Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/Geology of National Parks module. Students calculate the amount of rock removed and the value of copper produced at the great Keweenaw District up to 1925.

This problem set challenges students to determine the chemical classification of minerals based on their chemical formula (provided). For oxygen-bearing minerals, students must also provide the valences of the various cations.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this geology activity, students investigate the physical property of mineral cleavage by physically trying to break down a block of halite and describing the results. This lab addresses many misunderstandings non-majors have about the physical properties of minerals and includes a brief write up of their conclusions.

Students are given cubic cell edge dimensions and asked to calculate mineral densities and vice versa. The final question of this homework assignment provides students with a mineral density and unit cell edge length in order to determine the number of formula units per cell.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This activity is a lab investigation in which students make mass/volume measurements of several samples of the same mineral to determine the mineral's density. Students graph their data and make the connection between their qualitative understanding of what density is and the mathematical/graphical representation of density.

Average inquiry level: Structured
In this lab, students will take on the role of a mineralogist by testing various physical properties of minerals, sorting minerals into categories with similar characteristics, and then creating a flowchart to use to identify minerals. This lab is designed for face-to-face instruction.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students use the Geochemist Workbench programs React and Act2 to explore the pH dependence of mineral solubility.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this problem set, students must determine the mineral formulas based on weight percent of constituents. They must provide the correct stoichiometry and molar ratios to three decimal places.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This 6-week laboratory activity has students working in groups of two or more to synthesize a mineral and then analyze their mineral using XRD.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This module introduces students to minerals, crystals, and gems by using pictures and discussions of some of the extraordinary specimens residing in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. It includes three lessons in which they draw pictures of specimens, grow their own crystals of magnesium sulfate, and perform a scavenger hunt in which they look for minerals in commonly used objects and products.

Optical Mineralogy and thin sections just blew me away when I first was exposed to them. (Of course that was the psychedelic 60's!) Because of my experience, I've always thought that we might attract a major or two if we introduced first-year students to interference colors and such. Therefore, this exercise is primarily intended to be used in an introductory (physical) geology class, perhaps for advanced students or as an extra credit project. It may also be appropriate as a brief introduction ("teaser"?) to optics in a mineralogy or optical class.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Students simulate operating an iron mine, from choosing property to writing an environmental impact statement to setting up the mining operation. Chocolate chip cookies (with the chocolate chips representing iron ore) are used for this experiment. Students are challenged to operate the most profitable and environmentally sound mine they can.

In this video from the Science and Technology Chat series, take a tour of a re-created Nevada gold mine to learn about mining techniques.

This project or multi-lab activity is designed to teach students about modeling landscape change caused by rivers over large time and spatial scales (e.g., the incision of Grand Canyon). Basic working knowledge of geomorphology of rivers is assumed but Matlab experience is not, so students will both build on Matlab ability and on how rivers can change as controlling variables are changed like uplift rate and the ability of rock to resist erosion. This is built on a 1-D stream power model-derived numerical code, where several variations in activities are available for exploration where structure and scaffolding decreases with increasing difficulty through the series. The detailed instructional write-up and all matlab scripts needed are here: Files for River profile modeling (Zip Archive 40kB Oct17 16)

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this activity, candy models are used to demonstrate the features of the Earth, including its internal structure and layers. Students learn why models are essential in Earth science and answer questions about how their candy models do and do not compare with the actual Earth.

This video segment adapted from NOVA relates the dramatic story of vulcanologists trying to predict the timing of the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.

This article describes the work of Hubert Staudigel and Cathy Constable, researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography who study Mt. Erebus, Antarctica's most active volcano.

Students locate their homes on local, regional, and global scale geologic maps. They build up an "address" describing their location in geological terms based on the features of the maps, from local bedrock to regional and global tectonic features.

This activity is an investigation of a "mystery material" where students have to determine whether the substance is a solid or a liquid. This activity can be done as part of an earth science or chemistry lesson.

The Adirondack Mountains tour is part of the New York Landscape Regions Collection of Google Earth Tours, created by a group of New York State science educators. This tour provides an introduction to the geology of the Great Range and the High Peaks as viewed from Algonquin Peak. It also addresses the issue of acid rain, which is a persistent environmental concern in the Adirondacks.