Interactive Periodic Table

P-table has a rich history stretching back to September 1997, a year before the founding of Google. It was introduced as a piece of HTML artwork and published to the web October 1, 1997. Simple dictionary element descriptions were added later in December. A version utilizing HTML 4 and CSS was introduced March 1999 and replaced the original version September 2004. Wikipedia integration and the addition of other languages came in August 2005. Dynamic layout switching was later added in September. The first low resolution-friendly layout (no names) came in October 2006. Interactivity was radically enhanced throughout summer 2007 and continues into the present day. The color scheme was tweaked to be friendly to non-deuteranomalous individuals with interactive assistance from Kasey and Heather. Enjoy historic versions. http://www.ptable.com/ Dayah, M. (1997, October 1). Dynamic Periodic Table. Retrieved August 27, 2013, from Ptable: http://www.ptable.com

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Marking the culmination of a three-year, multiphase process, on April 10th, 2013, a 26-state consortium released the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a detailed description of the key scientific ideas and practices that all students should learn by the time they graduate from high school.

Print copies of the Next Generation Science Standards are available for pre-order now or you can view the online version at nextgenscience.org

The standards are based largely on the 2011 National Research Council report A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas.

Plate Boundaries and Earthquakes

Is the Earth's crust like a Pizza?

This is a key to the Triangulation Exercise developed by Ortiz.

Simulations of Plate Tectonics

http://www.chathamcentralschools.com/hs/academic_dept/Science/Schaefer/graham%20cracker%20plate%20tectonics%20lab%20activity.pdf


 The theory of plate tectonics states that the crust of the Earth is composed of 7 major plates and numerous smaller plates. These plates move on the top of the hot plastic upper mantle known as the asthenosphere. This theory also says that most of these plates are in motion, creating a variety of interactions at the plate boundaries. At the plate boundaries, plates may converge (collide), diverge (separate), or slide past each other in a lateral motion. In addition, some plates may appear to be inactivity. The purpose of this lab is to demonstrate interactions of plate boundaries.

My students are doing two labs today.

From Snack Tectonics:  http://jclahr.com/science/earth_science/cr06/workshop/activities/snack/snack_tectonics.html

Identifying Rocks

http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/a/Rock-Tables.htm 

http://www.minsocam.org/msa/collectors_corner/id/rock_key.htm

 

Identifying Rocks
Identifying rocks are based on observations. Identifying rocks is less critical in some ways than identifying minerals. A dense, gray mineral is either galena or it isn't. On the other hand, sandstone can grade into siltstone, limestone into dolostone, gabbro into diorite. If a rock is on the borderline between two types, it's usually not all that critical where you place it to name it.

Models and Simulations: Rocks

Models, simulations, and analogues.

http://stanford.library.usyd.edu.au/archives/spr2009/entries/models-science/#OntWhaMod  

Models are vehicles for learning about the world. Significant parts of scientific investigation are carried out on models rather than on reality itself because by studying a model we can discover features of and ascertain facts about the system the model stands for; in brief, models allow for surrogative reasoning (Swoyer 1991).

For instance, we study the nature of Rocks and Minerals, the dynamics of the rock cycle, or the behavior of elements forming molecules by studying their respective models. This cognitive function of models has been widely acknowledged in the literature, and some even suggest that models give rise to a new style of reasoning, so-called ‘model based reasoning’  This leaves us with the question of  how can we model rocks in the k-12 classroom.

One example, demonstrated by Martha Stewart, shows how to simulate a sedimentary rock.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/09/12/cereal-bars-desserts_n_1877348.html