Soil Has a Charge! Activity Source: Soil Science Society of America Grade Levels: 7-10 Background Soils transport water and provide homes for trillions of bacteria and other organisms. Soils also contain solids (sand, silt, clay, organic matter) with pores between them filled with air and water. The soil solids affect the ability of soil to hold and release plant nutrients. Plant nutrients are ions (see Analysis question #2 for examples) which are atoms or molecules with a net electrical charge. [Read More]

Soil’s Role in Carbon Sequestration The map, “Earth’s Biomes,” shows the locations of 18 types of biomes and their distribution around the world. Compare the map to the Soil Orders on the front of the Geologic Map Day Poster and the Carbon Sequestration Map on the back of the 2022 Geologic Map Day poster. Earth’s Biomes Credit: Creative Commons, Ville Koistinen, Full-size version available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Vegetation.png a. What trends do you notice about the biomes that match up with soils capable of carbon sequestration? [Read More]

Solution Mining for Uranium Activity Source: Minerals Education Coalition Grade Levels: 7-12 Background Nuclear energy is used around the world to generate electrical power in a way that does not produce greenhouse gases. Its use is predicted to grow in the coming years. This will increase the demand for uranium, which is mined for medical, industrial, and defense purposes, in addition to producing nuclear energy. Although it is mined in several ways, most uranium in the U. [Read More]

Take the Pulse of Your Classroom Activity Source: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and Suitable Systems Background Elastic waves that move through the Earth are called seismic waves. Want to study them more closely? SeisMac is a free application that displays the output from the Sudden Motion Sensor in recent Mac laptops as a real-time, three-axis, acceleration graph, or, more commonly, a seismogram. Once your class has received some instruction on seismic waves, the following activity can leverage SeisMac technology to help students understand how a seismometer records ground motions. [Read More]

Temperature and Precipitation Connections Activity Source: Adapted with permission by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. No matter where we are on Earth, we can observe changes in vegetation. Some changes are drastic, such as going from dormant to full growth during a temperate winter. Vegetative growth is dependent on both surface temperature (which influences soil temperature) and precipitation (which influences soil moisture). Together these environmental variables help determine the beginning, duration, and end of the growing season; the latter marked by leaf senescence, when leaves of deciduous trees die and turn colors. [Read More]

The EarthTrek Gravestone Project Activity Source: Geological Society of America. Adapted with permission. Raindrops contain more than just water. In addition to the small particles of dust around which water drops form, raindrops can contain chemicals found in the atmosphere. Often rain is slightly acidic. This “acid rain” can chemically affect (weather) materials it touches. The amount of weathering differs from place to place and changes over time. Marble, a stone commonly used to make gravestones, is mostly made up of the mineral calcite. [Read More]

No Child Left Inside Activity The Human Rock Cycle Grade Level: K-12 Earth Science Activity Source: Developed by the American Geosciences Institute for the first No Child Left Inside event in 2008. Background Students, like adults, have various learning styles. Some of us learn best by talking and listening, others by reading. Many of us, including young students, learn best by doing — by moving, exploring, touching, and feeling. Acting out geologic processes can be a powerful way of building understanding. [Read More]

The Mountain Blows its Top Activity Source: USGS Learning Web Lesson Plans Background A volcano is a vent in the surface of the Earth through which magma and gasses erupt. Volcanic eruptions are among the Earth’s most powerful and destructive forces, but volcanoes are also creative. Volcanoes have also shaped the Earth’s landscape, as many of our mountains, islands, and plains have been built by volcanic eruptions. Mount St. Helens was one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recent memory. [Read More]

The Slope of Land in Your Community Activity Source: Adapted from the American Geosciences Institute’s EarthComm: Understanding your Environment Background Landslides constitute a major geologic hazard. They are widespread, occurring in all 50 states, and cause $1-2 billion in damages and more than 25 fatalities on average each year. Landslides commonly occur with other major natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods (USGS Learning Web). The slope of the land and the materials under ground must be considered when planning how to build on the land in a community to lessen landslide risk. [Read More]

Tracking Dinosaurs Activity Source: The Geological Society of America. Adapted from Hands on the Land, Garden Park, Canon City, Colorado. Adapted with permission. Paleontologists are the geoscientists who discover and study fossil evidence of past life. Sometimes they even find the footprints of dinosaurs that roamed the surface of the Earth long ago. Ever wonder how paleontologists are able to determine, based on fossil evidence, whether a particular dinosaur was walking or running when it left footprints behind? [Read More]