This is a spreadsheet that I use in petrology to walk students through calculating Rb-Sr isochrons and talking about isotope heterogeneity and sampling at various scales. The example exercise is the Tuolumne intrusive series. The file, available for download below, contains workbooks (see different tabs) with example isochrons and a spreadsheet of data for the homework problems.

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This worksheet walks students through how to use the igneous rock composition chart to identify rock types. Students are shown three different rocks and given the mineral percentages for each. Using the mineral percentages, student build a scale bar using colored segments to show the amount of different minerals. Students can then move their scale bar with the colored mineral segments across the igneous rock composition chart until the boundaries in the scale bar match the mineral field boundaries on the chart. Once the student finds a match, the student can see whether the rock is a granite, diorite, gabbro, or peridotite.

This worksheet allows students to complete this task physically, rather than mentally, and walks them through the process of igneous rock identification based on mineral composition. We find that it also makes the chart more understandable and approachable.

This worksheet uses the sketch-understanding program with built-in tutor: CogSketch . Therefore, students, instructors, and/or institution computer labs need to download the program from the CogSketch website: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/. At any point during the worksheet, students can click the FEEDBACK button and their sketch is compared to the solution image. The built-in tutor identifies any discrepancies and reports pre-written feedback to help the student correct their sketch until they are done with the activity. Once worksheets are emailed to the instructor, worksheets can be batch graded and easily evaluated. This program allows instructors to assign sketching activities that require very little time commitment. Instead, the built-in tutor provides feedback whenever the student requests, without the presence of the instructor. More information on using the program and the activity is in the Instructor's Notes.

We have developed approximately two dozen introductory geoscience worksheets using this program. Each worksheet has a background image and instructions for a sketching task. You can find additional worksheets by searching for "CogSketch" using the search box at the top of this page. We expect to have uploaded all of them by the end of the summer of 2016.

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In this exercise, students use whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions of volcanic rocks to explore the origins of compositional variation in igneous suites. Large datasets from the Yellowstone and Crater Lake calderas are downloaded from the GEOROC database, imported into Excel spreadsheets, and graphed to learn about the different petrogeneses of these two volcanic suites.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this exercise, students use whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions of volcanic rocks to explore the origins of compositional variation in igneous suites. With the help of detailed step-by-step instructions, datasets from the Yellowstone and Crater Lake calderas are downloaded from the GEOROC database, imported into Excel spreadsheets, and graphed in the form of "Harker" diagrams to learn about the different petrogeneses of these two volcanic suites.

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This activity gives a visual representation of how we are able to see the different layers of metamorphic rocks.

The following topical questions and selected resources are designed to guide you in an introductory exploration of the Cretaceous superplume event. The resources linked from this page include an assortment of web- and non-web resources, published papers, abstracts, graphics, and animations. Direct links to web resources are followed by a "more info" link that gives a short description of the web resource. These resources by no means comprise a comprehensive treatment of the literature on the subject, but should at least give you a place to start in your study of the Cretaceous superplume event.

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This exercise is based on the recent formulation of a geobarometer based on the crystal structure of clinopyroxene (Nimis, 1995; 1998; 1999). This method relates structural parameters (e.g., the volumes of the unit cell and the M1 polyhedron) to the pressure at which the mineral crystallizes within basic and ultrabasic magmas.

In this exercise, students are guided into the American Mineralogist Crystal Structure Database to retrieve and download published crystal structure data for viewing in either the CrystalMaker or XtalDraw visualization software packages. The students are instructed on how to examine the structures to determine pressure-sensitive crystallographic parameters and are asked a series of questions related to what they learn.

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In this exercise, students use major-element compositions of whole-rocks, volcanic glasses, and minerals in lavas and drill cores from the solidified Kilauea Iki lava lake. The data is presented in the form of a "precompiled" spreadsheet which contains selected analyses culled from the GEOROC database and a USGS Open File report. Students make graphs from the data to learn about the petrologic processes related to the eruption and in situ crystallization of basaltic magma

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this exercise, students use major-element compositions of whole-rocks, volcanic glasses, and minerals in lavas and drill cores from the solidified Kilauea Iki lava lake. The data is presented in the form of a "precompiled" spreadsheet which contains selected analyses culled from the GEOROC database and a USGS Open File report. Students make graphs from the data to learn about the petrologic processes related to the eruption and in situ crystallization of basaltic magma.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This worksheet helps students think about the cause and effect of pressure/temperature changes in subsurface and how these changes would affect the state of a solid rock. In this worksheet, students are given 6 different scenarios and associated pressure/temperature charts with a solidus line and a starting pressure/temperature point. Scenarios include heating and melting due to a nearby intrusion, diagenesis, decompression melting, cooling of magma at the surface, and adding water to the system. For each scenario, students draw an arrow from the starting point to show how the pressure and temperature would change. For example, students are told that a rock in the subsurface quickly rises towards the surface and melts, so fast that the temperature doesn't change much. A student would then draw a vertical arrow up to show that there is only a change in pressure. There scenarios are chosen to help students better understand the complexities of the subsurface in terms of pressure and temperature.

This worksheet uses the sketch-understanding program with built-in tutor: CogSketch . Therefore, students, instructors, and/or institution computer labs need to download the program from here: http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/. At any point during the worksheet, students can click the FEEDBACK button and their sketch is compared to the solution image. The built-in tutor identifies any discrepancies and reports pre-written feedback to help the student correct their sketch until they are done with the activity. Once worksheets are emailed to the instructor, worksheets can be batch graded and easily evaluated. This program allows instructors to assign sketching activities that require very little time commitment. Instead, the built-in tutor provides feedback whenever the student requests, without the presence of the instructor. More information on using the program and the activity is in the Instructor's Notes.

We have developed approximately two dozen introductory geoscience worksheets using this program. Each worksheet has a background image and instructions for a sketching task. You can find additional worksheets by searching for "CogSketch" using the search box at the top of this page. We expect to have uploaded all of them by the end of the summer of 2016.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This is a field trip designed to connect labs on rocks and minerals with the bedrock geology of a group research site. Students locate themselves on topographic maps using GPS and the topography they observe, examine igneous and sedimentary rocks, and sketch igneous and sedimentary rock textures. The field trip gives the students an opportunity to review some common minerals before being confronted with a large number of rocks in boxes.

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The online geology lab for community college students was developed during two years of forced online synchronous learning brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This open educational resource is a cohesive laboratory manual intended for two-year, non-major college students from the New York area. Each lab is accompanied by a Teacher’s Guide and an online answer sheet (formatted for the Blackboard learning management system). A multiple-choice format is used for many questions, making the labs easy to grade.

Students examine a geologic map of Hawaii and begin to decipher it. In particular, students are asked to examine the map and its legend, to answer some specific questions about them, and then to answer the overarching question, "What evidence is there on this map that the Hawaiian Islands formed over an oceanic hotspot?"

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Students examine and describe samples of rhyolite, pumice, and tuff, having seen samples of mafic volcanic rocks in a previous lab exercise. They then answer a series of questions about the distribution of volcanic rocks on the geologic map of Yellowstone National Park. Finally, they synthesize what they've learned by answering the question, "In two or three sentences, what does this map show you about the volcanic activity of the Yellowstone hotspot?"

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In this exercise, students use whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions of igneous rocks from a variety of tectonic settings and locations to explore the importance of plate setting in determining magma compositions. Students are split into groups and assigned different tectonic settings to examine and compare with other groups. Datasets are obtained from the GEOROC database, imported into Excel spreadsheets, and graphed to learn how igneous rock compositions are a function of plate tectonic setting.

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Igneous Rocks Identification online (developed for remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic); students will explore the various characteristics of igneous rocks and then apply them to identify unknowns.

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While working in groups to facilitate peer tutoring, students use samples of four igneous rocks (gabbro, basalt, granite, and rhyolite) to observe differences in texture, color and grain size and make inferences about the relative cooling histories and silica content associated with each magma type.

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In this project, students work in small groups to formally characterize an aspect of a local igneous rock, based on petrography, hand sample descriptions, and SEM and/or CL analyses. Students have two lab sessions and a field trip dedicated to working on this suite of rocks: one for detailed petrographic analyses and another SEM or CL imaging and analysis. The field trip is the field component of the project. The individual labs are ungraded, but all are required for completion of the project.

Papers must include the following sections:
Introduction, Geologic History, Petrography, Chemical Analysis, Discussion, References, Appendix (contains copies of ALL notes, calculations, drafts and revisions)

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This is an online adaptation to the igneous rock lab that I do in my face to face class. I intend to use this online exercise in my course this fall for students in my face to face class to test. I will update it with information when I find out what does and does not work. I want to test this assignment prior to offering in in a purely online course.
Teaching Tips
Adaptations that allow this activity to be successful in an online environment
There is a link in the assignment for students to practice rock identification prior to identifying the samples in the photographs provided with the lab. I will also be adding a pre-lab quiz on the terms that I do not currently do in my traditional class. In addition, I have added some post-lab questions. The pre-lab quiz and post-lab questions are discussions that I have with my students the day of the lab. By adding these two components, I believe it will strengthen the lab for an online activity.
Elements of this activity that are most effective
I believe that the rock identification practice site will be effective as it will build students' confidence in correctly identifying the rocks, compositions, and textures in the absence of a lab partner or instructor providing immediate feedback and answers to questions. The website provides immediate feedback to the student.
Recommendations for other faculty adapting this activity to their own course:
This assignment can be done either face to face or online. In a face to face class, the instructor will provide the rock samples to identify. In an online class, each sample can be linked to a photograph(s) for identification. I have not uploaded photographs here because I will be using the ones that accompany my textbook (see supporting references for information).

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This undergraduate level course presents a basic study in geology. It introduces major minerals and rock types, rock-forming processes, and time scales; temperatures, pressures, compositions, structure of the Earth, and measurement techniques; geologic structures and relationships observable in the field; sediment movement and landform development by moving water, wind, and ice; crustal processes and planetary evolution in terms of global plate tectonics with an emphasis on ductile and brittle processes.