley. Each group of students will write down 3 hypotheses for how and why they form. Consider what factors control the size and shape of the pits. Collect data that can be used to test the hypotheses including orientation, size, and shape. Plot the data collected in the field. Present data on graphs and charts. Do trends in the data support one hypothesis over another?
Designed for a geomorphology course

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During this demo, participants use springs and a map of the Pacific Northwest with GPS vectors to investigate the stresses and surface expression of subduction zones, specifically the Juan de Fuca plate diving beneath the North American plate.

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This demonstration uses sulfuric acid and crushed copper ore (malachite) to produce a solution of copper sulfate and carbonic acid in a beaker. When a freshly sanded nail is dropped into the copper sulfate solution, native copper precipitates onto the nail. The process is similar to that of heap leaching at a copper mine. The entire set-up can be placed on a wheeled cart and completed in less than 15 minutes in class. Students enjoy seeing the copper crystals form on the nail, and the experiment provides the basis for many avenues of discussion, from chemical reactions and mineral formation to problems with mine tailings and acid mine drainage.

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This teaching activity addresses environmental stresses on corals. Students assess coral bleaching using water temperature data from the NOAA National Data Buoy Center. Students learn about the habitat of corals, the stresses on coral populations, and the impact of increased sea surface temperatures on coral reefs. In a discussion section, the connection between coral bleaching and global warming is drawn.

Coral Reefs in Hot Water is a short video displaying computerized data collected on the number of reefs impacted by coral bleaching around the world.

This project is intended as a long-term (3 weeks -- 1 month) lab exercise near the end of a combined Stratigraphy/Sedimentology course. The project utilizes real world data provided by CONSOL Energy of Pittsburgh, PA, and the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. This project has been assigned once and is being revised. Instructions have been left somewhat vague in an attempt to force students into discovering some of the more mechanical details of this process themselves.

By the latter third of the course, students have described sedimentary rocks in detail and have constructed vertical sections of rock at several outcrops around campus. The course is moving from Sedimentology/Petrology into Stratigraphy. This project is designed to illustrate the basic principles of lithostratigraphy, which are covered concurrently in the lecture portion of the class.

The project 'unfurls' over several weeks. If students are provided with the entire project at one time they generally get overwhelmed, so the project is presented piecemeal, allowing the students to expand the project as they complete one section.

Step 1: Core description 40 feet of core from the Conemaugh Group of southwestern Pennsylvania is made available to the students. They must describe the core, define lithologic units, identify specific sedimentary structures, and construct a stratigraphic column. (Students struggle with detail versus efficiency of completion, given one full lab period (3 hours) and a week to complete the assignment, many students will get lost in the detail)

The goal is to build familiarity with the type of data available to geologists as they go about constructing maps for resource estimates. Additionally, the lithologies present in this core will be similar to those described in the geologist and drilling logs necessary to complete the next step.

Each step is evaluated independently in this step concern is primarily with identification of basic lithologies (coal, sandstone, shale, limestone).

Step 2: construction of strip logs for 25 core holes in northern West Virginia. Students are provided with a location map, logs for 25 holes, and elevation data. They must construct strip logs suitable for correlation, deciding upon scale and detail of presentation. Students are provided with a CD including the location map and a .pdf for each drill record.

The logs vary between the simplicity of driller data (60' of "blue" shale) and the detail of geologist descriptions, students must balance the detail and simplicity. Additionally, students were faced with "long" logs (i.e. greater than 500') and "short" logs (i.e. less than 100'). This turned out to be extremely difficult, some students got very lost, producing long detailed logs that left them without much time for the last two steps.

Students are again provided with a week to construct the strip logs, including the lab time for the week. Strip logs are evaluated for detail, accuracy, and utility (in many cases too much detail can be as confusing as too little).

Step 3: construction of stratigraphic cross sections. The first time this project was assigned, there was little guidance provided to students beyond "choosing logs that covered the largest stratigraphic interval." This exceeded the grasp of most students so additional guidance will be provided in the next iteration of this project. A generalized stratigraphic column illustrating the basic characteristics of the Monongahela and Conemaugh groups will be provided to assist students with recognition of the basic formations.

Students will be required to construct a stratigraphic cross section through selected wells on the west side of the project area. This cross section will demonstrate the use of marker beds and the lateral continuity of stratigraphic units.

The second cross section will run east-west onto the western flank of the Chestnut Ridge anticline. The datum for this cross section will be surface elevation. This cross section will illustrate the problems of stratigraphic correlation when combined with geological structures. The rock becomes consistently older as one proceeds towards the axis of the anticline. The prominent red beds and the absence of coals, in the eastern portion of the map area indicate the presence of the Chestnut Ridge Anticline.

Evaluation of the cross sections will be based upon the accuracy of the correlations. Students are allowed a week to produce cross sections (including lab). The stratigraphic cross section should accurately delineate the Redstone, Pittsburgh, and Sewickley coals. These occur in sequence and are fairly easy to identify. Successful completion of the east-west cross section will require identification of the approximate stratigraphic position of the Monongahela-Conemaugh contact.

Step 4: construction of isopach maps. Students are then required to identify specific coal and sandstone units within their cross sections, correlate those across the map region and construct isopach maps of those units.

This requires that the students now extend what they have learned from the previous three weeks, extend those correlations to the core holes not included in the basic stratigraphic analysis. The thickness of the coal and sandstone should be identified and isopach maps constructed.

The first iteration of this project produced problems similar to those encountered in step 3. Better guidance and evaluation of the cross sections and allowing students less input on the choice of stratigraphic units to isopach should reduce the confusion.

Step 5: (optional) Interpretation and report writing : the first iteration of this project was running concurrently with a term paper. Instead of two separate projects, an interpretive report will be required. This is still in the planning stage and has not been assigned to students.

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In this activity, students examine how to grow plants the most efficiently. They imagine that they are designing a biofuels production facility and need to know how to efficiently grow plants to use in this facility. As a means of solving this design problem, they plan a scientific experiment in which they investigate how a given variable (of their choice) affects plant growth. They then make predictions about the outcomes and record their observations after two weeks regarding the condition of the plants' stem, leaves and roots. They use these observations to guide their solution to the engineering design problem. The biological processes of photosynthesis and transpiration are briefly explained to help students make informed decisions about planning and interpreting their investigation and its results.

Three hypothetical rock sections along an East-West transect are provided. Students correlate the three sections using the biostratigraphy of planktic forams (as a proxy for age), benthic forams (as a proxy of depth), and lithology (as a proxy of environment). Students are asked to provide an interpretation of the history of this depositional basin. An ash bed of known age is added and students are asked to determine if this new information affects their interpretation. Finally, an interesting lithologic feature is added, and students are asked to provide a geological explanation.

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This activity from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific asks students to compress all of time (from the Big Bang until now) into one year.
First, they have to pick major events (younger students can be given them) - this can lead to lively discussion! You can certainly be adaptable here.
Second, the best thing to do is have the students guess where each event should be on the Cosmic Calendar.
Third, have them look up or be given the actual time period when the event occurred.
Fourth, have them calculate (or be given) the "date" on the Cosmic Calendar.
Fifth, discuss! Debate! Reflect!

Files cannot be uploaded as they are copyrighted but they are easily found and freely available.
Authors: Therese Puyau Blanchard, Andrew Fraknoi, and the staff of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
URL: http://www.astrosociety.org/edu/astro/act2/H2_Cosmic_Calendar.pdf

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