Hotspot Lesson: Mantle Plumes part of ERESE:ERESE Activities
This lesson introduces the theory of mantle plumes and possible ways of finding evidence to support the theory.

The Boxing Day Tsunami part of Cutting Edge:Teaching Methods:Teaching with Google Earth:Examples
Undergraduate students map data from the National Geophysical Data Center and the United States Geological Survey on Google Earth and study visualizations in order to explore the causes and effects of the Tsunami ...

Density of Earth - Using Some Field Data part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
This module addresses the problem of how to determine the density of the earth and has students do some field experiments to get the data they need to answer the problem.

The Floating Lithosphere - Eureka! part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
In this module, students examine Archimede's Principle in general and as it applies to Isostacy.

The Earth's Shells - Density vs. Depth part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
In this module, students are asked to devise a way of graphically plotting the density variations with depth in the Earth.

Compositional Diversity in Volcanic Suites part of Cutting Edge:Geochemistry:Activities
In this exercise, students use geochemical data downloaded from the GEOROC database to explore the origins of compositional variation among volcanic rocks associated with the Yellowstone and Crater Lake calderas.

Waves Through Earth: Interactive Online Mac and PC part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Mathematical and Statistical Models:Mathematical and Statistical Models Examples
Students vary the seismic P and S wave velocity through each of four concentric regions of Earth and match "data" for travel times vs. angular distance around Earth's surface from the source to ...

Looking into Earth with GIS (College Level) part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Teaching with GIS:Examples
College-level adaptation of the Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter. Students work with a free GIS program, ArcVoyager SE, to explore earthquake data and plate tectonics. -

Student-centered Experiments on Earthquake Occurrence Using the Seismic/Eruption Program part of NAGT:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students select their own region of interest and interrogate the earthquake catalog to obtain quantitative data on the rate of occurrence of earthquakes of various magnitudes within their chosen region.

Natural Disaster Risk at Home part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Undergraduate Research:Examples
Students analyze the natural disaster threat and potential mitigation techniques of their (family) home.

Testing plate tectonics in the Gulf of California part of MARGINS Data in the Classroom:MARGINS Mini-Lessons
This is a simple exercise to use real-world data from recent large earthquakes so that students can "test" for themselves if plate tectonics "works" in the Gulf of California.

The Woodlark Basin as a Natural Laboratory for the Study of the Geological Sciences part of MARGINS Data in the Classroom:MARGINS Mini-Lessons
This activity guides the students through a set of geological problems related to the Woodlark Basin, Papua New Guinea.

Profiling Earth's Surface using GeoMapApp part of MARGINS Data in the Classroom:MARGINS Mini-Lessons
In this exercise, students relate large-scale features on Earth's surface to lithospheric plates, the underlying asthenosphere, earthquakes, and volcanoes. After creating a cross section showing elevation using GeoMapApp, students add additional features by hand.

Seafloor Spreading and Magnetic Anomalies part of Cutting Edge:Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
Students use seafloor maps of magnetic anomalies to compare and establish the spreading rates in the Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific Oceans.

Introduction to Plate Tectonics part of Cutting Edge:Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
Uses maps created in Google Earth to explore concepts of plate tectonics including locations of plate boundaries, age of the sea floor, and distribution of earthquakes

Using physical observations to guess the interior of a globe part of Cutting Edge:Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
This activity introduces students to the need for geophysics and the application of several geophysical methods commonly employed. Students are given a hollow globe that contains various objects and asked to infer ...

Driving forces of plate tectonics and the importance of inertia part of Cutting Edge:Geophysics:Workshop 07:Geophysics Activities
Simple in class calculations showing that inertia or momentum is completely unimportant in considering the driving forces of plate tectonics

Hotspot Lesson: Hotspot Theory and Plate Velocities part of ERESE:ERESE Activities
This activity provides the students with a data set of ages of some of the Hawaiian Volcanoes and seamounts and how far they are from the active volcanism (considered to be the location of the hotspot). By plotting the data on a graph and fitting the data with a line of best fit, the plate velocity can be estimated by taking the slope of the line.

Volcanoes Around the Globe part of Cutting Edge:Visualization:Examples
Undergraduate non-majors use the Arcview geographic information system (GIS) to explore volcanic hazards and the geochemistry of volcanic rocks. Students explore geochemical data from the GEOROC global database and ...

Discovering Plate Boundaries part of Cutting Edge:Urban Geology:Activities
Discovering Plate Boundaries is a classroom activity designed to introduce students to the process of observing and classifying data, in addition to the fundamentals of plate tectonics.