Halflife
The applet lists a "halflife" for each radioactive isotope. What does that mean? The halflife is the amount of time it takes for half of the atoms in a sample to decay. The halflife for a given isotope is always the same ; it doesn't depend on how many atoms you have or on how long they've been sitting around. For example, the applet will tell you that the halflife of beryllium 11 is 13.81 seconds. Hmmm...so a lot of decays happen really fast when there are lots of atoms, and then things slow down when there aren't so many. That's exactly right. Notice how the decays are fast and furious at the beginning and slow down over time; you can see this both from the color changes in the top window and from the graph. You'll also notice that the pattern of atoms in the top picture is random-looking, and different each time you run the applet, but the graph below always has the same shape.
Mineral Properties, Uses and Descriptions
Diamond Diopside Dolomite Enstatite Epidote Fluorite Fuchsite Galena Garnet Glauconite Gold Graphite Gypsum
INDEPTH | HURRICANE KATRINA
Hurricane Katrina began as a very low pressure weather system, which strengthened to become a tropical storm and eventually a hurricane as it moved west and neared the Florida coast on the evening of 25 August. Animated guide: How Hurricanes form After crossing southern Florida - where it left some 100,000 homes without power - it strengthened further before veering inland towards Louisiana, eventually making landfall at Grand Isle, approximately 90km south of New Orleans, at 10am local time on 29 August. At this point, Katrina's sustained wind speed was approximately 200 km/h. The storm passed directly through New Orleans, destroying many lighter buildings and causing extensive damage to others. Hurricane force winds were recorded along a 200km stretch of coastline, with scenes of similar destruction and flooding in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Earthquake Science Explained--A Series of Ten Short Articles for Students, Teachers, and Families
Recent images of massive earthquake-induced waves washing away entire towns or buildings reduced to rubble by the violent shaking of Earth’s crustal plates have underlined, all too painfully, the importance of understanding our dynamic and ever-changing Earth. These natural earthquake hazards will always be with us, but the consequences are not inevitable—if we prepare for them. An essential part of that preparation is education. Education is the key to ensuring that people take appropriate actions when living in earthquakeprone areas and for supporting policies and decisions that will save lives and property. Earthquake Science Explained is a series of short articles for students, teachers, and parents originally published as weekly features in The San Francisco Chronicle. We encourage you to explore this informative publication as well as the U.S.
Videos - Geology
Geology may be a science that moves very slowly, but a number of videos bring the subject to life for students. Education World compiled some great videos that will get kids excited about the topic. For each one, we include a description and grade level. The Geology and Formation of the Western Land of U.S. Source: World-earthquakes.com. Grade level: Sixth grade or higher Run time: 44:59 Description: This rather dramatic video shows geology in action—specifically, how the western part of the United States came to look the way it does. Cool factor: Not as cool as some, but dramatizations of geologic activities add interest. National Geographic Colliding Continents Source: National Geographic Grade level: All ages Run time: 50:05 Description: This video is a documentary of the Earth’s violent past and the movement of the tectonic plates. Cool factor: The video offers all the necessary drama to get students excited about Earth’s geologic changes. Geology Kitchen: What is a Mineral? Run time: 5:44
Science Education News: HHMI Debuts EarthViewer App for iPad
EarthViewer shows continental arrangements as they shift through time—including Pangea from 215 million years ago.Have you ever wanted to go back in time to see what the Earth looked like 400 million years ago? You can with the EarthViewer, a free, interactive app designed for the iPad, that lets users explore the Earth’s history with the touch of a finger by scrolling through 4.5 billion years of geological evolution. The app, developed by HHMI’s BioInteractive team, tracks the planet’s continental shifts, compares changes in climate as far back as the planet’s origin, and explores the Earth’s biodiversity over the last 540 million years. It combines visual analysis with hard data, and helps students make connections between geological and biological change. Download the HHMI EarthViewer app from the App Store. We're very interested in how the app can be used in formal education. Dennis Liu “We're very interested in how the app can be used in formal education.
This Dynamic Earth--Contents [USGS]
View of the planet Earth from the Apollo spacecraft. The Red Sea, which separates Saudi Arabia from the continent of Africa, is clearly visible at the top. (Photograph courtesy of NASA.) Ordering Instructions This book was originally published in paper form in February 1996 (design and coordination by Martha Kiger; illustrations and production by Jane Russell). U.S. or it can be ordered directly from the U.S. Call toll-free 1-888-ASK-USGS Or write to USGS Information Services Box 25286, Building 810 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 303-202-4700; Fax 303-202-4693 Version History Version 1.20 The online edition contains all text from the original book in its entirety. Linked Websites Please visit the Smithsonian Institution This Dynamic Planet website. See also This Dynamic Planet, the map showing the Earth's physiographic features, current plate movements, and locations of volcanoes, earthquakes, and impact craters.
GSA EarthCache - An Introduction
How to Have Fun & Learn about the Earth at EarthCache™ Sites Visiting an EarthCache site is a great way to learn more about our wonderful world. It can take you to many places that you would not normally visit, and teach you about why those places are special or unique. EarthCache sites can also teach you and your family important skills such as navigation and map reading. What better way to learn than to have fun exploring on this wonderful planet we call Earth! What do I need to visit an EarthCache site? You need a Global Positional System Receiver (GPSr or GPS for short). How do I find my first EarthCache? Once you have your GPS unit and have practiced entering latitude and longitude coordinates, just go to the EarthCache listings. Print out that page. Enter the latitude and longitude for the EarthCache site into your GPS. Your GPS should be able to place you within 20 feet of the EarthCache site. Now I have found my EarthCache site, what do I do? Can I develop my own EarthCache site?
