Craig Messerman
Very nice website! The classroom activities, while very comprehensive, are a bit too canned and touchy-feely for my tastes. I see the earthquake machine as a perfect tool for open-ended or guided inquiry. Why not guide students in collecting the data used to create animation #2 and 3? Each cm of hand motion could represent a year of time, and students could stop after each earthquake to measure block motion. Use a spring scale or force sensor to measure strain build-up and you've got huge potential for a great inquiry lab. [Tom, let's start building!]
Craig Messerman
Sentinel High School, Missoula, Montana
growing collection of video clips and animations that she has
created. See: http://www.iris.edu/about/ENO/aotw/
This week's animations and clips describe the block-and-sandpaper
model and show how it can be used to teach the concept of "elastic
rebound." In addition to geology and tectonics, earthquakes can
provide a useful context for teaching or reviewing many basic physics
concepts, such as sliding and static friction, forms of energy and
conversion from one form to another, and the elastic properties of materials.
Cheers,
John
#################################/ John C. Lahr
################################/ Emeritus Seismologist
###############################/ U.S. Geological Survey
==========================/ Central Region Geologic Hazards Team
#############################//#################################
############################//##################################
PO Box 548 /###################################
Corvallis, Oregon 97339 /===============================
Phone: (541) 758-2699 /####################################
Cell: (541) 740-4844 /#####################################
Fax: (413) 658-2699 /######################################
johnjan<at>lahr.org /#######################################
http://jclahr.com/science/
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<<<< GWAVASIG >>>>
Craig Messerman
Sentinel High School, Missoula, Montana
Jenda Johnson has started posting an "Animation of the Week" from theJohn Lahr <johnjan<at>lahr.org> 11/16/07 11:41 AM >>>
growing collection of video clips and animations that she has
created. See: http://www.iris.edu/about/ENO/aotw/
This week's animations and clips describe the block-and-sandpaper
model and show how it can be used to teach the concept of "elastic
rebound." In addition to geology and tectonics, earthquakes can
provide a useful context for teaching or reviewing many basic physics
concepts, such as sliding and static friction, forms of energy and
conversion from one form to another, and the elastic properties of materials.
Cheers,
John
#################################/ John C. Lahr
################################/ Emeritus Seismologist
###############################/ U.S. Geological Survey
==========================/ Central Region Geologic Hazards Team
#############################//#################################
############################//##################################
PO Box 548 /###################################
Corvallis, Oregon 97339 /===============================
Phone: (541) 758-2699 /####################################
Cell: (541) 740-4844 /#####################################
Fax: (413) 658-2699 /######################################
johnjan<at>lahr.org /#######################################
http://jclahr.com/science/
_______________________________________________
irised mailing list
irised<at>iris.washington.edu
http://www.iris.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/irised
Notice: This e-mail may contain confidential information belonging to the sender which is privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, delete it without copying it and immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail. Thank you.
<<<< GWAVASIG >>>>
-
Hi Craig,
Thanks for the feedback and ideas! Our experience using the
Earthquake Machine Lite set-up, with both teachers and students,
suggests that the fact that there are so many variable that one can
alter (try adding a salt to a patch of the sand paper, add weight to
the blocks, change the thickness of the rubber bands, vary the
sandpaper grit etc.) is what makes this lab so exciting. However,
exploring these many variables and determining which data is worth
collecting can quickly become overwhelming for first time users. As
a result, this can greatly distract from the core concepts that you
ultimately want students to take away from the exercise.
Thus in the activities posted comprehensiveness was definitely what
we were after. Savvy teachers are very likely to modify anything you
given them to fit their particular situation (that is what makes
them good). Other teachers (the vast majority of ES teachers in the
US are uncertified in ES) could probably use a bit more guidance
along the way to help them get started understanding and using the
model, and their students could use concepts that scale-up. The
activities are sequenced such that Activity 1 helps students gain an
understanding of the model (like and unlike reality), and the elastic
rebound theory, while Activity #2 does what you suggest (guided
inquiry and data collection around the three hypothesis on the site)
but only with one block. If you do design a two block lab, please
share it with us, as we would love to review it and explore how it
might connect to the sequence.
Depending on the age of the students you are targeting for a two
block lab, you might examine the open-ended two block lab that Jeff
Barker of Binghamton University has designed for students in his 100
level Earth's Dynamic Interior class. Jeff uses the older, less
convenient board with a crank apparatus version of the model but the
lab would still apply to the version. http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/
~jbarker/labs.html
Let us know how the experimenting goes!
Best Wishes,
Michael
---------------------------------
Michael Hubenthal
Education Specialist
IRIS Consortium
607-777-4612
www.IRIS.edu
hubenth<at>iris.edu
On Nov 17, 2007, at 1:39 PM, Craig Messerman wrote:
Very nice website! The classroom activities, while very
---------------------------------
comprehensive, are a bit too canned and touchy-feely for my tastes.
I see the earthquake machine as a perfect tool for open-ended or
guided inquiry. Why not guide students in collecting the data used
to create animation #2 and 3? Each cm of hand motion could
represent a year of time, and students could stop after each
earthquake to measure block motion. Use a spring scale or force
sensor to measure strain build-up and you've got huge potential for
a great inquiry lab. [Tom, let's start building!]
Craig Messerman
Sentinel High School, Missoula, Montana
Jenda Johnson has started posting an "Animation of the Week" from theJohn Lahr <johnjan<at>lahr.org> 11/16/07 11:41 AM >>>
growing collection of video clips and animations that she has
created. See: http://www.iris.edu/about/ENO/aotw/
This week's animations and clips describe the block-and-sandpaper
model and show how it can be used to teach the concept of "elastic
rebound." In addition to geology and tectonics, earthquakes can
provide a useful context for teaching or reviewing many basic physics
concepts, such as sliding and static friction, forms of energy and
conversion from one form to another, and the elastic properties of
materials.
Cheers,
John
#################################/ John C. Lahr
################################/ Emeritus Seismologist
###############################/ U.S. Geological Survey
==========================/ Central Region Geologic Hazards Team
#############################//#################################
############################//##################################
PO Box 548 /
###################################
Corvallis, Oregon 97339 /===============================
Phone: (541) 758-2699 /
####################################
Cell: (541) 740-4844 /
#####################################
Fax: (413) 658-2699 /
######################################
johnjan<at>lahr.org /
#######################################
http://jclahr.com/science/
_______________________________________________
irised mailing list
irised<at>iris.washington.edu
http://www.iris.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/irised
Notice: This e-mail may contain confidential information belonging
to the sender which is privileged. The information is intended
only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you
are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in
reliance on the contents of this information is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error,
delete it without copying it and immediately notify the sender by
reply e-mail. Thank you.
<<<< GWAVASIG >>>>
_______________________________________________
irised mailing list
irised<at>iris.washington.edu
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Michael Hubenthal
Education Specialist
IRIS Consortium
607-777-4612
www.IRIS.edu
hubenth<at>iris.edu
Michael Hubenthal
