This activity is a two-part (three week) lab in which students initially …
This activity is a two-part (three week) lab in which students initially develop a claim (non-scientific) and learn how to use evidence to support a claim. They then are provided with a scientific research question for which they need to make a claim supported with evidence from their own models (river/stream tables). Based on their results, they then ask a new research question, design the model, carry out their tests and report their results.
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As a culminating assignment in Natural Hazards Planning, students work in teams …
As a culminating assignment in Natural Hazards Planning, students work in teams to create 15-year mitigation strategy for a selected jurisdiction using the FEMA 386 methodology for prioritizing mitigation options.
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The lesson content focuses on designing investigations concerning the notion of scale …
The lesson content focuses on designing investigations concerning the notion of scale through a series of investigations on their campus. The overarching goal is to foster a connection to the earth through an investigation of the local environment.
It's not easy to keep faucets flowing year-round in southwest Florida. To …
It's not easy to keep faucets flowing year-round in southwest Florida. To make sure their customers can get ample clean water at a good priceeven through dry seasonswater utility managers crafted a useful index to help them decide which water sources to use.
In this guided research and critical thinking activity, students prepare a research …
In this guided research and critical thinking activity, students prepare a research paper comprised of two parts: 1) a "state-of-the-science" review and synthesis of selected literature from risk and resilience research (provided) and 2) a brief critical appraisal of how current knowledge is (or could be) applied to building disaster resilience in a real-world scenario. Part 2 will be set in a student-selected hazard context (coastal hazards, flooding, or earthquake), employment sector (academia, government, private industry, services, non-profit), and geopolitical sphere of influence (e.g., Resilience to earthquake disaster in the student population at Universidad de Lima, Peru).
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This site from the National Park Service briefly addresses the geology of …
This site from the National Park Service briefly addresses the geology of Devil's Tower. The evolution of various theories on the formation of the tower are discussed. A slide show of the emplacement of the tower is also available.
Determine the dew point temperature for your classroom through a hands-on experiment. …
Determine the dew point temperature for your classroom through a hands-on experiment. Use humidity and temperature probes to investigate the temperature at which it would rain in your classroom! Learn about water density and the conditions necessary to produce fog or rain.
The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the …
The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of years ago (Ruddiman, 2003). Students compare changes in greenhouse gas concentrations that occurred thousands of years ago to more recent changes that occurred over hundreds of years. Students also relate changes in greenhouse gas concentrations to warming. The exercise is completed over a 1.5- to 2-week period as the class covers a chapter on climate change.
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This is an activity about creating impacts on sandy surfaces. Learners will …
This is an activity about creating impacts on sandy surfaces. Learners will use trays of sand and a variety of solid objects to model the effects of "impactors" on the surface. This is activity 6 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
Learners will use trays of sand and cups of water to recreate …
Learners will use trays of sand and cups of water to recreate surface features seen in images of Mars. This is activity 5 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
This is an activity about modeling the effect of wind on a …
This is an activity about modeling the effect of wind on a sandy surface. Learners will use trays of sand and straws to recreate surface features of images of Mars. Participants test their ideas about how some of the features on Mars might have been produced. This is activity 4 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.
Some of the Viking images sent back from Mars in the 1970s …
Some of the Viking images sent back from Mars in the 1970s show tantalizing evidence of dendritic valley networks in some of the oldest terrains on the planet. One of the big questions ever since has been whether it might have rained early in Mars history.
One of the ways of deciding whether the Mars valley networks might have been produced by rainfall is to find out how similar they are to valley networks on Earth, which we know are produced by rainfall. The standard method for analyzing drainage basins is comparison of the number of drainage segments per square kilometer (drainage density) and how extensively branched the network is (stream order).
In this exercise, students calculate stream order for valley segments mapped by Hynek and Phillips (2003) using MOC/MOLA data. Students then use data on valley segment length and drainage basin area from Hynek and Phillips (2003) to calculate drainage density. They compare stream order and drainage density for the Mars site with similar calculations for areas on Earth and evaluate the question of whether valley networks on Mars might be consistent with rainfall on an early Mars, and what the uncertainties and limitations are in their conclusions.
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For most of human history, recording a star meant describing it with …
For most of human history, recording a star meant describing it with words or drawing a picture. The 19th-century invention of photography changed that—only to be revolutionized by digital imaging. This Moveable Museum article, available as a six-page printable PDF file, takes a look at the technology of digital imaging. It discusses how digital images are pictures stored as numbers and explains how computer manipulation can enhance images and reduce distortion. Some suggested resources are provided for further research.
Geographic information systems (GIS), once used predominantly by experts in cartography and …
Geographic information systems (GIS), once used predominantly by experts in cartography and computer programming, have become pervasive in everyday business and consumer use. This unit explores GIS in general as a technology about which much more can be learned, and it also explores applications of that technology. Students experience GIS technology through the use of Google Earth on the environmental topic of plastics in the ocean in an area known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The use of this topic in GIS makes the unit multidisciplinary, incorporating the physics of ocean currents, the chemistry associated with pollutant degradation and chemical sorption to organic-rich plastics, and ecological impact to aquatic biota.
An understanding of the microscale structure and composition of sedimentary rocks is …
An understanding of the microscale structure and composition of sedimentary rocks is of undiminished importance in diverse fields (e.g., microscale chemical analysis cannot proceed without petrography), yet the curriculum is no longer offering undergraduates the opportunity to develop sufficient expertise. In an effort to bolster the exposure of undergraduates to sedimentary petrology, the Tutorial Petrographic Image Atlas was created. The basic components of the tutorial are petrographic images that are viewed in a static mode (no rotation, no animation, no timed observation). Text boxes relating to identification of components within the image are attached to specific mapped regions of the image. Both the mapped regions and the text are invisible until the student points and clicks on an active region of the image. In essence, the student must 'ask', "What is that?" Information ranges from simple one word identifications to lengthy paragraphs explaining the finer points of why something is what it is.
This is a highly interactive digital product that attempts to recreate certain elements of the laboratory petrographic experience including: a sense of exploration; high-quality petrographic images; a visual field dominated by the image; multiple examples of features viewed in diverse contexts; rich content relating to the identification and significance of features; active, inquiry-based learning.
Unlike real-time laboratory experiences with the petrographic microscope, the digital tutorial can be used at any time and place that a computer is available, does not require the presence of a microscope or samples or an expert, can be viewed repeatedly, has the technical content integrated with the image, gives the student undivided "attention" (unlike the TA, it doesn't wander to the other side of the lab), and rarely gives answers unless "asked."
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This project is designed based on 21st century skills and to help …
This project is designed based on 21st century skills and to help students engage in, experience, explore and evolve science. As a part of the activity students create a digital poster (infographic) using free online websites, such as: Piktochart, Checkthis, Glogster, Infogram, Easelly, Visually. They are not allowed to use powerpoint, learning to use these websites is one of the objectives of the activity. Students are provided information on Copyright protection and Creative Commons, Referencing and Grading Criteria of the digital poster. Students are assigned one mineral and 1 rock from each category of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic to describe on the digital poster. Information provided in the textbook and power points such as physical and chemical properties ( included but not limited to: chemical composition, density, texture, color, etc.) and 1 or 2 images of each sample should be included on the poster. Also they are advised to add the most common uses of the samples or any other information that they find interesting, which they may find this information in class material or they may have to do a little research. If they use sources other than class material, they need to cite their references.
This is an online learning experience that transports learners around the world …
This is an online learning experience that transports learners around the world to different locations related to the Cretaceous -- Paleogene (K -- Pg) extinction event. Students will collect and analyze evidence to explain how natural events impact life on Earth. The KPg extinction event, which occurred 66 mya, caused the mass extinction of nearly 75% of the plant and animal species on Earth, including the dinosaurs. It is marked by a thin layer of sediment which can be found throughout the world in marine and terrestrial rocks.
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This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it …
This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it includes thorough discussion and hands-on experimentation. Students learn about the geological (ancient) carbon cycle; they investigate the role of dinosaurs in the carbon cycle, and the eventual storage of carbon in the form of chalk. Students discover how the carbon cycle has been occurring for millions of years and is necessary for life on Earth. Finally, they may extend their knowledge to the concept of global warming and how engineers are working to understand the carbon cycle and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions.
Brian Engh, paleoartist, explains the process of paleoart and does a demonstration …
Brian Engh, paleoartist, explains the process of paleoart and does a demonstration of creating a Stegosaurus. From skeleton to musculature to the possible colors of a Stegosaurus, follow along as Brian shows us what Sophie the Stegosaurus may have looked like. Warning Content Alert: This video contains brief discussion about dinosaur mating and may not be appropriate for all audiences.
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