Department of Earth Science |Northeastern Illinois University

INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
ESCI 121
Section 06
Fall 2009

Homework Assignments                                                                                                                            Dr. Sanders

Please note that this page does not include all graded assignments; some assignments will be both assigned and completed in class, and will not be posted here.

Homework #1:  (Due Thursday, September 3, 2009.)  Find and print out a map of the world.  (A blank map is preferred, but any world map will do.)  Then, locate the following places and label them on the map.  (+1/2 point for each location correctly shown)

Japan                                                  Hawaii
San Francisco, California                 Yellowstone National Park
India/Tibet border                              New Zealand
Iceland                                                The Red Sea
Lake Tanganyika                               The Aleutian Islands
Chile                                                   Jakarta, Indonesia
Azores Islands                                   The Galapagos Islands

Homework #2:  E-mail me!  (Due by 12:01 a.m., Sunday, September 6, 2009.)  Send me a message giving the e-mail address at which you would like to be contacted.  To earn all three points for this assignment, do the following:

               1) In the "Subject" line of the message, type your name. (+1 pt)
               2) In the "Subject" line of the message, type "Intro to Earth Science". (+1 pt)
               3) In the body of the message, type your e-mail address. (+1 pt)

After that, you message can say anything--it can even be blank, if you wish. 

Homework #3: World Map/Geotectonics Research.  (Due Tuesday, September 8, 2009.) 
Log in to our class wiki.  Go to the page called "Geotectonics", click "Edit page", and choose a particular aspect of Earth's large-scale patterns.  Add your name to the list; remember, only five students per item!  When you are done, click "Save". 
1) Find and print an online map of the world that illustrates the aspect you chose.  (For example, if you are researching hot spot volcanoes, print a world map that shows the locations of all the hot spot volcanoes.)
 
2) Write a title on the map to show what research area it illustrates (e.g. "Deep-Focus Earthquakes", "Volcanoes", etc.).
 
3) Record the following items: the web address (URL) of the site where you found the map, the author or sponsoring organization of the page where it appears, and the author or organization that produced the map. 

Bring your map to class and be ready to work with it in a group setting.  No late homework will be accepted!

Homework #4: Rock Your State!  (Due Thursday, September 17, 2009.)
 
1) On the "Rock Your State" page of the class wiki, choose one of the states/territories lists (only one person per state/territory).
 
2) Find online a geologic map of that state and print it (in color if possible; if not, b&w is okay, this time.)  Also find the key, legend, or map explanation and print it too.  Sometimes the key is on a separate page!
 
3) On the class wiki, post the link (URL, or web address) to the page that displays the map and legend. 
 
4) On a separate sheet of paper, make a list of all the rock or sediment types that occur in that state.  You probably will need to look at the key, legend, or map explanation to do this; sometimes it will be on a separate page.  Don't write duplicate entries; for example, if "marble" appears twice in the state, only write it once on your list.
   
  Problems to watch out for:

► Many maps don't show the rock or sediment type, but instead show only the geologic age.  How will you know?  Watch for these words:
 



 		 Cambrian, Carboniferous, Cenezoic, Cretaceous, Devonian, Eocene, Holocene, Jurassic, Mesozoic, Miocene, Mississippian, Oligocene, Ordovician, Paleocene, Paleozoic, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Precambrian, Quaternary, Silurian, Tertiary, Triassic.

If these are the only words used to describe the geologic materials, find a different map.
  ► Generic terms such as "sediments", "igneous rocks", "sedimentary rocks", and "metamorphic rocks" are too vague.  If these are the only words used to describe the geologic materials, find a different map.
 
5) Put your name and section number on all pages and bring it all to class.  No late homework accepted!

If you get stuck, it's okay to change your state--as long as you post it on the class wiki.
Homework #5: Points of Interest in your "Rock Your State" (Due Tuesday, October 27, 2009.)
Details of this assignment are provided here.
Homework #6: Earthquake Maps in Living Color  (Due Tuesday, November 3, 2009.)
Details of this assignment are provided here.
Extra credit opportunity:  Investigate the relationship between earthquake magnitude and  depth of focus.   Due no later than class time, November 12, 2009.
Do deeper-focus earthquakes generally have higher magnitude?  lower magnitude?  Are they related at all?

For a possible 5 homework points, using data from the USGS Earthquake website, demonstrate that there either is, or is not, a relationship between the two variables.  If there is a relationship, tell exactly what it is. 

Hint:  To prove your point, you must use actual data from world earthquakes (as posted on the USGS site!).  You will need to construct a graph to successfully answer this question.  Your graph must illustrate data from at least 25 different earthquakes, and more is better.  
Homework #7:  Weather-Tracking  (Your due date is the first class period following your selected dates.)  Log in to the class wiki and click the Weather Tracking page for more information.

Department of Earth Science | Northeastern Illinois University


Copyright 2009 Laura L. Sanders.  Last updated November 10, 2009.