The good and bad of volcanoes

In class we started our new unit, volcanoes. Last week we watched a video that followed scientists monotoring Mt Pinatubo in 1991. Thanks to their dedication and careful eye, they were able to evacuate the villages and military bases nearby. 

Today, we wrapped up questions from the video and discussed the good, the bad and where they occur (thankfully not here in NJ!). Tomorrow we will look at the structure of the volcano and the types of volcanoes that can occur.

You will have a quiz FRIDAY- start looking over your notes now!

When faults move

Today we simulated faults moving by apply force to move blocks that were attatched with velcro. Your data should have shown that more force was needed to move the block when friction was increased. No friction - then the block moved much easier.

Homework! Finish questions from the fault activity

Heating things up

By now you should be able to explain that the continents were once all together and that the ocean floor is spreading in some places. Now you can explain why this is all possible- CONVECTION! The same idea that causes wind and ocean currents can now explain what causes earthquakes and volcanoes. To understand this better we modeled convection currents using a special liquid and a candle.

We also made a study tool for tomorrow's notes on the layers of the Earth. If you did not finish you will have time to complete after your quiz.

QUIZ TOMORROW- Study pgs 24, 25, 27 and 29

Yesterday we started looking at evidence that the continents were once connected into one giant landmass. To do this we plotted fossils found on various continents, including Antartica. Today we discussed how this could have happened IF the continents were never joined. There were some creative responses- inlcluding plants that could swim and the popular alien idea.

Through this activity we were able to understand that the only possible explanation is that the continents were once one landmass. We still don't have the why/how they separated. That will come Monday!

Finish up your supercontinent and questions for homework.

Looking at earthquakes

Up to this point, we have focused on what earthquakes are, how we detect them and how they are measured. Now we are going to start trying to answer that nagging question that everyone keeps asking - Why do they happen?

To answer this question we need to understand where they occur. In class today we discovered that there are patterns in their locations, but not always. We also highlighted the 3 major belts for seismic activity: Ring of Fire, Mid- Atlantic Ridge, and the Mediterranean-Himalyan Belt.

Tomorrow, we are going to work on how the plate tectonic theory all came about.

HOMEWORK! Complete the questions using your plate boundary map

Measuring earthquakes

Seismologists assign values for the amount of energy and the damage caused during an earthquake. We use the term magnitude to describe the energy and intensity to describe the observations that are seen or felt. Magnitude is measured using the Richter scale and intensity is measured using the Modified Mercalli scale. In class today we used the scale to assign a value based on observations from 28 cities. Once that was completed we were able to locate the zone for each value by encircling the towns for each value.

Homework!  Use your map on pg 23 to write your summary on pg 22. Be sure to answer the following questions in your summary:



• What cities were closest to the epicenter of the earthquake?


• Approximately how wide was the zone with a rating of a V or higher?


• How were you able to determine all of this? (What did you do?)


• Discuss some possible sources of error when working with the Mercalli scale to locate the epicenter of an earthquake.

Recording seismic data

Last week we investigated how a seismograoh works and how to read a seismogram. Today we wrapped up our lesson by looking at how seismologist use this data to find the epicenter.

Most damage during an earthquake comes from structures affected by the shaking. We discussed improvements that could be made in our classroom to minimize damage and keep us safe. BONUS!! On a separate piece of paper complete a safety check of your house. Choose one room or the whole thign- tell me what improvements you could make to keep damage to a minimum. This is an optional homework

Homework (everyone is to complete): Study guide questions for test on Wednesday, October 5. This page will go in your notebook on pg 19.