Department
of Earth Science |
Northeastern
Illinois University
INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
ESCI 121
Section 05
Spring 2009
Department
of Earth Science |Northeastern
Illinois University
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 #3: World Map/Geotectonics Research. (Due Tuesday, January 20, 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 January 29, 2009.) On the
class wiki,
choose one of the states (one person per state).
| 1) | Find online a
geologic map of that state and print it (in color if possible;
if not, b&w will do.) Also find the key, legend, or map
explanation and print it too. Sometimes this is on a separate
page! |
| 2) | On the class wiki, post
the link (URL) to the page that displays the map and
legend.
|
| 3) | 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. |
| 4) | Warning: Many maps
don't show the rock or sediment type, but instead show only the
geologic age! If a map gives only geologic
ages, do not use it! Here are some of the words that
refer to geologic age: Cambrian, Cretaceous, Devonian, Eocene, Holocene, Jurassic, Miocene, Mississippian, Oligocene, Ordovician, Paleocene, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Precambrian, Quaternary, Silurian, Tertiary, Triassic |
| 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: Get To Know A Volcano!
(Due March 10, 2009.)
Details
appear at this link.
Homework #6: Earthquake Maps in Living Color
(Due March 17, 2009.)
Details
appear at this link.
Homework #7: Weather Tracking (Due April 23, 2009, but
please bring in your maps as you collect them.) Log in to the
class wiki
and click on the Weather Tracking page for more information.
| Extra credit opportunity:
Investigate the
relationship between earthquake magnitude and
depth of focus. |
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. |
Homework #8: Rock Your State Revisited: Topo Maps! (Due
April 23, 2009.) Do some research on the state you researched
for "Rock Your State!" earlier this semester, and find a geological point of
interest. This might be something like a mountain, a waterfall, an unusual
rock formation, a volcano, a big open-pit mine, a unique river, a scenic
overlook...and there are many more possibilities. Whatever your point of
interest is, it should be something that can be seen on a map (hmm...can you see
a cave on a map?)
Find an online description and a photograph of the geological feature, and post
a link to it on the
class wiki.
Then, find an online topographic map illustrating the same feature--not
just the name of the feature, but the feature itself. Print
out a copy of the portion of the topo map that shows the feature.
Here are two sources of online topographic maps; use whichever works best for
you!
| Option 1: The USGS Map Locator is described in the April 14 2009 class agenda. If you choose this option, do not try to print out the whole quadrangle on one page; it will be so small it will be unreadable. Instead, zoom in to see what you are interested in, use the "Select Graphic" tool (it looks like a camera on the tool bar; you may need to click "Tools" and then "Select Graphic" to find it), and copy and paste that section of the map into a Word file or graphics program (MSPaint, Microsoft Photo Manager, Photoshop...) file. |
| Option 2: An alternative location for finding online topographic maps is www.terraserver-usa.com . If you choose this option, zoom to the location by double-clicking on the map. Select the tab at the top right of the map that shows "Topo Map". At the top left corner of the map there are three boxes for "Size"; choose the largest one. When you are ready to print, click "Print" at the top right corner of the map. A new page will open with your map in it. Select File | Print Preview and make sure it shows what you want. Then print. |
You will be making a presentation to a group about your state's geologic point of interest, the map illustrating it, and the geology of the feature; more details about this will follow.
|
Homework #9: Presentation. (Due in class on
Thursday, April 30, 2009.) Present your research on the
geologic point of interest that you investigated in Homework #8. Who Will Present: You will be presenting with your other "Rock Your State!" colleagues. Each person must do at least a part of the presentation. What to Present: Your presentation should include the following information: * What your state is, and where your geologic point of interest is (it would be helpful to point it out on a map!) * An explanation of what the geologic point of interest is and why it is significant; * How it appears on a topographic map, and how the topographic contours illustrate the feature; * What can be learned about it from the geologic map of the state, including... ... type of rocks/sediments present in the area, and ... geologic age (e.g. "Jurassic", "Silurian", etc.) of the rocks/sediments. How to Present: During your presentation, you may if you choose distribute handouts, or present the information using the computer and projector. If you bring handouts, you must have at least 12 copies of each to distribute. If you choose to use the computer and projector, here are some possibilities--these are not requirements, just suggestions! 1) Post links to materials on the class wiki , then access them in class during your presentation. If you want to create your own wiki page, go to the class wiki, log in, and click "Create new page". GIve your page a name you will recognize (your name, or perhaps your state). Leave all other settings at their defaults. Then click "Create Page". Edit your page, pasting in any material you will use during your presentation, and click "Save". 2) Use PowerPoint or some other presentation software. If you choose this option, you can e-mail your presentation to yourself and access it in class, or bring it on a flash drive or a CD. Time Limit: Your presentation should not exceed 5 minutes per person, including set-up. Make it interesting and fun for the audience, while still getting across the information you want to convey to them! |