Geology

In this Earth Science lab, students will design an experiment to answer the following question. Will rock weather faster or slower if it has more surface area exposed? Students will use Alka-Seltzer as their rocks. They will have to come up with a control and two other variables, They will need to list their hypothesis, step by step procedures, observations, and create a statement of conclusion. When they are finished they will understand the relationship between surface area and rate of weathering.

In this activity, students will determine the type of soil they have as well as figure out the pH level of the soil. Students will reinforce their soil vocabulary in this lab: sand, clay, silt, loam. Students will practice using a soil pyramid.

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In this activity students will discover information about the four mass movement types: creeps, slides, falls, flows, slumps. They will discover the most costly and deadliest landslides in the USA. You can either print out copies for students or have them use Google Docs. Other words discussed are erosion, deposition, and lahar. Students will research what natural and human events can trigger landslides. They will also research methods that humans are currently using to try and prevent mass movement.

In this observation lab, students will use stream tables to observe how rivers form. When students are done they will understand how natural landslides can cause river course changes, how meanders are formed, how heavier sediment gets deposited quicker than lighter sediment like silt and clay, why rivers take the path they do, and how deltas are formed. Teacher notes, observations, suggestions, an answer key, and reflections are included.

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In this lab, students will design and experiment to determine which type of sediment is the most permeable and the most porous. This very open to a student's design. The teacher should give little to no help with this experiment. I use this lab as an assessment of a group's ability to design and experiment and come up with a statement of conclusion. I am looking for their ability to use time wisely, set up an experiment, gather data, practice safe lab techniques, and use variables correctly. Teacher reflection and procedures are included.

In this assignment, students will research 6 water features that are found in Yellowstone National Park. They will find three images and three facts about each feature. They will create a 7 slide presentation. Attached is a paper that contains a grading rubric and the student instructions for this assignment. Water features researched are Hot springs, travertine terraces, mud pots, geysers, fumaroles, and thermophiles.

In this assignment students will find images of the most common formations found in caves: helictites, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, cave popcorn, soda straws, draperies, cave bacon, columns, and boxwork They will be assigned a specific cave from a list of 18 and answer 8 out of many questions about the cave. Students get to choose the open-ended questions from a list or create their own questions. This assignment is designed to generate interest in visiting the many caves throughout the world. Many of the caves in the list are found right here in the United States.

In this activity, students get to know Alfred Wegener and why and how he came up with the idea of continental drift and the super-continent Pangaea. Students will complete some internet searches to discover what type of fossils Wegener used to help him come up with his hypothesis. Students will find the time period the fossils lived, which continents they were found on, and describe both the current climate and the climate in which they prehistorically lived. Students will also cut out the Pangaea puzzle and fit the fossils, and rocks together.

NOTE: Make sure your computers can run Java-based software. Inside the preview, you can test the program out by clicking on the first link. This program will not work with Chromebooks as they can't run Java.

This video demonstrates how to create a geyser that you can show to your students. I have used this demonstration for multiple levels of science. The science of how geysers erupt is pretty well demonstrated. You can get more information of how I use it with my students at EarthScience.xyz