Geology

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.

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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 flip M&Ms/Skittles to help them gain a better understanding as to what absolute dating is. Students will learn what radioactive elements are and how scientists use this understanding to give an age to rocks and fossils. Students will create a spreadsheet and create a graph that will visually demonstrate the half-life of Carbon 14. There are 6 word problems that they will analyze to help them understand how to use a half-life graph.

In this Google Drawing activity, students will create a concept map using the following words: Earth Science, geology, waves, currents, astronomy, oceanography, stars, volcanoes, planets, meteorology, fossils, weather, climate, rocks galaxies, thunderstorms, tides, tsunamis, lightning, comets, minerals, asteroids, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

Use this assignment to help students understand the difference between a mineral and other objects that they might think are minerals. The activity doesn't take long but when you are discussing what a mineral actually is, this assignment gives your students practice. Students have a list of words that they need to sort into columns. One column is for minerals, the other column is for non-minerals. If they place an object into the non-mineral section they need to justify which rule was broken.

This is an assignment I give my students before they actually take their mineral identification test. In this activity, the minerals have already gone through the individual characteristics tests such as luster, hardness, color, streak, and other mineral properties. This assignment is to give students practice using a dichotomous key that can help them identify minerals. This assignment also contains vocabulary words commonly used when identifying minerals.

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In this 7-12 Earth Science lab, students will get a chance to hone in on their observation and inference skills. Students will work in groups to observe 4 different rocks. They will make inferences about the environment that the rocks came from as well as take an educated guess as to which rock type the rock belongs, igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Students will write those observations down and then share one of their rocks to the class. This lab is meant to be done before getting into the nitty-gritty of rocks which will happen in the nest assignment.

Looking for a new way to teach the rock cycle? Check out this exciting twist on a classic activity from EducationalResource.org! In this activity, students roll a die and follow instructions to create their own unique rock cycle. This hands-on approach helps students understand that there is no one set path for a rock to follow as it undergoes the process of becoming a new type of rock. As a class, students can share their individual rock cycle paths and compare them to see the infinite possibilities that exist within the rock cycle.