Tomography? How do we know what is below our feet?

Barbara Graham

College Southern Nevada

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This activity has benefited from input from faculty educators beyond the author through a review and suggestion process. This review took place as a part of a faculty professional development workshop where groups of faculty reviewed each others' activities and offered feedback and ideas for improvements. To learn more about the process On the Cutting Edge uses for activity review, see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.

Initial Publication Date: February 24, 2010

Summary

A short Powerpoint presentation that introduces seismic topography to begin understanding how scientists infer the interior of the earth. Followed with a crossword puzzle to encourage vocabulary.

Seismology | College Lower (13-14)

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Context

Audience

Undergraduate, non-science majors. K - 12 elem education majors.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

How the activity is situated in the course

After an introduction to the way we used to think of the earth (onion) and now with technology the more detailed understanding of the interior..I want students to realize the evolution of science with technology, data and rigor.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

basic seismicity
frequency and time
complexity of the interior of the earth

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

The goal of this activity is to get students to think beyond the textbook representation of the interior of the earth.. That it is not as simple as an onion composed of four layers.. That there are mechanics at work beneath the earth that are very complex. I would also like for students to think about what other complex systems are outside of the earth.. such as weather, climate and the oceans. What are the similarities and differences between these systems and how do they interact with one another, and do they. Trying to get away from teaching about the earth as separate systems.. as so many textbooks seem to present. Interactions and interrelationships are what creates this dynamic earth.