Sedimentation of Mud - Observation and Analysis
Summary
The process of mud settling in a graduated cylinder was filmed as a time lapse series over about 2 hours. Students observe and analyze the sedimentation process.
Context
Audience
Used in introductory physical geology undergraduate course for non-majors.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
How the activity is situated in the course
Used as an in-class video tutorial. Takes about 5-7 minutes. Purposes include introduction and reinforcement of cognitive skills, including observation, interpretation, analysis, and short answer response. May be used for individual or group responses, and for formative assessment.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
- observation of the sedimentation process of mud-sized particles
- description amount of time of formation of sedimentary deposit
- may be starting point for exploring implications of sedimentation in formation of beds, burial of organisms, preservation of sedimentary structures.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
- entire range of Bloom's taxonomy: from observation to analysis, evaluation, synthesis, as applied to formation of sedimentary deposits
Other skills goals for this activity
- may be used for collection of written responses
- record of think-pair-share
- formative assessment
Description and Teaching Materials
Students watch 57 second online video of time lapse movie of mud-sized sediment settling to form a sedimentary deposit. Students observe process of sedimentation, analyze dynamic change in water transparency, formation of sedimentary bed. Students record observations, discuss interpretations, and record analysis on form for assessment.
- EZSnips_ES101_VideoTutorial_06-Settling-Mud (Acrobat (PDF) 77kB Sep23 14)
- Mud Sedimentation video
Assessment
Response form contains student written observations and analysis. Completed form is subjectively assessed against instructor's individual goals