Web Activities and Investigations
Web Investigation and Activity Topics
Dynamic Planet
Astronomy
Bedrock Geology
Changing Life
Climate Change
Climate and Weather
Severe Weather
Cryosphere
Earthquakes
El Nino
Energy
Energy Resources
Fossils
Land Use Planning
La Nina
Materials and Minerals
Mineral Resources
Oceans1
Oceans2
Plate Tectonics
River Systems
Rocks and Landforms
Soils
Volcanoes
Water Resources
Cyber Earth Science Activities and Investigations using with permission the excellent compiled Earth Science Educational Resources of the American Geological Institute's Investigating Earth Systems and EarthComm © 2002 American Geological Institute.http://www.agiweb.org
Dynamic Planet
Investigation 1 -- Gathering Evidence and ModelingInvestigation 2 -- The Interior of the Earth
Investigation 3 --Forces that Cause Earth Movements
Investigation 4 --The Movements of the Earth's Lithospheric Plates
Investigation 5 --Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Mountains
Investigation 6 --Earth's Moving Continents
Investigation 7 --Natural Hazards and Our Dynamic Planet
Astronomy
Activity 1 -- The History and Scale of the Solar SystemActivity 2 -- The Earth-Moon System
Activity 3 -- Orbits and Effects
Activity 4 -- Impact Events and the Earth System
Activity 5 -- The Sun and Its Effects on Your Community
Activity 6 -- The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Your Community
Activity 7 -- Our Community's Place Among the Stars
Bedrock Geology
Activity 1 -- Sedimentary Rocks and the Geologic History of Your CommunityActivity 2 -- Igneous Rocks and the Geologic History of Your Community
Activity 3 -- Metamorphic Rocks and Your Community
Activity 4 -- Rock Units and Your Community
Activity 5 -- Structural Geology and Your Community
Activity 6 -- Reading the Geologic History of Your Community
Activity 7 -- Geology on the Move
Changing Life
Activity 1 -- The Fossil Record and Your CommunityActivity 2 -- Biomes
Activity 3 -- Your Community and the Last Glaciers
Activity 4 -- The Mesozoic-Cenozoic Boundary Event
Activity 5 -- How Different Is Your Community Today from that of the Very Deep Past?
Climate Change
Activity 1 -- Present-Day Climate in Your CommunityActivity 2 -- Paleoclimates
Activity 3 -- How Do Earth's Orbital Variations Affect Climate?
Activity 4 -- How Do Plate Tectonics and Ocean Currents Affect Global Climate?
Activity 5 -- How Do Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Affect Global Climate?
Climate and Weather
Investigation 1 -- Observing WeatherInvestigation 2 -- Comparing Weather Reports
Investigation 3 -- Weather Maps
Investigation 4 -- Weather Radio Sondes, Satellites, and Radar
Investigation 5 -- The Causes of Weather
Investigation 6 -- Climates
Investigation 7 -- Exploring Climate Change
Investigation 8 -- Climate Change Today
Severe Weather
Activity 1 -- What Conditions Create Thunderstorms?Activity 2 -- A Thunderstorm Matures
Activity 3 -- Tracking Thunderstorm Movement Through Radar
Activity 4 -- Severe Weather Hazards: Flash Floods
Activity 5 -- Lightning and Thunder
Activity 6 -- Severe Winds and Tornadoes
Cryosphere
Activity 1 -- Ice is an Unusual MaterialActivity 2 -- How Glaciers Respond to Changes in Climate
Activity 3 -- How Do Glaciers Affect Sea Level?
Activity 4 -- How Rising and Falling Sea Levels Modify the Landscape
Activity 5 -- How Glaciers Modify the Landscape
Activity 6 -- Catastrophic Floods from Glacial Lakes
Activity 7 -- Non-glacial Ice on the Earth's Surface
Earthquakes
Activity 1 -- An Earthquake in Your CommunityActivity 2 -- Detecting Earthquake Waves
Activity 3 -- How Big Was It?
Activity 4 -- Earthquake History of Your Community
Activity 5 -- Lessening Earthquake Damage
Activity 6 -- Designing "Earthquake-Proof" Structures
El Nino
Investigation 1 El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (description and a few files only)Energy
Investigation 1 -- Tracing Electricity to Its SourceInvestigation 2 -- Uses of Energy Resources
Investigation 3 -- How Fossil Fuels are Formed
Investigation 4 -- Sources and Uses of Petroleum
Investigation 5 -- Exploring for Petroleum
Investigation 6 -- Solar Energy
Investigation 7 -- Using Energy Resources Wisely
Energy Resources
Activity 1 -- Exploring Energy Resource ConceptsActivity 2 -- Electricity and Your Community
Activity 3 -- Energy from Coal
Activity 4 -- Coal and Your Community
Activity 5 -- Environmental Impacts and Energy Consumption
Activity 6 -- Petroleum and Your Community
Activity 7 -- Oil and Gas Production
Activity 8 -- Renewable Energy Sources - Solar and Wind
Fossils
Investigation 1 -- The Properties of FossilsInvestigation 2 -- Sediment Size and Fossil Formation
Investigation 3 -- Conditions for Fossil Formation
Investigation 4 -- Fossils in Geologic Time
Investigation 5 -- Comparing Fossils over Time
Investigation 6 -- Adaptations to a Changing Enviroment
Investigation 7 -- Being a Paleontologist
Land Use Planning
Activity 1 -- Your Community's Water ResourcesActivity 2 -- Urban Development and Air Quality
Activity 3 -- Flooding in Your Community
Activity 4 -- Slope of Land in Your Community
Activity 5 -- Soil and Land Use in Your Community
Activity 6 -- Surveying the Community on Land Use
La Nina
What is La Niña?Recent La Niña and El Niño events
La Niña impact on the global climate
The origin of the names, La Niña and El Niño
Selected references and publications
Materials and Minerals
Investigation 1 -- Minerals over TimeInvestigation 2 -- Properties of Materials
Investigation 3 -- Mixing Materials
Investigation 4 -- Minerals and Rocks
Investigation 5 -- Mineral Exploration
Investigation 6 -- Extracting Minerals
Investigation 7 -- Tracing a Material to its Source
Mineral Resources
Activity 1 -- Materials Used for Beverage Containers in Your CommunityActivity 2 -- What Are Minerals?
Activity 3 -- Where Are Mineral Resources Found?
Activity 4 -- How Are Minerals Found?
Activity 5 -- What Are the Costs and Benefits of Mining Minerals?
Activity 6 -- How Are Minerals Turned into Usable Materials?
Oceans 1
Activity 1 -- Causes of Ocean CirculationActivity 2 -- The Deep Circulation of the Ocean
Activity 3 -- Surface Ocean Circulation
Activity 4 -- El Nino and Ocean Circulation: Taking a Closer Look
Activity 5 -- Weather, Climate, and El Nino
Activity 6 -- El Nino and the Oceanic Food Chain
Oceans 2
Investigation 1 -- The Properties of SeawaterInvestigation 2 -- Ocean Waves
Investigation 3 -- Ocean Currents and Circulation
Investigation 4 -- Mapping the Ocean Floor
Investigation 5 -- Changes in the Ocean Floor
Investigation 6 -- Adaptations to the Ocean
Investigation 7 -- Investigating a Place in the Ocean
Plate Tectonics
Activity 1 -- Taking a Ride on a Lithospheric PlateActivity 2 -- Plate Boundaries and Interactions
Activity 3 -- What Drives the Plates?
Activity 4 -- Effects of Plate Tectonics
Activity 5 -- The Changing Geography of Your Community
River Systems
Activity 1 -- High-Gradient StreamsActivity 2 -- Low-Gradient Streams
Activity 3 -- Sediments in Streams
Activity 4 -- Rivers and Drainage Basins
Activity 5 -- Parkland Field Study
Rocks and Landforms
Investigation 1 -- Different Types of RockInvestigation 2 -- Rocks and Landforms
Investigation 3 -- Rocks and Weathering
Investigation 4 -- Rock Abrasion
Investigation 5 -- Erosional Landforms
Investigation 6 -- Deltas and Flood plains
Investigation 7 -- Glaciers, Erosion and Deposition
Investigation 8 -- Rocks, Landforms and Human Activity
Soils
Investigation 1 -- Beginning to Investigate SoilInvestigation 2 -- Separating Soil by Settling
Investigation 3 -- Separating Soil by Sieving
Investigation 4 -- Examining Core Samples of Soil
Investigation 5 -- Water and Other Chemicals in Soil
Investigation 6 -- Soil Erosion
Investigation 7 -- Using Soil Data to Plan a Garden
Volcanoes
Activity 1 -- Where are the Volcanoes?Activity 2 -- Volcanic Landforms
Activity 3 -- Volcanic Hazards: Flows
Activity 4 -- Volcanic Hazards: Airborne Debris
Activity 5 -- Volcanoes and the Atmosphere
Activity 6 -- Volcanic History of Your Community
Activity 7 -- Monitoring Active Volcanoes
Water Resources
Activity 1 -- Sources of Water in the World and in Your CommunityActivity 2 -- How Does Your Community Maintain Its Water Supply?
Activity 3 -- Using and Conserving Water
Activity 4 -- Water Supply and Demand: Water Budgets
Activity 5 -- Water Pollution
Activity 6 -- Water Treatment