Virtual Earthquake is an interactive web-based program designed to introduce the concepts of how an earthquake epicenter is located and how the Richter magnitude of an earthquake is determined. Virtual Earthquake shows the recordings of an earthquake's seismic waves detected by instruments far away from the earthquake. The instrument recording the seismic waves is called a seismograph and the recording ... Full description.

This non-mathematical, self-contained exposition of studies of the Earth's magnetic environment in space covers such topics as magnetism, electrons, eons and plasmas, the radiation belt, the sun and the solar wind, exploring earthspace, the dynamic magnetosphere, auroras, and interplanetary field lines. Many of the topics introduce the user to the related physics and astronomy, and are thus a useful ... Full description.

This site provides a non-mathematical introduction to the magnetism of the Earth, the Sun, the planets and their environments, following an historical thread. It is also available in French, Spanish, and German. Full description.

This resource covers basic astronomy, Newtonian mechanics, the Sun and related topics (weather, electromagnetic waves, nuclear energy), and space flight. The material stresses space applications, history, and intuitive content, and includes a brief refresher course on algebra and trigonometry. It is also available in Spanish. Full description.

This publication provides an introduction to the theory of plate tectonics. It was intended as a companion to the map entitled 'This Dynamic Planet', published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Smithsonian Institution. Topics include the history and development of the theory, lines of evidence, plate motions and interactions, hotspots, what drives plate motion, and extraterrestrial plate ... Full description.

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 web based story tells of Tutangiaq (nicknamed 2T), a Canada Goose, who flies across the remote state of Alaska looking for his family. As he flies, he tells children about this fascinating 49th state of the US. Children learn how Alaska was purchased from the Russians, and other amazing facts about the state. They compare Alaska to other states that they may be living in or visiting. 2T takes ... Full description.

In this activity, the process of finding the epicenter of an earthquake with a travel time graph is simulated. During the course of this activity students will model how earthquake waves travel through the Earth at different speeds, construct and utilize a graph to characterize the relationship between distance and time of travel of seismic waves (a travel time-curve), and use the constructed time-travel ... Full description.

This site describes a demonstration of how the interference of seismic P (primary, compressional) and S (secondary, shear) waves cause standing waves such as surface waves in the Earth. The demonstration focuses on the P and S waves that are bouncing back and forth in the vertical direction in the Earth. Using a slinky, different frequencies are used to create different modes of standing waves. The ... Full description.

These demonstrations are designed to help students develop a conceptual understanding of geophysical principles. The concepts covered in these demonstrations include rheology, seismic waves, reflection, standing waves, velocity, earthquakes, Earth density, magnetic field, resonance, precession, the shadow zone, and Curie temperature. Each demonstration provides background information and a complete ... Full description.