This is a teaching module, directed to undergraduate students in applied mathematics, that presents a Zonal Energy Balance Model to describe the evolution of the latitudinal distribution of Earth's surface temperature subject to incremental levels of cumulative carbon emissions in the atmosphere. A strategy to avert "dangerous levels" of global warming is imbedded in the model. Students working with the module will write a computer code, using a software such as MATLAB or Mathematica, to obtain numerical solutions of the model and simulate strategies that guarantee controlled levels of global warming.

Students explore the effects of regional geology on bridge foundation, including the variety of soil conditions found beneath foundations. They learn about shallow and deep foundations, as well as the concepts of bearing pressure and settlement.

This Web site, created to complement the Museum's Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, offers a virtual visit to the Museum, complete with text, photos, and a downloadable desktop background. The site contains information on ten exhibition highlights.

The Museum's Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth allows visitors to explore geologic time and to gain an understanding of the methods scientists use to study vast Earth systems. This comprehensive guide to the hall's resources is designed to help you maximize your trip to the Museum with elementary school students. It includes detailed background information, a map of the hall that shows the five sections of the exhibit and several pre-, during-, and post-visit activities to do with your students. There is a listing of related Museum exhibits and suggestions for how to tie them into your field trip and notes about how the topics featured in the hall address performance standards and curriculum requirements.

This video segment adapted from NOVA features the youngest rock formations in the Grand Canyon, lava dams, and how they are subject to the eroding power of water.

This activity requires students to design an experiment to determine the best conditions for growing crystals. Students then are asked to conclude what the ideal conditions may be, how this information is useful, and who may want to know it. It is a great way to continue using scientific process skills within a Geology unit.

In this interactive game, students work in three "resilience teams" to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme drought event by using available individual and community resources.

This interactive game has students work in three “zone response teams” to solve community challenges that arise during the course of an extreme flooding event by using available individual and community resources.

In this lesson, students investigate sources of fossil fuels, particularly oil. Students will learn how engineers and scientists look for oil by taking core samples from a model of the Earth. Also, students will explore and analyze oil consumption and production in the United States and around the world.

This video segment from Nature explains the geologic forces behind the creation of HawaiiŒë_í_Œ_ dramatic shoreline.

The Hawaiian Islands formed primarily as a result of volcanic activity. While most islands ​form near tectonic plate boundaries, the Hawaiian Islands are nearly 2000 miles away from the nearest plate margin. Therefore, scientists believe that the islands formed due to the presence of the Hawaiian "hot spot," a region deep in the Earth's mantle from which heat rises. This heat produces melted rock (magma), which then pushes through the crust and solidifies. Created by Sal Khan.

Geology can roughly be divided into physical geology, which studies the materials of the Earth and the processes operating in it, and historical geology, which aims at a reconstruction of the history of the Earth. Historical geology requires some knowledge of physical geology for its elucidation. (Imagine, by way of analogy, forensic scientists diagnosing cause of death as a gunshot wound, which is a historical question. It would obviously be necessary for them to know something about the behavior of guns, which would be a physical question.) However, the aim of historical geology is to understand the past, and knowledge of physical geology is merely an adjunct to this aim.

This article is about the latest remake of Jules Verne's popular 144-year-old novel Journey to the Center of the Earth that also provides links to the American Geologic Institute's (AIG) Educator Guide for using the movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D) to interest students in geology and earth science.

This activity is a investigation where students observe soil and rocks, record their similarities and differences, interpret their findings, and are guided to develop a new investigable question.

Learn how the Hawaiian Islands were formed by a geothermal hotspot and resulting volcanic activity in this video segment from Nature.

S-wave shadow and P-wave detection patterns give us information about the core. Created by Sal Khan.

This module discusses the hydrologic cycle and its impacts on the planet Earth. Additionally, the module addresses connections between the hydrologic cycle, climate and the impacts humans have had on the cycle.

The EERC at the University of Bristol has developed an Earthquake Engineering Competition that challenges secondary school students to design and make small scale models of buildings that can withstand strong earthquakes. Provided on the website are tips for model design and construction, load testing advice, and a gallery of models organized by various characteristics.

This activity is a teacher demonstration of an ice cream model representing glacier movement across Minnesota. Teacher/student questions and discussion should be encouraged during the demonstration.

Average inquiry level: Guided inquiry
Students working in groups will examine and discuss earthquakes, volcanoes, topography, faults, and seafloor ages and use those features to identify the boundaries of tectonic plates and specific features and processes associated with specific types of plate boundaries. This lab is designed for face-to-face instruction.

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