Posted by David Wetzel
Natural Disasters
Everyday natural disasters occur somewhere in the world. Disasters are caused by flooding, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, and more.
Students rarely have the ability to view the effects of natural disasters, except on TV.
However, there is one technology that is available for students to watch natural disasters occur or see the effects after they have occurred.
This technology is called Google Earth. Using this free technology, students get a bird’s eye view of a natural disaster area with remarkable high resolution.
This technology was only available to scientists and government officials until recently. Teachers and students now have access to this technology and they can investigate the cause and effect of any natural disaster in the world.
Google Earth
When word of a natural disaster is unfolding somewhere in the world and announced on the news, students can use Google Earth to conduct an investigation of the disaster’s effect.
If enough warning is given, examples are a hurricane or typhoon; students can view the expected land fall areas before they strike. Then students can view the effects after the hurricane or typhoon passes through the area.
Natural Disasters
Students can investigate using Google Earth, include:
Volcano Eruptions – investigation lava flows and impact on surrounding vegetation.
Earthquakes – especially in populated areas, investigating the impact on human development and land masses.
Major Floods – investigate floods, along with watershed cause and effects.
Tsunamis – investigate the destructive power of Tsunamis, by comparing before and after images of the seashore and surrounding landscape.
Wild Fires – investigate and track the spread of wild fires anywhere in the world to determine the effect, when compared to previous data.
Droughts – monitor the effect on vegetation, rivers, and watersheds as droughts continue over a period of time.
Blizzards – investigate the effect when blizzards cover a large region, such as the east coast blizzard of 1995.
Tornadoes – investigate the damage caused by a tornadoes’ impact on areas populated by humans, comparing the different levels of tornadoes.
Additional Information and Resources
Natural Disasters and Investigating Causes
Understanding Scientific Inquiry
20 Questions to Ask Students in Science Projects
Google Earth
Posted by David Wetzel
Science in Your Watershed
The science in your watershed website is provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to assist teachers and students find scientific information about specific watersheds.
This information, coupled with observations and measurements made by the watershed groups, provides a powerful foundation for characterizing, assessing, analyzing, and maintaining the status and health of a watershed.
Science in Your Watershed
Discussions with watershed groups across the country resulted in this web site. This web site provides access to:
- Locate Your Watershed - use an interactive mapping interface to locate your watershed and link to additional information from your watershed.
- Information Discovery - find projects, publications, and databases related to your watershed.
- Data Integration - learn more about how you can use scientific data to understand your watershed.
This web site provides a decision-support process by making accessible recent case studies of projects that have occurred, publications that have been produced, developing databases, information assembled, and provides access to free and nearly free software and tools for manipulating spatial information.
Posted by David Wetzel
Composting
Composting can be accomplished in the home by using a large heavy duty plastic trash can with the bottom cut open and with holes in the sides. Types and designs of composting bins vary based on the level of composting.
The compost bin is typically placed in the back yard for convenience and because the compost bin tends to smell as the organic material placed in the bin decomposes. Creating compost is important because it becomes natural high-quality soil used for growing plants and trees; providing them with nutrients and helping to retain moisture.
Building a Composting Column in the Classroom for Investigation
This investigation is designed to allow students to build their own decomposition column for discovering how the compost process works. The compost column investigation is designed to take at least 2 months; however, it can be used as a year long science project.
Materials:
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3 two liter bottles per group
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2 cups of dirt
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ML measuring cup
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Duct tape
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Fruit and vegetable scraps from home
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Newspaper (to cover table when constructing the compost column and for placing small pieces of newspaper in the compost)
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Plastic bag pieces
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Scissors
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Rubber band
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Nylon stocking or other fine mesh cloth
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Xacto knife
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Celsius thermometer
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Plastic spoon
Procedures:
- Using the the xacto knife cut the three bottles as shown in “A” ( see the image to the right).
- Cut several 2 cm by 1 cm holes in bottle 1 for air ventilation of the compost column.
- Place a piece of nylon or fine mesh cloth over the cap opening of the bottle 2. Use the rubber band to hold it in place.
- Make sure the bottles fit together as shown in “B” before moving on to the following steps.
- Place alternating layers of dirt and food scraps in bottle 2. Also, place some pieces of newspaper and plastic within the layers of dirt and food scraps.
- Tape bottle 1 and 2 together as shown “B” using thin strips of duct tape. Place the two taped bottles on top of bottle 3.
- Pour enough water through the opening at the top of the compost column to ensure the dirt is moist (be careful to make the dirt moist and do not over water)
- Record what food scraps, amount of newspaper and plastic, amount of water used, temperature of compost dirt when complete, and observations of the compost when complete.
- Once a week record date, temperature of compost dirt (Celsius), amount of water in bottom (ML) and pour the water into the top of the compost column after measuring, any odor, evidence of organisms, all observations of the compost column, take digital pictures for the project report when significant changes occur, use the plastic spoon to mix the compost after collecting all data for the week
Making Connections:
When the project is complete prepare a multimedia presentation of the project to show the class and write a report about the compost column investigation.
Information required as minimum for the multimedia presentation include:
- Materials used
- Types and amount of food scraps used
- What happened to the newspaper and plastic in the compost column
- What if any organisms were found
- Pictures of compost column throughout the investigation
- Amounts of any water and/or dirt added throughout the investigation
- Any other information you group wants to share about their investigation
Resources:
Student - Composting at Home
Teacher - Science Projects Using Multimedia Resources
