Field and Laboratory Project - Volcanology and Petrology of Interbedded Andesitic Lava Flows and Volcaniclastic Rocks from Washburn Volcano, Yellowstone National Park part of Teaching Examples
Todd Feeley, Montana State University-Bozeman
What follows is an example of a three part exercise for undergraduate petrology students involving volcanic and shallow intrusive rocks in the Washburn Range, Yellowstone National Park. We will loosely follow Part ...

Calculating Rb-Sr Isochrons part of Teaching Examples
Andy Barth, Indiana University-Bloomington
This is a spreadsheet that I use in petrology to walk students through calculating Rb-Sr isochrons and talking about isotope heterogeneity and sampling at various scales. The example exercise is the Tuolumne ...

Florida River Project: Minerals in the field part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Activities
Kim Hannula, Fort Lewis College
This is a field trip that is part of a semester-long research project. In this lab, students visit part of their research site to look at rocks and minerals in the study area.

Olivine Thermometry part of Teaching Examples
Keith Putirka, California State University, Fresno
This problem set is usually given as a homework assignment (to my Mineralogy class, or in Ig and Met Pet), after some sample calculations performed in class. It allows students to practice calculating mineral ...

Compatibility Diagram 3: Fo-Tc-Etc part of Teaching Examples
Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota-Main Campus
One of three compatibility diagrams I use in class. This is a bit more complicated than #1 and #2. It involves a projection from H2O and non-standard corners on the composition triangle.

Compatibility Diagram 2:Tc-En-Etc part of Teaching Examples
Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota-Main Campus
One of three compatibility diagrams I use in class. This is a short activity that has students construct several compatibility diagrams in different fields on a phase diagram. This, in turn, can be followed by ...

Compatibility Diagram 1: Dsp-Py-Qz-Ka-H2O part of Teaching Examples
Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota-Main Campus
One of three compatibility diagrams I use in class. This is a short activity to introduce students to compatibility diagrams (triangular diagrams showing stable assemblages) and how tie lines change when a reaction ...

Deciphering complex fluid-mineral interactions in the palm of your hand part of Cutting Edge:Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
Barb Dutrow, Louisiana State University
This exercise uses polished rock slabs containing veins sealed by copper-bearing minerals to understand the feedback effects in complex fluid-rock systems. By determining the minerals and their relative timing, the ...

What does the core/mantle boundary look like? part of Cutting Edge:Deep Earth:Activities
Suzanne Baldwin, Syracuse University
This activity explores how earth scientists infer what materials are present at the core mantle boundary and what this boundary might look like. It provides students with the opportunity to contribute to the ...

Outcrop Mapping at Woodall Shoals, South Carolina-Georgia part of Cutting Edge:Geoscience in the Field:Activities
Jonathan Mies, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, The
Students work in groups of 3 or 4 to map relatively small parts of the outcrop at Woodall Shoals, which serves as a model of a complexly deformed high-grade metamorphic terrain. With the benefits of 100% exposure ...

What can zircons tell us about the Early Earth? part of Cutting Edge:Early Earth:Activities
Aaron Cavosie, University of Puerto Rico; Julie Baldwin, University of Montana-Missoula, The; Darrell Henry, Louisiana State University
This image shows an array of Jack Hill zircons arranged on a piece of tape prior to casting in epoxy. Details Students create U-Pb concordia plots in Excel to experience the methods used to date the worlds oldest ...

Increase in volcanism at the beginning of the Holocene on Reykjanes, Iceland: case example part of Cutting Edge:Structural Geology:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Students make simple stress calculations to determine whether deglaciation at the end of the Pleistocene may have been responsible for a short but dramatic increase in rates of volcanism on Reykjanes in Iceland as ...

Seafloor Ages Lecture Tutorial part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Activities
Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island
Students work on this Lecture Tutorial worksheet on seafloor ages in pairs during lecture. It directly confronts misconceptions students have about the age of the seafloor, and it guides students to more complex ...

Rock-Tectonics synthesis lab part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Activities
Dori Farthing, University of Dayton
This lab aims to draw together rock identification and plate tectonics as well as relative age relationships. It gets students to "be" geologists...looking at rock suites and trying to see how they fit ...

Metamorphic Rocks Lab part of Cutting Edge:Introductory Courses:Activities
Ann Hadley, Manchester Community College
Students describe rock characteristics and determine if a rock sample is metamorphic. If it is, they determine the parent rock. If not, they describe what it would change into as a metamorphic rock. The whole class ...