Others Like “Ring of Fire 1: What Volcanoes Tell Us About Plate Tectonics” (top 20 results)
Today it is widely accepted that the Earth's crust consists of a series of huge plates that slowly move. The low parts of the plates are beneath the world's oceans, and the high parts of the plates are landmasses. New plate material is generated at deep sea ocean ridges in a process called sea-floor spreading. Material from plates is also recycled at trenches, where dense, oceanic crust dives back (subducts) underneath an adjacent plate towards the upper mantle. Figure 1 shows a map of the…
The papier-mâché volcano is a real classic, but there are many other ways to make an even more exciting and interesting science project focused on volcanoes!
To get started on your own volcano-based science project, you will want to first have an understanding of how volcanoes form. This is related to tectonic plates. The entire outer shell of the Earth, known as the lithosphere, is made up of tectonic plates that are constantly moving. There are seven or eight large tectonic…
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Did you know that waves travel through the Earth's crust all the time? One major source of these waves is earthquakes, although ground motion can also be caused by something man-made, such as a mine blast or nuclear explosion, or other natural events, such as landslides or volcanic activity.
How does an earthquake cause these waves? The entire outer shell of the Earth, known as the lithosphere, is made up of tectonic plates that are constantly moving. There are seven or eight large…
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Have you ever wondered how fast a seismic wave from an earthquake travels? In this geology science project you can figure this out using historical seismograph data that you can collect from the comfort of your own computer. You will use a web interface to a network of seismometers run by the Northern California Earthquake Data Center, at the University of California, Berkeley. From the seismograms you make, you will be able to measure the time it took for the seismic waves to travel from the…
You can study hazards that affect coastal areas. What geological forces cause a tsunami? A tsunami (Japanese for 'harbor wave') is a wave generated by an undersea earthquake, landslip, or volcanic eruption. You can demonstrate what causes a tsunami by simulating an undersea earthquake with a water table. How does the depth of water effect the height of the wave? Do different slopes of bottom change the speed of the wave? Visit the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program to find out about…
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Here's a project that involves a different kind of sandbox than the ones you usually think of. This one has a moving wall inside, acting like a piston, to compress the sand. You can make layers using two different colors of sand, and then see what happens when you compress the layers with the piston. If you're handy with woodworking tools, this is a good project to give you a feel for the effects of geological forces that deform the Earth's crust.
If you live in an area where earthquakes happen, you might be especially interested in this science project. You will learn how to build your own seismograph and how to use it to detect ground motion.
Our home, Earth, is a living planet. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are proof that the geological forces that shaped our planet and created the land masses are ongoing. An amazing example of geologic activity that is less damaging is a geyser. In this geology science fair project, you will build a model geyser and determine how depth of the source affects how the water is ejected. By the end of this project, you will know a lot more about geysers and understand that a geyser is much more…
How is geology important for our energy resources? Coal, oil, and natural gas are formed by geological processes over millions of years. Certain geological formations can indicate a reservoir of coal, oil, or natural gas. Also, geothermal processes can be used as an energy resource. How are these formations identified? How are the resources extracted? You can use the National Geospatial Program to access, view, and download information from geospatial databases containing a broad spectrum…
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Have you ever heard the expression, "You can't judge a book by its cover"? What do you think that means? That a book with a very plain cover might have a very exciting and interesting story inside? Well, in this geology science project, you'll see if the same expression holds true for a rock, but not just any old rock, a special type of rock called a geode, which looks rather plain and ordinary on the outside, but inside can hold crystals and beautiful colors! You'll discover if the texture or…
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