Introduction to Microsoft Excel part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
This assignment walks students through the creation of an Excel spreadsheet, step by step. It includes fills, references, formulas, and charts.

Stream Characteristics Lab part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Students determine the relationship between the sinuosity of a river and its gradient by calculating gradients and sinuosity, and generating a graph on Excel. They then test the relationship by making measurements on a picture generated on Google Earth.

Using functions in an introductory geoscience course part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
A template and two exercises (CO2 and population growth) designed to increase the graphical literacy of students in introductory geoscience and mathematics courses.

Discharge and Sediment Transport in the Field part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
In this quantitative field activity, students collect field data on channel geometry, flow velocity, and bed materials. Using these data, they apply flow resistance equations and sediment transport relations to estimate the bankfull discharge and to determine if the flow is sufficient to mobilize the bed.

Assessing the error of linear and planar field data using Fisher statistics part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Instruction on use of Fisher statistics to determine the mean and 95% confidence interval of geological vectors, lines or planes, with examples, problems and an Excel spreadsheet for computation.

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Scale of the Himalayas part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Question Let's imagine a scale model of the Earth, and let's imagine that the Earth is the size of a basketball. Suppose that you wanted to build the Himalayas to scale on the surface of the basketball. ...

How many sand grains on a beach? part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Short exercise designed to give students practice in determining what information is needed to answer a question, estimating an answer, and calculating an answer (including unit conversions and scientific notation). Emphasizes the relevance of large numbers to society (population, debt, etc).

Prework for Rivers and Streams Lab (Intro Geology) part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
In order to give Introductory Geology (Physical Geology) undergraduate non-majors students experience and confidence in using basic algebra to calculate very simple stream flow properties, we use a prework assignment prior to the Rivers and Streams Lab. Prework is a worksheet assigned 2 weeks in advance, which asks students to calculate velocity and discharge as well as unit conversions and calculations of stream load. The questions are put into the context of activities they completed earlier in the semester during visits to the stream (on campus) so questions are relevant to their previous experiences. The prework timeframe gives students the opportunity to seek extra help from their instructor prior to the lab period in which they will make additional measurements, similar calcualations and interpretations of their data.

Big Money: Intuition about big numbers using the national debt (and other governmental excess) part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
an exercise designed to help students get their brains around big numbers using real world examples

Water Quality Acquisition part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Students practice their field water sample collection and water quality assessment skills and study acid mine drainage.