The Sea Floor Spreading Excel activity, the first of two parts, is used as and introductory Excel tutorial; Activity I. Students use spreadsheet program to explore the geodynamics model equation for ocean depth around a sea-floor spreading center. The activity is primarily an introductory tutorial on Excel for students with no prior Excel experience. The use of the equation relating ocean floor depth to sea floor spreading rate and distance from spreading center provides a geoscience context. Activity II, found in the Starting Point database, is a follow-up activity that has students use Excel to graphically compare the model predictions to observations from several North Atlantic cross-sections. This site also provides teaching notes and tips, teaching materials, assessment idea and additional resources. This activity is part of the Starting Point Collection:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/
Part of the Starting Point collection. The Starting Point collection includes resources addressing the needs of faculty and graduate students designing, developing, and delivering entry-level undergraduate courses in geoscience.
