Mrs. DuBose’s Class: AdVeNtUrEs iN ScIeNcE

Prepare to get dirty and have some fun learning about Weathering and Erosion. 

What Happens To A Mountain?

Question: What changes will happen to the mountain of soil over the course of a month

Hypothesis:  I think …

Procedure

1. Build a “mountain” of soil 50 cm (about 20 inches) high in an undisturbed location in your backyard yard.
2. Observe the mountain once a week for the next 1.5 month.  Measure its height and width and note any changes in its surface.

RECORDING DATA: This chart will be a log of your experiment. Make a chart that includes

1. the date and time,
2. the height & width,
3. observations (description),
4. daily drawings of your mountain. 

Analysis and Conclusions..After observing the mountain for an extended period of time, answer the following questions

1. What was the initial height of your mountain
2. What was the final height?
3. How much soil did your mountain loose (subtract #2-#1) ?
4. Prediction: How long do you think it would take for your pile to weather away
   • HINT: A. Divide the answer from question # 3 by the number of days you observed.  
   • B. Take the amount of final soil height ( question #2) and divide it by the number you got in step A )
5. What forces do you think might have caused changes in your mountain?
6. Why do you think your soil weathering away so quickly?
7. What naturally protects soil from erosion?
8. What could you do to your mountain to conserve soil or make it more erosion proof?

In class we went outside and observed the soil profile and had an DIRTY good time.  Your job is to be a SOIL SCIENTIST and investigate the layers of soil at your house. Your job is to create a soil profie (similar to the picture on the left) and label and name the soil horizons or layers.  You are to put the soil you collect into small sandwhich bags and attach them to a poster .  You get to be as creative and artistic as you want.

-Collect a baggie of each type of soil and staple to a sheet of THICK construction board and answer the following questions.  This will be added as 20 points EC on a TEST grade.   Click the more button to see the project details!

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How do the forces of erosion change the world in which we live? Join us and find out

Greetings Science Snoopers! You might say we’re going to really get “down and dirty” because our topic is erosion and one of the key things that erosion controls is DIRT! Most people don’t realize it, but every minute of every day, our earth is being changed by the forces of erosion. Wind, water, ice, insects, and even people help to move soil and wear away the surface of the planet. Your mission is to investigate one way that shapes your neighborhood and then write about it. Let’s begin by investigating the facts! Have fun being a Dirtmeister by doing these fun science experiments at home!

Did you do your lab report..If not click here

SAFETY ALERT: ALWAYS REMEMBER even the simplest activities with the most basic of materials can be harmful or dangerous, so parental supervision and guidance is critical at all times

At Home Science Experiments

• Neighborhood Erosion Experiment
• Soil Erosion Demonstration
• Soil Organic Matter (Aggregate Stability)
• Soil Air
• Particle Size Demonstration

Hi Super Scientist!

Your job is to go outside and be science investigators or in this instance GEOLOGIST. You are to go out and find examples of weathering, erosion, mass wasting taking place in our surroundings. You may also include examples of crustal change that have occurred. Take pictures of your findings and record the location and type of weathering, erosion, or mass wasting taking place.

DIRECTIONS

1. You will receive 2 point for each correctly identified, labeled photo up to 20 points total.
2. Neatness and effort are included as part of the point total; hence, sloppy or haphazard projects will not be considered for extra credit.
3. PHOTOS MUST BE YOUR OWN!! There are plenty of good examples in the Youngsville/Louisburg/Franklinton area.
4. There are 4 different ways you can display your findings
   1. POSTER: Mount the pictures onto a ridgid background (poster or science fair board) and full label each photo with a brief explanation of what is taking place at that particular location.
   2. POWERPOINT: Past your digital pictures in POWERPOINT and create a SLIDESHOW.
   3. SLIDE.COM: This is for my lovers of the cool gadgets on the Internet. You can upload your digital photos to www.slide.com (must create an account) and then create a cool slideshow that you can add music too, special effects, and borders and MORE!
   4. VIDEO:  If you always wanted to be a music producer, you can use your video camera to record your findings and then EDIT and CREATE a masterpiece that takes us along your VOYAGE.  You can use Window Movie Maker (to edit your video you created) or Windows PhotoStory (to narrate over your digital picture and add cool special effect)
5. To get FREE tutorials on SLIDE, WINDOW MOVIE MAKER, OR PHOTOSTORY..click on your choice

What to look for:

Evidence of weathering:

• plant growth
• ice wedging (freezing and and thawing)
• oxidation (rusting)
• carbonation (carbon dioxide..usually weathering of marble or limestone..Graveyards)
• Living Organism (lichens and moss)

Forms of erosion:

• Deposition of sediments (look for different sediments building up):
• Mass Wasting:  landslides, rock falls, slump, soil creep

In class this week we have learned what a minerals is using the mnemonic device: CRINS which stands for Crystal (repeating pattern), Recipe (definite chemical composition), Inorganic (non-living) Naturally formed, and Solid. Next, students learned the 8 ways that geologist can identify minerals: C3DFHLS- Color, Cleavage, Crystal structure, Density, Fracture, Hardness, Luster, and Streak.  Students had quite an enjoyable time applying these properties to figure out the identity of mystery minerals.  Lastly, students learned the 2 ways minerals can form-from evaporating solutions and from the cooling of magma and lava. Students learned that when they drink Kool Aid they are essentially drinking a solution because sugar is dissolved in water.  They also learned that through the process of crystallization crystals are able to grow. Students were quite BEDAZZLED of the large size of crystals from a geode and the size of crystals from obsidian.  I posed the questions as to why do you think the crystals were different sizes and their was always that ONE shining star in each class who correctly guess it had to do something with the temperature of the magma and lava.  The quicker the molten rock cooled, the SMALLER the crystal.  SLOW = BIG CRYSTALS FAST=small crystals

Taking their understanding a step further, I asked them how do you think we could create our own crystals?  Many students quickly grasped that we could create our own solutions and allow the solution to evaporate over several days.  Students had a great learning experience creating their borax solutions and seeing their crystals start to grow.  I used sugar last year and it started to get mold.  This year I used Borax at the recommendation of another science teacher due how quickly crystallization starts.

LEAVE A COMMENT..Share your experience creating your crystal or going on the mineral scavenger hunt

Don’t forget minerals are EVERYWHERE and WE USE THEM EVERYDAY!…To go on a mineral scavenger hunt, click on the picture below

If you are interested in growing your own crystals, try Grow Your Own Crystal Experiment on page 2..  If you want to earn 15 points extra credit to test grade, you must do the LAB REPORT that accompanies it!

We have erupted onto earth’s surface and have started our next unit: Rocks and Minerals. As we know lava erupts and hardens into rock.  Every rock has a story to tell. Rocks hold evidence that helps us figure out how mountains formed, where glaciers once flowed over the United States, or what kinds of plants and animals lived on the Earth. Rocks show us how the Earth has changed and how it’s still changing, even today! They give us important clues about the Earth’s history. You can find rocks almost anywhere. Here’s how you can start your own rock collection.  Click here to go to the website.

In order to earn your 15 points extra credit, you must use your rock collection to anwer the question in your ROCK CHART. You will need ADOBE to download the chart

LEAVE A COMMENT..Share your experience creating your own rock collection??

all images USGS)

A fault is a large crack in the Earth’s crust where one part of the crust has moved against another part. This movement means that faults prove the Earth is an active place. They are signs of powerful forces deep underground.. Where the fault plane is sloping, the lower side is the hanging wall and the upper side is the footwall. When the fault plane is vertical, there is no hanging wall or footwall.

It’s important to know a fault’s type: normal, reverse or strike-slip. The type reflects the kind of forces that are acting on the fault.

Normal faults form when the hanging wall drops down. The stress  that creates normal faults are pulling the sides apart, or extensional (TENSION).

Reverse faults form when the hanging wall moves up. The stress that creates reverse faults are compressional (COMPRESSION), pushing the sides together.

Strike-slip faults have walls that move sideways, not up or down. That is, the slip occurs along the strike, not up or down the dip. In these faults the fault plane is usually vertical, so there is no hanging wall or footwall. The stress creating these faults are SHEARING, carrying the sides past each other

For this project, you are to make a 3D model of the picture. Your project should be

• be MOVABLE…
• The preferred material are styrofoam or wood blocks
• In your model you should be able to move your model to create the 3 types of faults
• In your model you should include a painted/glued on crops/forest,  fence, road, river, and railroad track.
• Label and color the layers of different rock onto your model
• The  movement of the fault should show effects on the above objects

LEAVE A COMMENT..Students leave a comment and share your experience building your faults!

Seismometers are delicate scientific tools used to detect tremors from earthquakes. Seismometers are the forward sentinels in those locations there earthquakes and volcanoes are active. When a volcano comes to life, scientists will place many seismometers in remote areas all around the volcano in order to monitor its activity. An increase in tremors is one sign hat a volcano is closer to erupting. The readings from many seismometers become the first line of safety for the people living near a volcano. Because of the dangers involved, most seismometers are designed to transmit by radio or satellite their data to a central spot where scientists can interpret it. With enough data and the proper calculations, scientists can warn people in time of possible danger. This project will give you an idea of how a seismometer works. Don’t forget to share your results at Zoom kids, click here

This project is worth 20 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT TEST GRADE.

Your seismograph should be able to

• record vibrations continuously for 30 seconds
• produce a seismogram that can distinguish between gentle and strong earthquakes
• record seismic readings consistently from trial to trial

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Build Your Own Seismograph

This seismograph can be built will some simple materials. Dimensions are approximate — you might be able to vary them or even modify the design. This is a harder version for those of you who love to build and tinker with your hands.. This project is worth 25 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT TEST GRADE. (more…)

Background- An earthquake is the vibrations we feel when the earth’s crust suddenly moves. What causes these sudden, larger movements of the crust? The plates can stretch so far, but if they stretch farther than their elastic limit, they will break and release huge vibrations that can be felt large distances away.This project is worth 20 POINTS EXTRA CREDIT TEST GRADE. (more…)