Mrs. DuBose’s Class: AdVeNtUrEs iN ScIeNcE

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

Last week we learned what a mineral is and the 8 ways they can be identified. This week were are learning how rocks and minerals are related. Minerals are the building rocks for rocks! There are 3 main types of rocks (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic).

An igneous rocks forms when magma or lava hardens. There are 2 Types: extrusive (forms small crystals because lava cools quickly once it reaches earth’s surface) or intrusive (forms large crystals because magma cools slowly beneath earth’s surface)A sedimentary rock is made from pieces of sediments, rock fragments, animal or plant remains.There are 3 types of sedimentary rocks: clastic (rocks stick together), chemical (formed from solutions), and organic (remains of plants and animals/living things. The last type of rock is a metamorphic rock (morph means to change..think if the POWER Rangers) are rock made from rock that has been put under heat and pressure deep within Earth. There are 2 type foliated (minerals grains have been flattened and aligned) and non-foliated

We will use crayon shaving to take a ride on the rock cycle (thank to scienceclass.net) as we explore how rocks are formed. We will be acting out the Rock Cycle and students will have the opportunity to be creative by  song, rap, poem, or story that goes with the Rock Cycle ! If you are great with video and love music, you may create a music video that incorporates the Rock Cycle. This project would be due by May 29th! Make sure you complete your vocabulary foldables on Rocks and Minerals. These are great review before your Minerals and Rock test this Friday.  If time permits, we may be playing a review game on Thursday

IGNEOUS ——————- SEDIMENTARY————— METAMORPHIC
Check out the Rock Cycle Animation below and Da Rock Cycle to the tune of Webbie’s Independent

• What are the 3 Types of Rocks
• Interactive Rock Cycle
• Rock Cycle Interactive
• Interactive Rock Cycle Animation
• Rocky’s Journey on the Rock Cycle
• Fun Rock Cycle Activities for Home

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!

The Earth might seem like one hard ball of rock, but it is made up of different layers. Here’s a look at the layers that make up our solid Earth.

This extra credit opportunity allows students to have the opportunity to recreate Earths layers using your creative juices.  Some of use are architects, some of us are artists, some of us are future movie makers.

Requirements

• To download the project guidelines, click here.
• In addition to creating a model, you must also fill out a research chart.  Please don’t forget to download.  You can either complete fill it in using Word or Powerpoint or print it out

Project Help

• Are you looking to cook your own Earth’s Layers?  Click here for a recipe
• Need help with research check out these websites
  • Earth’s Layers
  • Earth’s structure

• To learn more about Earth’s Layer with Animations
  • Savage Earth
  • Structure of the Earth
  • A Peek Inside Our Earth
  • Dynamic Eart

We have begun learning about the layers of the sun. For 25 points extra credit on Test create a 3-D model of the layers of the sun. You need to create a key that goes with the colors that you use.  The key should DESCRIBE each layer of the sun

Options: You can do paper mache, use modeling clay, or use a Styrofoam ball. Remember that all the layers have to be seen to get credit.

Layers of the sun:
1) radiation zone 2) convection zone 3) core (include info about nuclear fusion) 4) chromosphere 5)corona 6)photosphere
Sun features:
1) prominence 2) solar flare 3) sunspot 4) solar wind

Procedure

1. Fix a table-tennis or polystyrene ball on a nail or dowel into the centre of a shoe-box.

2. Please add maria, craters, and highlands to the ball (BE CREATIVE

3. Make three equidistant holes along the two long faces of the box and one in the centre of the short side, level with the ball. These holes only need to be tiny, just large enough to enable to peep inside the box.

4. On the opposite short side of the box make another peep hole with a 3cm diameter hole next to it (for a torch/flashlight). All the holes need to be level with the ball (Moon) inside the box.

5. Cover each hole with a flap of black construction paper to exclude the light.

6. To use the box, shine a torch through the large hole.

7. To start peep through the hole in the short face of the box that is opposite the torch by lifting up the flap. Then work your way around the box from left to right by looking through each hole in turn by flipping up each flap

8.  Label the phase of the moon above each hole.

Extra Credit Questions (be able to explain this to Mrs. DuBose)

1. Does the moon make it’s own light?
2. How long does the moon take to orbit the earth
3. What is the difference between maria, highlands, and craters
4. What theory is widely accepted for how the moon was created
5. How is this model similar to how moon phases actually occur?

Hey Scientist

Would you like to build your own model of a NASA spacecraft?

Space Craft® SCIENCE KITs are certain to delight anyone with a keen interest in space exploration, almost regardless of age. They are not simple, and they require lots of care to assemble. As such, they offer an “Ah-ha! So that’s how it works” satisfaction for those who are inquisitive. They’re popular among engineers and scientists, and anyone who enjoys building scale models. They might not be suitable for kids younger than about twelve, though, depending almost entirely on motivation.

By spending an enjoyable day or more assembling one, you’ll learn all the major parts of a real spacecraft. You’ll understand how it carries out its mission in space. And, you’ll have a handsome scale model for your home, for your office, or for your school project! I can’t wait to see what you how yours turns out