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History of the Science of Geology (return to top) |
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1. Scientific thought has evolved through the ideas of a stationary and static Earth as geocentric to our present knowledge of a dynamic Earth as a member of the solar system in a minor limb of the Milky Way Galaxy. (AKSci - C.3, C.4, C.8) |
• Write a report that traces evolution of scientific thought and how it has shaped the science of geology. |
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Matter and Minerals (return to top) |
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1. Matter is composed of atoms and molecules that combine to form the basic minerals of our Earth. Each mineral has a set of unique physical properties. (AKSci - A.1) |
• Discuss the composition of matter with a basic understanding of atomic structure and how it relates to geochemistry. • Classify the major mineral groups and identify minerals using their physical properties and chemical analysis. • Demonstrate the difference between minerals and rocks. |
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2. Rocks are the product of the interactions between minerals. Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are classified, identified, and named based upon their mineral composition, formation, and texture. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Construct a chart of Bowen's reaction series and place the different igneous rocks on the chart in the proper places. • Identify different igneous rocks using their textures and mineral content. • Discuss the lithification process and how it occurs on and within the earth the nature of sedimentary environments. • List types of sedimentary rocks including clastic, chemical and organic and explain the nature of sedimentary environments of each. • Identify and categorize sedimentary rocks according to composition and texture. • Illustrate sedimentary structures and explain inferred environments that would produce them. • Construct a demonstration of how fossils are preserved in sedimentary rock and used to correlate sedimentary strata. • Demonstrate processes of metamorphism including agents of heat, pressure and chemically active fluids. • Compare textural and mineralogical changes that take place to alter original rocks to their metamorphic conclusion. • Identify common metamorphic rocks and classify them using composition and texture. • Illustrate relationships between metamorphism and plate tectonics. |
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3. Minerals and rocks have worldwide use and economic importance. (AKSci - D.1) |
• List economic resources found in the three different types of rock. • Students explore the economic value of the Red Dog , Fort Knox Gold, and Usibelli Coal Mining operations. |
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Dynamic Earth (return to top) |
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1. The Earth is composed of layers. (AKSci - A.4) |
• Construct a model of Earth showing the inner structures. • Illustrate different types of plate boundary and explain forces that accompany these boundaries. • Draw a cross-section of the crust at the each of the boundary types and label critical features. • Make a plate puzzle of the earth 250 million years ago, today, and 250 million years in the future. |
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2. The crust sections move very slowly. They may press against one another, causing crustal thickening; pulling apart, creating new ocean floor; or sliding past one another, causing a thinning of the continental plate. The ocean floor plates may slide under continental plates, sinking deep into the earth causing crustal deformation. (AKSci - A.7) |
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3. The crust of the earth, including both the continents and the ocean basins, consist of separate plates that ride on a denser layer of the earth. The slow movement of material within this dense layer results from heat flowing from the deep interior and the action of gravitational forces. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Illustrate by drawing or model current theory on the forces that drive plate tectonics. |
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4. Volcanoes form over unusually hot centers in the interior of the earth, along separating plate boundaries, or near descending plates. Earthquakes also occur along plate boundaries. Both of these can have a significant impact upon human activities. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Diagram different types of volcanoes and using these explain the physical conditions that cause their shape and structure. • Compare different types of earthquakes and discuss the economic effects of each. • Illustrate how the Richter Scale classifies earthquakes. • Explore the Alaskan economy before and after the 1964 earthquake. |
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Reshaping the Earth's Surface (return to top) |
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1. Rocks formed by internal processes are unstable at the earth's surface and are susceptible to processes of weathering and erosion. The net effects of the weathering and erosion processes are soil formation, and a general leveling of the landforms. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Design a demonstration that will illustrate the following; 1. Mass wasting, and creep 2. Mechanical weathering (forces of abrasion, frost action, organisms). • Investigate dissolution, hydrolysis (chemical interaction with water) chemical reactions with oxygen, and airborne or waterborne substances. • Demonstrate on a model effects of weathering and erosion processes showing how landforms are reshaped, sediments moved downslope, and soil is formed. |
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2. Running water, glaciers, and wind are the major erosive agents on the earth's surface. Gravity is the driving force behind these processes. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Show how streams transport material in solution, suspension and in traction. • Demonstrate the results of decreasing gradient on stream erosion and deposition. • Illustrate how movement of glaciers erodes landforms in a characteristic manner. • Design an experiment that shows how ground water forms. • Demonstrate how waves erode the shoreline by pounding and scattering material. • Design a model that shows how different forms of erosion (running water, wind, and ice) would appear in a cross-section of exposed sedimentary rock. |
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3. Soil is a major resource upon which life depends. (AKSci - A.4, A.7) |
• Write a report that explains the importance of soil as a mineral resource to life on earth. |
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Earth History (return to top) |
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1. The earth has a history of at least 4 billion years with continually evolving subsystems. Geologic time is the measurement of time intervals that are punctuated by major changes in the biotic and abiotic environment. (AKSci - A.3) |
• Debate current scientific theories to show how the Universe, Solar System and the Earth could have formed • Construct a time line showing major intervals in earth history, organisms that dominated that unit, and events that opened and closed each unit. • Write a report explaining both absolute and relative geologic dating. Discuss different elements used in radioactive dating, their advantages and limitations. |
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2. The material of the continents is older than that of the ocean floors. (AKSci - A.4) |
• Design a model that illustrates sea floor spreading and explains the idea that continents are older than ocean basins. • Utilize available core data to explain the age of the seafloor using magnetic banding and radioactive dating procedures. |
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3. The materials of the crust have been recycled over and over many times. (AKSci - A.7) |
• Discuss the theory of plate tectonics and different plate boundary types and how they interact. |
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4. Fossils show how life has evolved within the framework of the environment. (AKSci - A.4, A.13) |
• Illustrate how fossils form. Discuss different conditions that favor or hinder fossilization. • Discuss the concept of deposition, and show how different environments result in widely varied deposits. • Show how present day organisms are adapted to their environments and fossil organisms were likewise adapted to individual environments of their time. |
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5. Fossil distribution shows how life has been shaped by plate movement. (AKSci - A.4, A.5) |
• Demonstrate how widely separated similar species of today could have arrived at this distribution through plate movement. • Using the idea of plate movement show how climates can dramatically be changed thereby creating new adaptive zones where new species can develop. |
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6. Evolution is the theory that explains how life has changed through time. (AKSci - A.13, C.1) |
• Demonstrate the idea that there is an evolution of fossils in the strata. • Using the Law of Superposition show how it leads us to the observation that the lower in the sedimentary column we go the more primitive the life forms. |
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