Return to L. Braile’s Home Page
braile@purdue.edu
|
|
|
|
Earth Science Education
Activities (For links to
additional descriptions of these files, go to the bottom of this page. The Quick Links below will generally open a
web page [.htm file]. For most activity documents, MS Word and
Adobe pdf files also exist and may be useful for
modifications, extracting images, or more convenient printing. These files can be accessed from each
original URL by replacing the .htm by .doc or .pdf): Quick
Links: Earth Structure: Earth’s Interior Structure
– The “pie slice” model of the Earth’s interior – a classic
Earth structure exercise that uses the concept of scale 3-D Earth Structure –
Three-D clay model of Earth’s interior and volumes of layers – the relative
volumes of the layers will likely surprise you! Journey to the Center of the
Earth – Explore Earth’s interior properties and conditions
with a virtual journey to the center of the Earth; connects to Jules Verne’s
book, includes tables, diagrams, “travel brochure”, photos and sample narrative – a very fun activity
that also enhances understanding of the concept of scale! Earth’s Interior – Travel
Times – Analyze travel times to infer seismic velocity of Earth Seismic Waves: Seismic Waves and the Slinky
– Study types of seismic waves and wave propagation Slinky 4-page Lesson
– Study types of seismic waves and wave propagation Wave Animations –
View seismic waves animations; wave activities Four Wave Types PPT
– View seismic wave animations on a timed, continuously running
PowerPoint presentation for “museum display” type application iSeismicWaves
– An online “iPhone-like application” for viewing
seismic wave animations
and related information (from the Wave Animations activity, above) on
a computer or a smart phone such as the iPhone Walk-Run Activity –
Simulate the S minus P EQ location method with walk/run Five Slinky Model
of wave propagation to illustrate the earthquake location method that seismologists use
(not the S-minus-P method); PPT only Surface Wave Propagation
Around the Earth – Analyze surface wave travel times and
propagation around the globe Understanding Vibroseis – Digital signal processing and the vibroseis method – explanation
and illustrations of the concepts and theoretical background Vibroseis PPT – Vibroseis animation and videos (ppt
only, see Understanding Vibroseis file [above] for information on downloading
videos necessary for the ppt) Educational
Seismographs: Educational Seismograph –
Build an educational seismograph with geophone sensor Handheld Seismometer
– Simple model for demonstrating how a seismograph works The AS-1 Seismograph –
Installation – Instructions for installation of the AS-1 The AS-1 Seismograph –
Operation – Instructions for operation of the AS-1 The AS-1 Seismograph –
Magnitude – Calibration and magnitude calculation with the
AS-1 The AS-1 Magnitude
Calculator – Online tool for AS-1 magnitude calculation AS-1 Teaching Modules –
Descriptions and links to several activities in this list Using AmaSeis
– Tutorial for using the AmaSeis software Calculating Magnitude
– Gain experience with seismograms and calculating magnitudes
of earthquakes AS-1 Seismograph Results
– Examples of AS-1 EQ catalog, magnitudes, S-P distances EQ Location and Magnitude
– Understand the S minus P earthquake location method
and the determination of magnitudes for earthquakes (AS-1 seismograph) How Often – An
example analysis of how often earthquakes occur Interpreting Seismograms
– A tutorial on interpreting seismograms Fun with Filtering
– Examples of filtering seismograms to enhance specific signals
– aftershocks, surface waves, PKPPKP core phase – includes suggestions
for additional seismogram analysis and interpretation ideas and links to SAC file
seismograms to download S-Waves - Identifying the S arrival on AS-1
seismograms and estimating distance using the S minus P
method WLIN Seismograph Display
– View near real time 24-hour WLIN AS-1 record (link only) IRIS Seismographs in Schools – IRIS
Seismographs in Schools web site (link only) WLIN AS-1 Seismograph Data
– AS-1 data for the WLIN (West Lafayette, Indiana) seismograph station for use with AmaSeis
on any Windows computer (even if you
are collecting data from your own seismograph using AmaSeis). Data from 2003
to 2010 are available. See Number 13
in list. EqList
– Earthquake catalog for the WLIN AS-1 seismograph station (Excel file) Earthquake Activity: San Francisco Bay Area
Earthquakes – Exploring earthquake
activity in the San Francisco
Bay area San Francisco Bay Area
Earthquakes (New) – Exploring earthquake activity in the San
Francisco Bay area (revised and updated version) Plotting Earthquake
Epicenters – Classroom activities for plotting earthquake locations
on maps Accessing Earthquake Data
– A guide to accessing earthquake data on the Internet Southern California
Earthquakes – Earthquakes in the Southern California area (ppt only) Midwest Earthquakes
– Information about Midwestern U.S. earthquakes and the New
Madrid seismic zone March-May 2010 Earthquakes
– March-May 2010 worldwide earthquakes, number of M5+
earthquakes amd maximum magnitude per day and
earthquake statistics (pdf only) Seismic Monitor – Link to the IRIS Seismic
Monitor to view current earthquake activity
– and attractive and interesting page with ability to zoom in to regional views
and link to other earthquake information and resources (link only) USGS Earthquake Website – Link to the primary
U.S. Geological Survey earthquakes
web page for current information and links to additional earthquake
information and resources (link only) The Seismic/Eruption
Software: Seismic/Eruption Modules
– Tutorial for use of the Seismic/Eruption program to study
worldwide, regional or local earthquake activity; several modules Haiti
(in preparation) Chile – Using the
Seismic/Eruption program to explore the earthquake activity in Chile including
the M8.8 February 27, 2010 Chile earthquake and its aftershocks Earthquake Hazards: Earthquake Shaking – Building
Contest – Use a simple shale table to experiment with
the response of model buildings to earthquake vibrations – a fun and exciting learning activity! Tsunami (PPT only)
– Instructions and videos of wave tank tsunami activity Tsunami Files –
Animations and videos for Tsunami PowerPoint (above) EQ Hazard Info-Part 1
– Collected earthquake hazards information and illustrations EQ Hazard Info-Part 2
– Collected earthquake hazards information and illustrations EQ Photos-Part 1
– Collected earthquake hazards and damage photos EQ Photos-Part 2
– Collected earthquake hazards and damage photos Plate Tectonics: Plate Puzzle – A
fun and educational activity for exploring the Earth’s tectonic plates Plate Tectonics Flip Book –
See plate tectonic motions through time with flip books Plate Tectonics/Foam Models
– Understanding plate boundaries, motions and faults Thermal Convection
– Use a simple model to view thermal convection PowerPoint
Presentations: 2010 SSA Presentation – A Decade of
Earthquake Monitoring with an Educational Seismograph
(ppt only) What is Moment Magnitude?
– A brief tutorial on moment magnitude (ppt only) Other: Digital Analysis of
Geophysical Signals and Waves –
Online tutorial on digital signals, digital
signal processing, and waves; filtering, convolution, Fourier analysis, examples of processing
with real data EqLocate Tutorial –
Tutorial for the EqLocate program for determining
the location and
origin time of an earthquake from downloaded seismograms; sample data are
included; the fast iterative, trial and error method is similar to the
computer program
optimization technique that is routinely used by the USGS and seismologists
to locate earthquakes Using Earthquake Videos
– Suggestions and examples for effectively using videos for teaching about
earthquakes Seismology – Resources for
Teachers – A list of resources related to seismology that
are useful for educators (not updated recently, but the list is still useful) Every Pebble Tells a Story
- Make inferences about the geological history of a pebble
by observing its characteristics and by utilizing geological principles and concepts,
the Every Pebble Tells a Story activity is an excellent follow-up to the study
of mineral and rock identification and also includes a creative writing component Additional Materials
– Additional materials for the Every Pebble Tells a Story activity including
rock and mineral identification flow charts and tables Science Education – Why
Should We Care? – Originally written in the year 2000, many
of the concepts and resources are still valid today K-6
education activities from Purdue SLED program (Science
Learning through Engineering Design, an NSF-supported MSP project through
Purdue’s Colleges of Education and Engineering): 1. Jenny Daugherty, Larry Braile,
Helen McNally, Kavita Ramane,
and Keith Bowman, Rock Steady:
Designing a Sensor (https://stemedhub.org/resources/648) Lesson plan designed
for grade 6 on designing a sensor to detect vibrations and introducing
seismic waves and seismometers. 2. Larry Braile,
Jenny Daugherty, Helen McNally, Inez Hua, Jenniffer Dickensheets, Pam Stamm, and Melissa Colonis, Plastic Water Bottle Design – What’s the
Best Shape? (https://stemedhub.org/resources/1514)
This lesson plan, intended for grade 6, focuses on using mathematics to
design the shape of a plastic water bottle to optimize the surface area to
volume ratio and so reduce the amount of plastic used to make the bottles. 3. Larry Braile,
Jenny Daugherty, Helen McNally, Inez Hua, Jenniffer Dickensheets, Pam Stamm, and Melissa Colonis, Seasons and Shadows (https://stemedhub.org/resources/1511) The Reasons for
Seasons lesson, designed to meet 5th grade standards, addresses an important
science concept involving the movements of the Earth around the Sun and the
tilt of the Earth's rotational axis. 4. Kendra Erk, John Lumkes, Larry Braile, Anne Brickler, and Anna Matthys, Light – Just Right! (https://stemedhub.org/resources/1790) This 4th grade design
activity focuses on electrical current and resistance. Students design a way
to make a bulb light with differing brightnesses. 5. Larry Braile, John Lumkes, Kendra Erk, Anne Brickler, Anna Matthys, Sound
Absorption (https://stemedhub.org/resources/1766)
This grade 3 lesson
plan focuses on a design task to create a wall to absorb sound. For pdf files and brief descriptions of most of these
documents, go to: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/educindex/educindex.htm
|
|
|
|
|
Earth Science Education
Demonstrations, Lessons and Activities
(If you know the activity that you are looking for, use the Quick
Links above.) |
Lesson
plans for teaching about seismology and other Earth science topics. Includes descriptions of demonstrations,
experiments and activities for teachers and students. The lessons are designed primarily for
teachers of grades 5-12 but can be adapted to introductory college level
Earth science teaching. Lesson plans
can be displayed on the screen or printed (in color) from a pdf version.
Topics include: Seismic Waves, Plate Tectonics, Mantle convection,
Earth’s interior, Plate Boundaries, Seismometers, the AS-1 seismograph,
earthquake magnitude, and earthquake location. Also included is a pdf
version of Seismology – Resources for Teachers and an “essay” on science
education in the |
|
Last modified January,
2017 ÓCopyright 2000-2017. L. Braile. Permission granted for reproduction for non-commercial uses.
|