'Make your own rock; investigating how loose sediment may be stuck together to form a ‘rock’'
The activity could form part of a lesson dealing with sedimentary rocks and how they are formed. It may also have applications to local building materials.
Many activities about sedimentary rocks and their role in the rock cycle can be found by using the search engine or alphabetical index on our website.
Our new ELI today is the first in a series about mapping the ocean and sea floors. 'Measuring the depths of seas and oceans: How is it done? A simple demonstration of how we measure sea floor depths and relief'
This activity demonstrates both ancient and modern methods of measuring and profiling sea and ocean floor depths.
Other activities about ocean and sea floors can be found on our website.
An outdoor-based thought experiment to show how Earth scientists use evidence from rock sequences to understand past environments. Pupils develop their understanding of the Principle of Uniformitarianism (the present is the key to the past), first developed by scientists in the late 1700s.
Many more activities for outdoor work can be found on our website - search for 'fieldwork'.
The new ELI today is the last in our series of What drives the plates? - 'What drives the plates? Modelling slab pull; modelling and discussing the slab pull plate-driving mechanism in the classroom'
Different ways of modelling the slab pull plate-driving mechanism are used in classroom discussion. Seismic wave velocity measurements show that some subducting plates sink right down to near the mantle/core boundary, pulling the surface part of the plate behind them.
Many more activities about plate tectonics can be found on our website.