Students read actual diary excerpts from people living in various parts of the United States during the great 1811 quake. They then assign each entry a Mercalli Intensity number. Then the Mercalli numbers are plotted on a US map, and the students contour the intensities to locate the epicenter. This is pretty standard stuff. I made up a whole bunch of questions about station models.
Students have to read some, draw some, and then look at several weather maps and interpret some.
AND YOU I use this lab as an introduction to the math skills that are needed in an earth science class. Students practice calculating percent error, solving equations and proportions, calculating rate of change and making measurements. There are lots of dinosaur problems and drawings of dinosaur footprints. EL NINO Students are given a series of maps showing the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean from March 1997 to May 98. In this lab, students use a basic nested sieve set to study the sediment distribution in a beach and glacier sediment sample.