Reading River Sediments: A Simulated Mineral Exploration

Students learn that wastes from many industrial processes contain toxic or valuable substances that can sometimes be reclaimed then recycled or disposed of safely. Working in groups, students reclaim copper from a liquid "waste" containing dissolved copper chloride. They measure the effectiveness of three different metal replacement reactions at removing the copper from the ...

Students model the phenomenon of global water movement as driven by the Sun and gravity. Students construct an explanation of the water cycle and the cycling of matter as a result of a hands-on investigation. They consider how the planet’s systems interact over various time and spatial scales. They use the crosscutting...

Part 1 introduces or reviews the features and interpretation of a topographic map. In Part 2, students use geochemistry to help locate mineral deposits. They choose 10 (of 24 possible) simulated soil samples to test for the “concentration of molybdenum.” They use their results to try to determine the location of the molybdenum ore deposit. They...

This hands-on activity explores the dynamics of watersheds. Despite the significance of watersheds, many students get few opportunities to explore this important aspect of topography and its relationship to the water cycle. This activity not only provides students with firsthand experience with watersheds but also provides a knowledge base to better understand issues such...

This activity provides students with a basic understanding of topographic maps and how to interpret them. Students use a three-dimensional plastic model of landscape to construct a two-dimensional topographic map. This experience provides students with a better understanding of what contour lines represent and how to interpret them.

Copper and other raw materials contribute to our technological lifestyle, but the by-products of extracting copper from ore are potential toxic wastes. In this activity, students explore the properties of copper and copper ore. They conduct two reactions used to extract and recover copper from the ore. This process introduces single and double replacement...

Student groups use a specially engineered Lab-Aids river model to investigate the dynamics of erosion and deposition of sediments. Students observe, describe, and interpret the erosional and depositional patterns created when “rain” falls over a non-level sand surface. Common features created and described include stream channels, canyons, meanders, sand bars, and deltas....

Students examine four drill cores representing a fictional series of rock layers. They then use the evidence from each drill core to create a stratigraphic column for each location and use evidence from the cores to correlate to the layers from the different locations. They are then challenged to use this fossil evidence to...

Students are introduced to remote sensing as a means to obtain information about things that are hard to observe directly. They perform a hands-on activity that allows them to create diagrams showing the shape of concealed landforms. Each student group collects data that allows them to construct a line graph showing a profile of...