Are you studying rocks and minerals? Mineral identification may seem challenging at first, but by using these physical properties, you can identify many common minerals! Below, you will find a list of the physical properties of minerals that will help you identify minerals. Before we dive in: If you’re an educator planning to teach mineral physical properties, […]
Tag: earth sciences
Are you teaching your students the difference between porosity and permeability? While these two properties of soils and rocks are related, they are not the same! And what better way to understand the difference between porosity and permeability than a hands-on lab activity!? In this lab experiment, compare the porosity and permeability of three sediments: […]
Are you studying soil science, gardening, or agriculture with your students? If so, you have probably learned that soil is a mixture of sediments and organic matter. But different soils have different amounts of these two ingredients. A soil’s organic matter content is important, especially when considering a soil’s ability to support plants. In this […]
This “jar test” is great for the classroom. Shake up soil and water in a jar. Then, watch the grains settle over time. Larger grains settle faster than smaller grains.
If you live somewhere that gets snow in winter, you’ve likely measured the depth of snow before! But with a few extra steps, you can turn this simple task into an awesome, hands-on snow measurements lab activity for your classroom. By measuring snow and performing calculations, we can determine snow water equivalent, stored water, and […]
Plate tectonics is an important concept for students to understand. To help you get started studying plate tectonics in your classroom, I’ve put together this list of eight engaging and hands-on plate tectonics activities and projects to try out in your classroom this year!
Earth’s lithosphere (surface) is broken into massive, irregularly-shaped pieces, called tectonic plates. Some of the plates are so large that they span entire continents. Others are smaller. Tectonic plates sit atop a denser, soft part of the mantle called the asthenosphere. If you need a refresher, view my Layers of the Earth post. The theory […]
A volcano is an opening in the crust where lava, volcanic gases, and ash are expelled onto the earth’s surface. They typically have cone-like shapes with depressions at their centers. There are three main types of volcanoes: shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes (also known as composite volcanoes), and cinder cones. Apart from these main types, other categories […]
In school, you usually learn that the three main layers of the Earth are the crust, mantle, and core. Geologists call these compositional layers because the layers are defined by the materials they are made of. However, geologists also think about how different layers of the Earth move: for example, do they flow easily? Are […]
Glaciers make a big mark on the landscapes beneath and around them. Even thousands of years after a glacier disappears, you can still find evidence of its presence in the glacial landforms left behind!