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 ...

Benefits and consequences of using minerals as natural resources part of Mineralogy:Activities
Geoffrey Cook, University of California-San Diego
In a short research assignment, students learn about mineral resources that are used in common, present-day electronic devices (a cell-phone is used as a prime example). They investigate the environmental and ...

Gold: Its impact on South Africa part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Alan Buss, University of Wyoming

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 ...