Sedimentation Provenance Problem Set
Man-Yin Tsang, University of Toronto
Introduce students the concept of Sedimentation Provenance and how it can be studied from rock samples. Teach students to visualize mineral distributions in a basin and draw ternary QFR (quartz-feldspar-rock ...

Introduction to strings and DNA/protein sequence alignments
Benjamin Bratton, Vanderbilt University
This is problem set that helps solidify concepts of computational processing (accessing data, parsing data, visualizing data, using preconstructed tools) and sequence matching, specifically in the context of ...

Stress Map
James Conder, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Use earthquakes from the global CMT catalog to look at crustal stresses in a given region of the Earth. Students will download earthquake data from an online catalog and make 2 tectonic maps. One map is of the ...

Transitioning from Excel to MATLAB Diffusion Models
Kendra Lynn, University of Delaware
This activity is part of a larger module that introduces students to two different ways to model chemical diffusion in minerals: 1) 1D diffusion in Excel using finite differences and 2) 1D diffusion in MATLAB using ...

Vector Fields
Sayonita Ghosh Hajra, California State University-Sacramento
This activity is exploratory and collaborative MATLAB activity. Students will explore and visualize vector fields. Students will also learn about the flow lines of the vector fields.

Creating a Partial Pressure Diagram for the Cu-CO2-O2-H2O System
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. ...

Feedback Loops
Alexandra Davatzes, Temple University
This assignment requires students to use analogical reasoning to identify the key attributes, the causal structure, that make a feedback loop positive (by amplifying/accelerating the effect) or negative (by ...

Weathering and Sedimentary Processes in Google Streetview
Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
This exercise uses Google Streetview, in combination with 360 degree immersive photographs, to show students real-world examples of the sedimentary rocks, sedimentary structures, and weathering processes that they ...

Construction of a Triangular Stability Diagram
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 ...

Solving the 1D Schrodinger Equation
Morgan Hawker, California State University-Fresno
In this activity, students will explore 1-dimensional solutions to the time-independent Schrodinger equation. Students will utilize a provided MATLAB live script to determine exact energy values for two different ...

Introduction to hydrologic model calibration
Matin Rahnamay Naeini, University of California-Irvine
In this exercise, we introduce the concept of model calibration for rainfall-runoff models. We specifically employ a synthetic precipitation data as input to the hydrologic model to generate synthetic runoff. The ...

Virtual Pendulum Experiments & Mechanical Oscillations
Jeremy Riousset, Florida Institute of Technology-Melbourne
The pendulum motion is one of the first encounters with the concept of a harmonic oscillator. This activity seeks to complement a traditional, rigorous, theoretical approach with a rigorous numerical model. It ...

Snow Avalanches
Alessandro Zanazzi
In this activity, students have to select the most convenient backcountry ski route to climb a peak located near Brighton ski resort (Utah). In order to select the route, they have to evaluate the information ...

Where on Earth were the reefs through geologic time?
Alycia Stigall, Ohio University-Main Campus
Students explore the geographic distribution of reefs through geologic time. Students map fossil occurrences of reef forming organisms on modern and paleogeographic reconstructions using the Paleobiology Database. ...

LRC Circuit Calculation
Michele McColgan, Siena College
This is a homework assignment in a course in electronics for sophomore-level physics students on the topic of AC circuits. It includes 3 questions to calculate the reactance, total impedance, and voltage across ...

Gravity prospecting
James Conder, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Students are given a set of gravity data with the aim of finding high density anomalies in the subsurface. Keywords: Data analysis; inverse modeling

Quantifying transport of sediment off of continental shelves
Lauren Sahl, Maine Maritime Academy
This activity requires students to manipulate oceanographic data to derive new variables, make plots, interpret plots and make back-of-the-envelope calculations to weigh the importance of eddies in shelf edge ...

Slicing Fruit
Tom Hickson, University of St. Thomas (MN)
Students identify and draw slices through fruit, as practice for drawing slices through more complex features.

Slicing Cylinders
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students identify and draw slices through cylinders and partial cylinders, and use gestures to visualize slicing planes. This practice with visualizing slices through idealized geometric shapes is preparation for visualizing slices through geological features.

Mt. St. Helens Volcanic Ashfall Eruption
Eileen Herrstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This activity takes place outside of the classroom and requires ~1 hour to complete. Students recreate the map of the Mt. St. Helens ash plume of 1980 and use their maps to answer a series of questions about this ...