In this Earth Science activity, students will gain a deeper understanding of the following Vocabulary: seismologist, seismograph, seismogram, epicenter, P-Wave, S-Wave, Wave Amplitude, Magnitude, and Richter/Moment Scale.
Students will create a digital spreadsheet that will help them calculate data they gathered by looking at actual seismograms. Technology is incorporated throughout the lesson.
In this web research activity, students will research 14 volcanoes via the internet. All of these volcanoes are famous for either their size of eruption or the continuous eruptions that they have. They are famous for causing large tsunamis, huge pyroclastic flows, and lahars, as well as some that might not be so dangerous but have flowed continuously for many years. Students will enhance their geography knowledge by plotting the volcano's location on a plate tectonic map. They will find out when the last eruption occurred.
In this Earth Science Earthquake activity, students will explore the USGS current earthquake website. Students will understand what is to be found on the USGS Earthquake website. They will discover how many earthquakes have occurred recently. Students will gain an understanding of what the Mercalli Intensity Scale is used for. Students will discover the 5 largest recent earthquakes that have occurred around the world. They will gain a better understanding of geography as well by using maps and map scales to determine distances from an earthquake epicenter.
In this Earth Science digital activity, students will locate specific water eroded or deposited landforms. The activity will enhance their understanding of Geo Coordinates. Students will use Google Earth and become more proficient with its use. Students will see actual satellite views of their vocabulary words instead of just memorizing the definitions. Vocabulary words that will be reinforced are Meanders, oxbow lakes, sediment, river types (old, mature, young), delta, deposition, erosion, alluvial fan, and flood plain.
In this activity, students will briefly examine 10 fields/disciplines of Geology: hydrology, volcanology, mineralogy, paleontology, stratigraphy, seismology, petrology, geomorphology, geochemistry, and crystallography. They will pick one of those disciplines that they find interesting and find a job description in that field. Students will also find a salary range and what type of education they would need in order to obtain that salary. When students are finished, they should have an idea that there are money and great careers as a scientist in the field of Geology.
In this science lab, students will gain a pretty good understanding of what mass, volume, and density are. They will digitally change the volume of objects, weigh different object masses, and calculate the densities of each object. Students will use the computer and the Phet Simulation software to complete this lab.
In this Earth Science Lab, students will design and experiment that will help them determine the densities of different rocks and minerals. This is a follow-up lab to the Phet Density Lab that they would have already completed in my class. You can find the Phet Density Lab in the Educational Resource store. This Rock Density lab however can still be given if you have already discussed how to go about finding mass, volume, and densities of rocks and minerals.
Find more Earth Science labs and lessons at EarthScience.xyz
In this lab/demonstration, the teacher will demonstrate how convection currents in the atmosphere occur. This demonstration is very visible and can easily be done without any special equipment except for a hot plate. Students will fill out a science lab sheet that has them hypothesize and then diagram how air currents are moving. As part of the lab, students will get some reinforcement as to what high and low air pressures are and what causes them. Students will also be able to demonstrate their previously gained knowledge of density.
In this Earth Science Lab, students will gain an understanding of what relative humidity and dew point are. There are four parts to the lab. The first part will help them understand the relationship between the ability to evaporate and humidity. Students will then use psychrometers to determine the humidity outside as well as inside. They will calculate the wet-bulb depression and then use the relative humidity chart to determine the percent of water in the air outside and inside the classroom.
