Sink holes have been in the news in the UK over the last few weeks. Our ELI about this topic is 'Sink hole! Demonstrate sink hole processes in action'.
Sink holes commonly form over limestone bedrock, but also develop where the underlying materials are even more soluble, such as rock salt and gypsum deposits. This classroom activity models the dissolving of underground materials and the impacts this can have at the surface.
Other activities can be found in our natural hazards category.
The new ELI today is 'When did the poles ‘flip’? Simulating how the Earth’s Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale was established.'
This activity can be used to help teach students to understand how the pattern of ocean floor anomalies (magnetic stripes) can be dated; something they rarely appreciate. It might be used prior to a lesson on the palaeomagnetic evidence for plate tectonics on the ocean floor.
Related activities can be found in our Plate tectonics and Oceanography categories.
The ELI today is - Marie Tharp: "The valley will be coming up soon". Bruce Heezen: "What valley?" ‘A woman scientist in a man’s world’ – what was it like?
Marie Tharp identified oceanic rift valleys. She is one of the key figures not only of early oceanography but also in the development of plate tectonic theory. The activity helps pupils to think what it might have been like to be a female scientist at a time when science was dominated by men.
Related activities can be found in our Oceanography and Plate tectonics categories.
We continue our ocean floor theme with 'Model a spreading ocean floor offset by transform faults; a model of the transform fault ‘steps’ in oceanic ridges and their magnetic stripes'.
The new ELI today is 'Laser Quest 1 – below the waves; seeing evidence for plate tectonics beneath the oceans - using echo sounding'.
This activity is a simulation to demonstrate the principle behind the echo sounding method of mapping the ocean floor topography.
Related activities can be found in the 'Oceanography' and 'Plate tectonics' categories.
The ELI today is 'Measuring the depths of seas and oceans: How is it done? - a simple demonstration of how we measure sea floor depths and relief'.
Related activities can be found in our Oceanography category.
Today's ELI is 'Continental split – the opening of the Atlantic Ocean; modelling how the continents moved, from Pangaea to today'.
This is a scissors and paper activity modelling the relative positions and movements of the continents as the ocean floor spreads either side of an oceanic ridge.
Other activities related to constructive or divergent plate margins can be seen in our Plate Tectonics category.
Our ELI today is about flooding 'Flood through the window - what would you see, how would you feel? Pupils picture for themselves what a major flood through the window might look like'.
Related activities can be found in our Natural Hazards category.