Geochemical debates part of Activities
Nancy Hinman, University of Montana-Missoula, The
Students are given the task of defending or refuting a statement about global warming. Students are expected to work in groups to develop the strongest argument in their favor, but must also address issues raised ...

Crystallization-Differentiation of Basaltic Magma part of Activities
Kent Ratajeski, University of Kentucky
In this exercise, students use geochemical data from volcanic glasses and minerals in lavas and drill cores from the solidified Kilauea Iki lava lake to learn about the petrologic processes related to the eruption ...

Crystal Structures as Geobarometers part of Cutting Edge:Mineralogy:Activities
Kent Ratajeski, University of Kentucky
In this exercise, designed for undergraduate igneous petrology or advanced mineralogy courses, students download a series of crystal structures from the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database to explore ...

Constraints and Implications of Groundwater Temperature on the Formation of Mississippi Valley-type Zn-Pb Deposits part of Cutting Edge:Hydrogeology:Activities
Martin Appold, University of Missouri-Columbia
This assignment illustrates the role of groundwater in transporting heat and its implications for the formation of hydrothermal ore deposits. The assignment uses a combination of graphs and algebraic equations that ...

Where Did That Quartzite Clast Come From?: A Problem-Based Provenance Study part of Cutting Edge:Sedimentary Geology:Activities
Andrew Hanson, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Students conducting geochemical provenance studies are forced to deal with obvious things such as manipulating/interpreting geochemical data, but also must deal less obvious factors such as considering earlier ...

Problem set: Constructing metamorphic phase diagrams using phase equilibria and the Clausius-Clapeyron equation part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Mark Brandriss
In this problem set students construct a P-T phase diagram for the aluminosilicate polymorphs based on experimental phase equilibria and application of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The problem set uses unit ...

Graphing Chemical Data to Identify Fractional Crystallization part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
John Brady, Smith College
Students are given major-element, whole-rock chemical analyses from ten samples of lava from the 1868 eruption of Mauna Loa. They do not know sequence of eruption, only that the lavas came from the same volcano. ...

Weathering of Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary Rocks in a Semi-Arid Climate - An Engineering Application of Petrology part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Wendy Harrison, Colorado School of Mines; Ric Wendlandt, Colorado School of Mines
Students examine soils developed on igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks near Denver, Colorado. The 2-week exercise includes sample collection, description, and preparation, determining clay mineralogy by ...

Extending Mineralogy by Electron Microprobe Analysis part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
John Goodge, University of Minnesota-Duluth
This lab is designed to be a highly interactive lab session for a petrology course, where instructors provide a minimal level of essential background and then the entire group works together to explore mineral ...

Variation Diagrams and the Evolution of Thingmuli Lavas, Iceland part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Jeff Tepper, University of Puget Sound
In this problem set students are provided with an EXCEL spreadsheet containing major element analyses of lavas frm Thingmuli Volcano in Iceland. They are asked to construct variation diagrams (Harker plots) and ...

Zoned Plagioclase Exercise part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
R. K. Smith
The purpose of this exercise is to: become familiar with the various types of zoning found to occur in plagioclase feldspars, be able to recognize and identify the various zoning types, and be able to interpret the ...

Working with Electron Microprobe Data from a High Pressure Experiment - Calculating Mineral Formulas, Unit Cell Content, and Geothermometry part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Brandon Schwab, Humboldt State University
In this problem set students use electron microprobe analyses of a peridotite partial melting experiment to determine mineral formulas, calculate unit cell content, plot results on a classification diagram, and use ...

Pet Rock Project: A Semester-long Exercise for Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Darrell Henry, Louisiana State University
The pet rock project is a semester-long project in which each student randomly selects an igneous or metamorphic rock from the instructor or brings in a rock from an appropriate locality, and follows all of the ...

Learning Thermodynamics and Using Spreadsheets part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Sumit Chakraborty and Somnath Dasgupta
These files contain a set of three Excel files to balance mineral reactions, to explore variation of thermodynamic properties as a function of P, T and composition and to explore stability of different mineral ...

Differentiation and Discrimination of Big Bend Ranch State Park Igneous Rocks part of Cutting Edge:Petrology:Teaching Examples
Linda Davis, Austin Community College
I give the students analyses from work that I did with Chris Henry on the Bofecillos Mountains and the Solitario. (Tertiary Volcanism of the Bofecillos Mountains and Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas: Revised ...