The history of earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area is plotted on a digital map and analyzed in this video segment adapted from NOVA.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a geologist digs a trench along the San Andreas Fault to reveal three thousand years of earthquake history. Information from the layers of sediment may help geologists to predict earthquakes.

This video segment adapted from NOVA uses historical illustrations, photographs, and animations to explain how seismographs work, the difference between P and S waves, and the Richter scale.

This activity uses the free software 'Seismic Eruption' to visualize seismicity and volcanic activity in space and time and to explore the relationship of earthquakes and volcanic activiy to plate tectonics. Students run simulations on the Pacific coasts of South America and California and the mid-oceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, answer questions, and construct a cross-section. A link to download the software is provided.

This module explores the composition of the earth's atmosphere, how temperature and pressure vary in the atmosphere, and the scientific developments that led to an understanding of these basic concepts.

The Earth's Interior worksheet involves the layers of the Earth and is meant to help students: 1) Draw the layers of the Earth true-to-scale (on an image with a scale bar), and 2) Grasp the size of the Earth by starting at a somewhat familiar scale (the upper 40km of the crust) and progressively adding layers and increasing the scale to the radius of the Earth (~6,400km). Moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar has been shown to be an effective strategy to understand large magnitudes (Resnick, Shipley, Newcombe, Massey, & Wills, 2012).

Starting at the surface, the student adds layers of the earth as the scale increases (40km, 400km, 700km, 3,000km, and 6,400km). The layers include the base of continental crust, upper mantle, transition zone, lower mantle, and the outer core, as well as drawing the height of a building at the surface to help gain perspective as the scale changes. Students also complete 3 multiple choice questions at the end of the worksheet to solidify and focus on goals and important concepts.

This worksheet uses the sketch-understanding program with built-in tutor: CogSketch. Therefore, students, instructors, and/or institution computer labs need to download the program from the CogSketch website: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/. At any point during the worksheet, students can click the FEEDBACK button and their sketch is compared to the solution sketch. The built-in tutor identifies any discrepancies and reports pre-written feedback to help the student correct their sketch until they are done with the activity. Once worksheets are emailed to the instructor, worksheets can be batch graded and easily evaluated. This program allows instructors to assign sketching activities that require very little time commitment. Instead, the built-in tutor provides feedback whenever the student requests, without the presence of the instructor. More information on using the program and the activity is in the Instructor's Notes.

We have developed approximately two dozen introductory geoscience worksheets using this program. Each worksheet has a background image and instructions for a sketching task. You can find additional worksheets by searching for "CogSketch" using the search box at the top of this page. We expect to have uploaded all of them by the end of the summer of 2016.

(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 lesson teaches the students about the different layers of the Earth and how they work together. Students will be able to: Name and label the four layers of the Earth; Identify the main minerals that make up each layer; Explain how scientists formulated the idea that the Earth is comprised of four layers.

Students are briefly introduced to Maxwell's equations and their significance to phenomena associated with electricity and magnetism. Basic concepts such as current, electricity and field lines are covered and reinforced. Through multiple topics and activities, students see how electricity and magnetism are interrelated.

Environmental Geology is taught in a seminar fashion or large lecture style. In both situations it is the methodology not content that differs. The major goal of the course is to explore aspects of geology that have significant impacts on humans. Some of these impacts have been exacerbated culturally and historically. We will examine those factors and impacts.

A great variety of processes affect the surface of the Earth. Topics to be covered are production and movement of surficial materials; soils and soil erosion; precipitation; streams and lakes; groundwater flow; glaciers and their deposits. The course combines aspects of geology, climatology, hydrology, and soil science to present a coherent introduction to the surface of the Earth, with emphasis on both fundamental concepts and practical applications, as a basis for understanding and intelligent management of the Earth’s physical and chemical environment.

In this lesson, students will learn what erosion is and how human actions influence erosion. Includes introduction, demonstration instructions, and questions for wrap-up discussion.

NGSS: 2-ESS2-1

Time: 50 minutes

Materials: plastic containers with sand and gravel, sponges, and plastic cups

In this lesson, students will learn what erosion is and how human actions influence erosion. Includes introduction, demonstration instructions, and questions for wrap-up discussion.

NGSS: 4-ESS2-1

Time: 55 minutes

Materials: plastic containers with sand and gravel, sponges, and plastic cups

In this lesson, students will learn what erosion is and how human actions influence erosion. Includes introduction, demonstration instructions, and questions for wrap-up discussion.

NGSS: K-ESS3-3

Time: 50 minutes

Materials: plastic containers with sand and gravel, sponges, and plastic cups.

This activity is a field investigation where students find real-life examples of erosion in their school surroundings. Students will extend what they learned during stream table lessons about erosion, deposition, deltas, meandering streams, and dams.

This activity is a field investigation where students observe evidence of erosion and deposition in the schoolyard or designated area.

In this inquiry based geologic field lab students will be estimating and measuring stream flow. Students will also map out a full scale live topography map of a dry streambed to help them estimate flow discharge. Students will use their journals to record their hypothesis, lab report questions, graphed data and evidence to backs up their observations.

The classic physical optics textbook approach to double-refraction starts from Huyghens constructions of wave fronts and from the optical indicatrix. Optical indicatrices are useful for a systematic description of optical properties in crystals, but students do not usually consider them an easy subject, and, therefore, shy away from optical crystallography. This is unfortunate since a basic understanding of optical crystallography is prerequisite to a correct interpretation of phenomena observed with the polarizing microscope, the most commonly used tool for the detailed study of rocks.
Generally, students are comfortable with simple optical terms like reflection and refraction, while it is uncommon that they actually have seen double-refraction and noticed that crystals polarize light. Many have an unnecessarily complicated idea about vibration directions, interference colors, and interference figures; they assume such phenomena always require a microscope to observe. This is not so. Students well trained in thin section microscopy are often surprised that interference figures can be made visible macroscopically.
The purpose of the experiments below is to impart an intuitive understanding of the interaction between light and crystals and, thus, of optical crystallography. This will help to demystify what is seen in the polarizing microscope, and will better prepare the student for the introduction of optical indicatrices as 3-D models to describe the directional dependence of light velocities, and thus refractive indices in anisotropic crystals.

(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.)

Average inquiry level: Structured
This groundwater lab is designed for online, asynchronous instruction and uses Google slides (or Powerpoint) so student can use the draw features. Within this lab, students will:

Evaluate and conclude the seasonal and annual trends of the water table from data monitored groundwater wells;
Predict and assess the permeability and porosity of different substrates and rocks;Â
Create a contour map and cross-section of the water table given data from multiple wells and draw the flow direction of water;
Predict and communicate the changes of the water table that could occur in response to different water-related scenarios;
Determine solutions for an area experiencing groundwater problems.

(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 class lab activity in which students will observe unknown rocks and learn about how they fit into the rock cycle.

This activity is a field investigation where students make observations of the pebble beach, lava flows, and wetland restoration at Sugarloaf Cove to generate questions to be addressed throughout the earth science curriculum.