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: geology
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: […]
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 […]
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!
About common water features Before diving into definitions and examples of some common water features, let us ask: “what is a water feature?” Water features are any waterbody or waterway found on the earth’s surface! Water features come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes! For example, some water features are lotic (flowing, like […]
Many forces work together to shape the landscape. Plate tectonics, volcanic activity, erosion, and deposition work slowly over time to form and change our earth’s surface. All these forces working together create some pretty unique and cool landforms! In this post, we’ll take a closer look at 12 common landforms – what they look like, […]