Undergraduate required course in structural geology.

Math: college algebra level; comfort using a calculator with scientific notation.

Concept of strike and dip.

Concept of a structural cross-section.

First lab of the semester for structural geology. This structural geology course has a pre-requisite of a sophomore field course, so students have had some experience making geologic maps and cross-sections.

Geometric versus kinematic thinking about structures; analogue modeling as a technique for studying structural geology.

Comparison of experimental results with reality.

3D spatial thinking about surfaces; first introduction to penetrative thinking problems.

Sketching as an observational tool and as a tool for thinking spatially.

In this lab, students work in groups with a simple sandbox (metal sheets clamped to an adjustable workbench) to create thrust faults, strike-slip faults, or restraining and releasing bends on strike-slip faults. The sandboxes are designed without colored sand layers or vertical sides; they they show surface deformation rather than cross-sections, but also allow students to re-set the models and run them several times with either the same or different conditions. The models are recorded and shared with the class. Students make geometric models (sketches of the surface, using structural map symbols), guess possible cross-sections, and use the videos to develop kinematic models (sketches with arrows showing movement, and short descriptions of their kinematic observations). After making their observations, students measure properties of their materials, do scaling calculations, and compare their models with real examples of similar settings on Google Earth.

This lab is graded based on:
- whether students correctly applied geologic map symbols
- whether they completed the scaling calculations
- completion of sketches
- separation of observations from interpretations
- reasonableness of the discussion (is the discussion consistent with the observations)