Crossword Puzzles to Review Mineral Concepts part of Mineralogy:Activities
Laura Wetzel, Eckerd College
Students complete a crossword puzzle to review the physical properties of minerals that are helpful in hand specimen identification. Mineral names and characteristics are particularly well-suited for a crossword format. Two versions are provided, one at an introductory level and one for more advanced undergraduates. Instructor files provided are easy to customize.

Virtual Lab: "Big Nine" Silicates in Thin Section part of Teaching Activities
Catherine Macris, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
This virtual lab activity uses Virtual Microscope to help students create their own ranked lists of diagnostic properties for the "Big Nine" silicate minerals/groups, which includes quartz, muscovite, ...

Feldspar Mineral Chemistry Using the FCAEM Remotely Operable Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer. part of Mineralogy:Activities
Sven Holbik and Rosemary Hickey-Vargas, Florida International University
This lab uses the remote operation of an Electron Probe Micro-Analysis (EPMA) available through the Florida Center for Analytical Electron Microscopy (FCAEM; https://fcaem.fiu.edu/), at Florida International University, Miami, to explore feldspar mineral chemistry. This lab explores detailed mineral chemistry, data normalization, and plotting compositional ranges on ternary diagrams suitable as an introductory assignment in a Mineralogy, Earth Materials, or Petrology course. This instructor-led interactive demonstration of remote Electron Microprobe use introduces students to microprobe analysis, x-ray analytical techniques, standardization, image analysis, normalization, mineral formulas and composition. The instructor can acquire images (optional) of samples containing feldspar (provided by FCAEM or instructor's samples) then select multiple points for analysis. This activity captivates student's attention and provides a hands-on instrument-led approach to introducing undergraduate students to chemical analysis and vital concepts in mineralogy and petrology.

Understanding Polyhedral Diagrams part of Spatial Thinking Workbook:Teaching Activities
Carol Ormand Ph.D., Carleton College
Students identify individual polyhedra in a variety of diagrams and answer questions about shared oxygens in diagrams of common silicate structures.

An Electron Microprobe in the Classroom: A Remote-Access System for Education part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Ellery Frahm, University of Minnesota-Duluth
In 2003, the University of Minnesota's Electron Microprobe Laboratory implemented a new system for remote research and education via the Internet. The remote-access system allows real-time access to our ...

Mineral Recalculation Using Remote Electron Microprobe Analysis part of Mineralogy:Activities
Sven Holbik and Rosemary Hickey-Vargas, Florida International University
This in-class activity uses the remote capabilities of the electron microprobe (EM) system with wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) available through the Center for Analytical Electron Microscopy (FCAEM; fcaem.fiu.edu) at Florida International University in Miami FL, to introduce students to microprobe analysis, determine the major chemical elements in a mineral, use the chemical data to calculate the exact chemical formula of the mineral and to plot this data on a binary phase diagram for interpretive discussions. This instructor led activity is intended as a whole-class demonstration of the EM with WDS analysis of minerals. The remote user will navigate the EM stage to find phases of interest, acquire images of phases, set up multiple points for analysis, and disseminate collected data for students to answer questions given in lab assignment.

Research Experiences in a Mineralogy Class part of Undergraduate Research:Case Studies
Dave Mogk, Montana State University Summary One of the goals of my Mineralogy class is to demonstrate how the principles and content covered in class can be applied to questions of geologic interest or that have ...

Using Cooperative Learning to Teach Mineralogy (and Other Courses Too!) part of Mineralogy:Activities
LeeAnn Srogi, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
This chapter is concerned primarily with how the content of a mineralogy course can be organized so that the students are more active and conscientious learners. This chapter is divided into three sections: Section ...

The Nature of Science and Scientific Fraud part of GeoEthics:Activities
Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota-Main Campus
Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota Summary There are two parts to this exercise but they are stand-alone if desired. The first part deals with the nature of science: what is science, what does it involve, ...

Determining Mantle Temperature and Composition from Discontinuities part of Deep Earth:Activities
Anna Courtier, University of Wisconsin-Madison
This pair of activities uses observations of mantle discontinuity structure to examine mantle heterogeneity and differences in the depth extent of melt sources for ridges and "hotspots." The first ...