Stable Isotopes and M&Ms part of Oceanography:Activities
Roman de Jesus, Fullerton College
Students are often confused by the concepts of stable isotope signatures and conventional notation. This activity is designed to introduce students to the del notation (isotopic signature), fractionation, and end ...

From Isotopes to Temperature: Working With A Temperature Equation part of Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum:General Collection:Examples
Dorien McGee
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students build a spreadsheet to examine from a dataset the relation between oxygen isotopes in corals and the temperature of surrounding seawater.

Modeling U-Series Concordia/Discordia Using STELLA part of Rates and Time:GSA Activity Posters
Kirsten Menking, Vassar College
U-Series dating techniques are widely used to determine the absolute ages of some of Earth's oldest rocks, but the concordia/discordia diagram can be quite difficult for students to grasp. I have produced a STELLA-based lab exercise to develop students' understanding of this important chronologic technique. Students create models of the two isotopic decay systems and run these models to create the concordia diagram. They then carry out experiments in which they "add" or "remove" varying amounts of lead or uranium in simulation of metamorphism. In the course of the lab, students are introduced to the concepts of exponential decay and secular equilibrium as well as modeling concepts such as the creation of if-then statements.

Half Life Model part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lecture Demonstrations:Examples
David N. Steer (steer@uakron.edu)and Kyle Gray (krg10@uakron.edu), University of Akron This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. GEO-0506518.
While working in groups to facilitate peer tutoring, students manipulate a hands-on, physical model to better comprehend the nature of half life. Students use the model to simulate the decay of radionuclides. The ...

Teaching Resources part of IEDA2:Teaching Resources
Tutorials DECADE: Interactive, map-based portal for displaying the interoperability between The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, the MApping GAs emissions (MAGA) Database, and the EarthChem ...

A Jigsaw Approach to the Weathering Thermostat Hypothesis part of CLEAN:CLEAN Network:Teaching Materials
Maureen Padden, McMaster University
This activity is part of the community collection of teaching materials on climate and energy topics. These materials were submitted by faculty as part of the CLEAN Climate Workshop, held in June, 2011 and are not ...

Chemistry of Cave Formation part of Introductory Courses:Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students investigate what happens to calcium carbonate in an aqueous solution when the pH of the water changes.

VEPP: Monitoring the Pu'u 'Ō'ō Eruption of Kīlauea Volcano Using Geochemical, Deformation and Seismicity Timeseries Data part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Volcano Exploration Project: Pu`u `O`o:Examples
Andrew R. Greene and Michael O. Garcia, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Show credits HidePu'u 'O'o at the end of episode 32 (USGS photograph by J.D. Griggs, 4/22/85, JG5363). This is an exercise that is in development and has not yet been fully tested in the classroom. ...

How acidic is the rain if atmospheric CO2 concentration doubles? part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Activities
Lixin Jin, University of Texas at El Paso
Students use basic aqueous geochemistry knowledge to investigate controls of the atmospheric carbon dioxide level on pH values of the wet precipitation at standard conditions (25 oC, 1 atmospheric pressure).

Capabilities and Limitations of Geochemical Instruments part of Hydrogeology:Hydrogeology, Soils, Geochemistry 2013:Activities
Carmen Nezat, Eastern Washington University
The purpose of this exercise is to understand the capability and limitations of several instruments (AA, ICP-OES, ICP-MS) used for geochemical analysis. Students compare and contrast the cost, detection limits, ...