9. Hybrid and Electric Cars part of Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Randolph Chambers, College of William and Mary
This module reviews the history of the automobile and its varied power sources, culminating in the latest versions of hybrid and electric cars.

Concentrating on Copper: An Exploration of Mineral Commodities part of Teaching Activities
Russell Kohrs, Massanutten Regional Governor's School
Introduction Understanding market price fluctuations is difficult for the average consumer as they are not often cognizant of what raw materials are used for various products. The goal of this lesson is to ...

Presenting science to the public: The ethics of outreach part of GeoEthics:Activities
Joy Branlund, Northeastern Junior College
Joy Branlund, Southwestern Illinois College Summary This case study involves class discussion about (a) the environmental concerns of developing a new industrial project (in this case, a new mine in Minnesota), ...

Soil Biogeochemical Cycles part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Activities
Colin Robins, Claremont McKenna College
This group activity charges students with teaching their colleagues about the biogeochemical cycle of one key soil element (e.g., either C, N, S, P, Ca, or Fe). Students are given a single class period to summarize ...

A "Jigsaw" Activity for Teaching about Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation part of Public Policy:Activities
Erin Klauk, University of Wyoming
This activity takes an Earth system approach to teach about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation, and can be modified to teach a variety of case studies.

Copper Extraction Demonstration Tutorial part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Examples
Summary This demonstration uses sulfuric acid and crushed copper ore (malachite) to produce a solution of copper sulfate and carbonic acid in a beaker. When a freshly sanded nail is dropped into the copper sulfate ...

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Percentage of Copper in Ore part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question Suppose that you are building a new house. It will take about 90 kg (198 pounds) of copper to do the electrical wiring. In order to get the copper in the first place, someone needs to mine solid rock that ...

A "Role-play" Activity for Teaching about Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation part of Public Policy:Activities
Erin Klauk, University of Wyoming
This activity uses an Earth system approach and role playing to teach students about uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. Students first use a website to find information for their assigned roles, and then they ...

Deciphering complex fluid-mineral interactions in the palm of your hand part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
Barb Dutrow, Louisiana State University
This exercise uses polished rock slabs containing veins sealed by copper-bearing minerals to understand the feedback effects in complex fluid-rock systems. By determining the minerals and their relative timing, the ...

Coal: China, Energy and Kyoto - I. Evaluating Coal Leases for Possible Mining part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
James Myers, University of Wyoming
Students evaluate coal leases to determine their potential for coal mining. Each company, student group, creates subsurface geologic models for each lease. Using these models, they recommend to the company board of ...