Scott Baitz

INTRODUCTION: Since the early 19th Century, people have thought about the jigsaw fit of the continents. South America and Africa appear as though they could fit together. Geologists have collected data that indicate that the continents are on separate "plates" of Earth's crust. Direct measurements of the relative motions of the continents have now shown that these semi-rigid plates are able to move toward or away from each other. They may also rotate. These motions are often associated with new

INTRODUCTION: The United States Weather Service is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Data is received from about 600 stations in the United States, as well as from foreign countries and from ships at sea. This information is transmitted to centers every three hours, beginning at I A.M. The centers then plot the information on synoptic maps which are used to predict any weather changes. Various hazardous weather conditions are threats to different geograph

INTRODUCTION: Waves that break on a shoreline are generally produced by the wind. As wind blows over the surface of a body of water, some of the wind's energy is transferred to the water surface. Waves can also be created by undersea earthquakes and by the gravitational effect of the moon. Surface ocean currents are primarily formed by wind. These continuous flows of water can be modified by Earth's rotation and the positions of land masses. OBJECTIVE: Simulating wave forming conditions in smal

INTRODUCTION: Of some 3,000 known minerals, only about a dozen, called "common rock" forming minerals," make up most of the earth's crust. They are identified in the field with a few simple physical tests and observations. This is possible because the physical properties are remarkably constant in a mineral no matter how old it is or where it was formed. In addition to physical tests, there are also some useful diagnostic chemical tests that can be used in mineral identification. OBJECTIVE: You

INTRODUCTION: Energy comes to us from our sun and other stars in the form of electromagnetic energy. The visible portion of the total spectrum of energy received can be analyzed by using a spectroscope. Dark absorption lines can be observed which can be used to identify a star's properties such as its composition, velocity, and direction of movement. OBJECTIVE: You will observe spectrograms of light sources produced by several different gases and by the sun. Properties of stars will be determin

INTRODUCTION In the eartly1600's Galileo using the first telescope observed dark spots on the face of the sun, known as sunspots. Sunspots are regions that are cooler in temperature fuan the surrounding snrface. Usually they are found to occur in pairs. He observed that these sunspots lasted from several days up to a month and appeared to move across the surface of the sun. Accurate records have been kept of the number of sunspots for over 200 years. In this laboratory exercise, you will deter

INTRODUCTION In previous lab investigations and class work you have studied how to locate positions on the earth's surface and how to construct a contour map from a three dimensional model. In this lab exercise you will interpret and analyze an actual topographic map. OBJECTIVES Using a topographic map of Bear Mountain you will: 1. Determine contour interval, elevations, and gradient 2. Determine direction of stream flow 3. Construct two profiles between points on the map

INTRODUCTION Suppose you sat outside on a clear night gazing up at the stars. Imagine that the sky is a dome touching the ground around you at the horizon. The stars are pointq oflight on the dome's curved surface. If you were to view the dome of stars on a regular basis throughout the year, you would notice that the stars move. Like the sun's motion, the star's apparent motions in the sky are caused by the daily rotation of Earth on its axis and the yearly revolution of Earth in its orbit arou

Students will correlate different rock layers, using index fossils, with one another to determine the geologic history of an area

INTRODUCTION Weather maps provide a meteorologist with a great variety of weather information over a large region. This information gives you the current weather conditions at a particular location and can be used to predict future weather changes. Temperature is one of the most important components of predicting weather. To better understand the temperature variations over large area meteorologists draw lines connecting all points of equal temperatures. These lines are called isotherms. OBJEC

INTRODUCTION: Sedimentary rocks are formed from accumulated sediments. Most sedimentary rocks are formed from materials that have been deposited in calm water. Often some of the characteristics of the sediments are retained in sedimentary rocks. Geologists classify sedimentary rocks into two groups: elastic (those formed mechanically) and non-elastic (those formed chemically and/or organically). OBJECTIVE: You will investigate the properties by which different types of sedimentary rocks can be i

INTRODUCTION: In previous exercises, you have studied latitude and longitude, compass direc­tion, the field quantity of elevation and horizontal distance scales. In addition, topographic maps show many natural and manmade features. OBJECTIVE: You will apply your knowledge of contour mapping to interpret actual topo­graphic map.

INTRODUCTION: Very often we want to know the size of objects that are either too large or too small to measure directly. In these cases an indirect method must be used that usually involves a ratio between the size of something we can measure and the size of the object we are trying to measure. As recently as the 1400's many people believed Earth to be flat. It is interesting to note that in 240 B.C., Eratosthenses, a Greek geographer, believed Earth to be round and made an accurate estimate of

INTRODUCTION A number of different factors determine the rate at which a particle settles in water. One factor is particle shape. In general, spherical particles settle more rapidly than flat or disk-shaped particles. Particle size and particle density are also factors that can determine settling rate. In this laboratory you will write an hypothesis about the relationship between particle size and settling rate. Then you will test your hypothesis by performing an experiment. OBJECTIVES 1.To o

INTRODUCTION: Earth's surface varies in both chemical and physical properties. The wave-length of solar radiation that is absorbed by an earth material is changed and re-radiated as heat. The characteristics of the surface determine what happens to the incoming solar radiation. OBJECTIVE: You will determine how the surface characteristics of a material affect the relative rates of energy absorption and radiation MATERIALS: White Can Black Can Thermometers Styrofoam Lid Lamp

INTRODUCTION: Approximately 70 percent of Earth's surface is covered by water. The unequal rates of the heating of land and water cause temperature conditions which significantly affect local and world-wide weather patterns. OBJECTIVE: You will be able to describe the comparative rates at which water and land surfaces heat and cool. MATERIALS: Cups Ringstand Lamp Thermometers Soil Water

INTRODUCTION: This lab will demonstrate how currents caused by differences in density transfer heat through fluids. This method of energy transfer is believed to occur in Earth's mantle below the lithosphere and also occurs in the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Within the atmosphere, differences in temperature cause the density variations that result in convective flow. This causes the basic forces that drive winds. OBJECTIVE: You should be able to predict convection patterns in fluids and describ

INTRODUCTION: The troposphere is not warmed directly by the short wavelengths of light passing through it. However, it is warmed by energy of infrared wavelengths re-radiated from the earth's surface. The model used in this lab will simulate some of the characteristics of Earth and its atmosphere. OBJECTIVE: You will determine how the atmosphere affects energy being re-radiated from Earth. Materials Cups Thermometers Plastic Hemispheres Heat Lamps

INTRODUCTION: At the present technological level of space exploration, people have actually observed Earth's rotation on its axis from space, However, no person has been able to observe the actual revolution of Earth around the sun, The concept of Earth's revolution around the sun has been inferred from observations of the apparent motions of the celestial bodies we see from Earth. OBJECTIVE: You will learn why the seasons, constellations seen at night, and the length of daylight change through

INTRODUCTION: Modern weather satellites may be launched into a geosynchronous orbit in which they move 15° every hour. They seem to be stationary to an observer on Earth. This lab considers a hypothetical situation in which NASA launched two weather satellites. The launch into orbit was successful. However, when the booster rockets were fired to place them in their geosynchronous orbits1 there was a small directional error on one of the two satel­lites. As a result, that satellite went into an