Continental Drift Lab - Wegener's Plate Tectonics

If you need a fresh copy of the Wegener's Plate Tectonics lab (lab #4) you can find it here at Discovery Education

To finish the lab, you'll need a map of Antarctica that inlcudes all the fossil locations mentioned:

• Prince Harald Coast
• Oates Coast
• Wilhelm II Coast (Kaiser Wilhelm Land)

Other maps that might be helpful can be found here, here and here.

Homework: Geocentric vs. Heliocentric

Our view of the Solar System (and the universe) has changed over time.

This assignment will help you understand how identical observations can lead to different inferences.

Your assignment includes brief answers to each of the following:

1. What is the difference between the Geocentric and Heliocentric models of our solar system?
   
2. How were the observed orbits of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) explained in the Geocentric model?
3. How were the observed orbits of the planets explained in the Heliocentric model?
4. Explain one of the following terms and how it is related to this assignment:
   Celestial Sphere, Elliptical orbit, parallax, Almagest, Aristotle's Ether, equant, epicycles, Occam's razor, superior planets, inferior planets, transit, clockwork universe, cosmology
   

You will submit your answer on this blog as a comment to this post that includes your name (or no credit will be given) by clicking on the comment link below.

Your response MUST also include a link to the source of your information (wikipedia is not an acceptable source) if you found it on-line or the printed source (book, magazine,etc), cited in the format you learned in Mr. Brown's class.

This assignment is due by 9:00 am, Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, November 4th.

Elementary, my dear Tierney

New York Times blogger John Tierney put out a challenge last week: match a list of chemical element to the products in which they are found.

The Times will award a prize to the reader who correctly makes all the matches and provides the best short essay on the hobby of element-collecting (see the blog entry for an explanation):

• The most misunderstood chemical element is . . . .
• The coolest element to be stranded on a desert island with would be . . .

Take the quiz and send me an email with proof that you submitted it for a 20% bonus on your next quiz.

Latitude and Longitude Lookup Links

You can look up any world city using an Atlas (the library has several) or even an almanac, but there are several sites that can help you quickly find the assigned latitude and longitude:

• Google Earth is about the best tool yo ucan use, since it will display the place you are looking up as well as show you where it is on the Earth.
  
• lat-long.com
  
• WorldAtlas.com
• Sat-Sig.net

HW: Tracking Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Visit the USGS World Earthquake Map and enter data for any three earthquakes
Then visit the USGS Volcano activity page and enter data for any three recent volcanic events.

Planets Project resources

Here are some links you may find helpful for your project - great resources for information and images.
Remember that you are required to properly cite any information or images you use):

• NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL)'s Welcome to the Planets is one of the best source for images and information you can find
  


• The Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum has a site for Exploring the Planets
  


• Pluto is no longer a "planet", but it's not forgotten: The Planets and Dwarf Planets (from NASA)
  


• Solar System Exploration: The Planets (from NASA)
  


• Rochester for Kids, students resources: Astronomy for Kids
  


• nineplanets.com and nineplanets for kids
  


• World Book at NASA for Kids