Feldspar Minerals and Triangle Diagrams part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Eileen Herrstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This activity takes place in a laboratory setting and requires ~1.5-2 hours to complete. Students learn how to read a triangle or ternary diagram. They determine physical properties of feldspars and interpret two ...

Rocking Through the Rock Cycle part of K-8 Geo Teacher Preparation:Workshop 2016:Activities
Mary Mutrux, Missouri State University
The students will participate as matter traveling through the rock cycle while drawing cards from 4 rock matter stations (magma, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic). Afterwards, the student will demonstrate their path using a laser pointer in a projected large the rock cycle diagram.

Magma Degassing and Eruption Style 2 part of Teach the Earth:Magma Labs
Jessica Larsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks
This activity provides an opportunity for students to work with real data collected from samples from the 2008 eruption of Okmok volcano, Alaska. The homework activity explores how magma gas content can be ...

Creating a Partial Pressure Diagram for the Cu-CO2-O2-H2O System part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Terri Woods, East Carolina University
Students will be guided through the procedure for creating a partial-pressure diagram in the low-temperature system Cu-CO2-O2-H2O system for the minerals cuprite, tenorite, native copper, azurite, and malachite. ...

Metamorphic Rock Identification part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Katryn Wiese, City College of San Francisco
Metamorphic Rock Identification online (developed for remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic); students will explore the various characteristics of metamorphic rocks and then apply them to identify unknowns.

Freeze distillation of hard apple cider: A phase diagram demonstration part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
William Peck, Colgate University
If you are lucky enough to teach Petrology in a part of the world with a cold winter, freeze distillation of hard apple cider works well as a class demonstration when the cider is frozen overnight outside. The slow ...

Wakemup Pluton part of GET Spatial Learning:Teaching Activities
Basil Tikoff, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Students work through a set of questions about a geologic map of an igneous intrusion and surrounding rock units. These questions focus students' attention on the topography, geomorphology, lithology, and ...

Construction of a Triangular Stability Diagram part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Terri Woods, East Carolina University
An interactive powerpoint presentation walks students step-by-step through the process of generating a triangular diagram for the system K2O-Al2O3-SiO2. A Word document provides the thermodynamic data and ...

Construction of a Korjinski Diagram part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Terri Woods, East Carolina University
An interactive powerpoint presentation walks students step-by-step through the process of generating a Korjinski diagram for the system K20-Al2O3-SiO2. Students will use the triangular diagram from the previous ...

Petrology and Geochemistry of the Puʻuʻōʻō Eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai'i (1983-2009) part of Hawaiian Volcanoes
× Created by: Andrew R. Greene (Hawai'i Pacific University; agreene@hpu.edu) Michael O. Garcia (University of Hawai'i at Mānoa; mogarcia@hawaii.edu) Tim Orr (U.S. Geological Survey; torr@usgs.gov)
The Puʻuʻōʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano on the island of Hawai'i has been closely monitored and studied since its inception in 1983. This laboratory exercise utilizes the excitement of an ongoing ...

Remote Mapping and Analytical data integration: Coal Creek quartzite and Ralston shear zone, Colorado part of Cutting Edge:Enhance Your Teaching:Teaching with Online Field Experiences:Activities
Kevin Mahan, University of Colorado at Boulder
This is a combination of an online mapping project (igneous and metamorphic terrain) and a subsequent module for group collaboration with associated analytical datasets (e.g., geochronology and microstructure). ...

LEGO® Magma Crystallization Activity part of Teach the Earth:Magma Labs
Jessica Larsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks
This exercise uses LEGO® Magma Crystallization Activity building blocks to demonstrate in a simple way how zoned crystals can form in magmas. The exercise also shows how the surrounding melt changes in composition ...

"ZirChron" Virtual Zircon Analysis App part of Teaching Examples
Mark Schmitz, Boise State University
This web-based app is designed to help students evaluate a radioisotopic age and its uncertainty based upon the collection of data, the application of statistics, and the interpretation of geological and analytical ...

Investigating Plate Tectonics with Google Earth part of Structural Geology and Tectonics:Structure, Geophysics, and Tectonics 2012:Activities
Beth Pratt-Sitaula, EarthScope Consortium
Students examine data sets of topography, bathymetry, volcano location, earthquake location and size, and ocean floor age in Google Earth to determine the location and attributes of different types of plate ...

Petrographic Microscope Home Kit for Smartphones part of Teach the Earth:Teaching Activities
Lynne Elkins, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
This is a useful set of design instructions to build a home microscope kit for illustrating the properties of polarizing/petrographic microscopes with a smartphone camera. It can be used for any number of class ...