Introduction to urban watershed geochemistry part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Vijay Vulava, College of Charleston
The main goal of this multi-part field and lab exercise is to introduce students to practical aspects of soil and water geochemistry. Some of the analyses for this lab are conducted in the field using field ...

Weak Acid Equilibrium part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Michael Stapleton, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Students are asked to calculate the pH of a weak acid aqueous solution. The problems involve a series of generic acids with assigned equilibrium constants (Ka) and total concentrations (Ct). Initially, students are ...

Isotopes and Tracers part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Thomas Meixner, The University of Arizona
This assignment offers students several problems that help them understand the basic of mixing models and their use in understanding the controls on water quality in the environment. The purpose of the assignment ...

Analysis of Hydrochemical Data part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Joseph Asante, Tennessee Technological University
In this activity students examine groundwater flow path based on hydraulic head data/ potentiometric surface and spatial variation of groundwater chemistry. Students analyze the data using AquaChem and Phreeqc ...

Co-evolution of Life and Minerals part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Penelope Boston, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Based on the 2010 Scientific American paper by Hazen, and the more technical 2008 paper of Hazen et al, both of which explore the effect of the biosphere on the tremendous number of mineral species that occur on ...

Using spring water chemistry to understand groundwater inputs part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Rebecca Frus, University of New Mexico-Main Campus
The assignment will begin with teaching proper water collection and use of equipment for hydrochemical field work. Once the class is familiar with sample collecting technques, the class takes a field trip to ...

Soil Profile Homework part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Daniel Hirmas, Texas Tech University
This is one of 4 homework assignments given to students throughout this introductory soils course. The main goal of these assignments are to give the students practice with the mechanics of problem solving, ...

Spatial and Temporal Tracer Test Data Analysis part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Kenneth Carroll, New Mexico State University-Main Campus
This is an assignment I worked on with Dr. Brusseau (University of Arizona) for his Contaminant Transport class. In this problem solving exercise, students are provided data sets that could be obtained by ...

Soil Biogeochemical Cycles part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, 2013:Activities
Colin Robins, Claremont McKenna College
This group activity charges students with teaching their colleagues about the biogeochemical cycle of one key soil element (e.g., either C, N, S, P, Ca, or Fe). Students are given a single class period to summarize ...

Sediments and the Global Carbon Cycle part of Sedimentary Geology:Activities
Lonnie Leithold, North Carolina State University
This is a series of exercises designed to introduce undergraduate students to the role of sediments and sedimentary rocks in the global carbon cycle and the use of stable carbon isotopes to reconstruct ancient ...

Vostok Ice Core: Excel (Mac or PC) part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Mathematical and Statistical Models:Mathematical and Statistical Models Examples
Professor Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College. Based on data of J. Chapellaz, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l'Environment, Grenoble. Archived at: Lamont-Dohert Earth Observatory ( This site may be offline. ) . Starting Point page organized by R.M. MacKay.
Students use Excel to graph and analyze Vostok ice core data (160,000 years of Ice core data from Vostok Station). Data includes ice age, ice depth, carbon dioxide, methane, dust, and deuterium isotope relative ...

What Goes into Making Volcanic Arc Magmas, and How Do We Know It? part of MARGINS Data in the Classroom:MARGINS Mini-Lessons
Jeff Ryan, University of South Florida-St. Petersburg
This activity is a directed reading exercise focused on papers that have been key to our understanding of the major source contributors to subduction zone volcanic rocks.

Calculating Rb-Sr Isochrons part of Petrology:Teaching Examples
Andy Barth, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
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 ...

Modeling U-Series Concordia/Discordia Using STELLA part of Rates and Time:GSA Activity Posters
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College
U-Series dating techniques are widely used to determine the absolute ages of some of Earth's oldest rocks, but the concordia/discordia diagram can be quite difficult for students to grasp. I have produced a STELLA-based lab exercise to develop students' understanding of this important chronologic technique. Students create models of the two isotopic decay systems and run these models to create the concordia diagram. They then carry out experiments in which they "add" or "remove" varying amounts of lead or uranium in simulation of metamorphism. In the course of the lab, students are introduced to the concepts of exponential decay and secular equilibrium as well as modeling concepts such as the creation of if-then statements.

Half Life Model part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Examples
David N. Steer (steer@uakron.edu)and Kyle Gray (krg10@uakron.edu), University of Akron This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. GEO-0506518.
While working in groups to facilitate peer tutoring, students manipulate a hands-on, physical model to better comprehend the nature of half life. Students use the model to simulate the decay of radionuclides. The ...