Discovering Plate Boundaries is based on 5 world maps containing earthquake, volcano, topography, satellite gravity, and seafloor age data. The novel aspect of the exercise is the "jigsaw" manner in which student groups access the maps and use them to discover, classify, and describe plate boundary types. The exercise is based only on observation and description, which makes it useful at a wide variety ... Full description.

This collection of basic definitions and answers to questions about hurricanes and tropical cyclones includes how they form, how they are named, how intensities are measured, and how storms are forecast. Historical information, information on myths surrounding these storms, links to sites displaying real-time storm information, and safety tips are also included. Full description.

This site contains information about the general model geologists have developed to explain how most mountain ranges form. This model suggests that mountain building involves three stages, which are accumulation of sediments, an orogenic period of rock deformation and crustal uplift, and a period of crustal uplift caused by isostatic rebound and block-faulting. The later two stages of this model involve ... Full description.

In this activity, students plot earthquake hypocenters along a cross-section in an attempt to create an image of a fault deep beneath the surface. The hypocenters they will be using come from the aftershock sequence of the magnitude 5.6 North Palm Springs earthquake that occurred in 1986. The students will learn that accurate positioning of earthquake hypocenters can produce a rough image of a fault, ... Full description.

This interactive site demonstrates how fossil evidence and the principle of superposition are used to determine the age of rock layers and fossils. It contains several examples of index fossils and how they are used to date events. Geologic changes including continental drift are also related to fossil evidence. Full description.

This instructor guide provides background material for a two-part activity in which students observe convective currents in water and learn that air can behave as as a fluid. Students will understand that temperature changes can cause density changes in water, learn that the same phenomenon happens in air, and understand that temperature-driven density changes will produce currents in a fluid medium. ... Full description.

This homework exercise, which was designed for an undergraduate level geology class at Tulane University, asks the student to make evaluations about the Loma Prieta Earthquake and other earthquakes using seismograms, time travel curves, maps and other information. Full description.

Alfred Wegener, the German scientist who proposed the idea of continental drift, had always been interested in geophysics and also became fascinated with the developing fields of meteorology and climatology. During his life, Wegener made several key contributions to meteorology: he pioneered the use of balloons to track air circulation and wrote a textbook that became standard throughout Germany. ... Full description.

This is the teacher resource site for the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) program "Stories from the Fossil Record". It provides information to aide instructors in implementing the program in a classroom setting. Included are lesson plans, handouts, related activities, and background references. Also included are pre- and post-lesson assessments. Full description.

This student activity demonstrates how foraminifera can be used to analyze climate. It contains background information and the classroom activity, which includes instructions and the required charts and graphs. Full description.