Unit 2 Powerpoints

Click on the links to access my illustrious presentations. Go nuts you crazy kids.

Our Earth: An Introduction - 9/26
Earth's Atmosphere - 10/1
Weather, Climate, and Atmosphere - 10/2
Composition of the Earth and Plate Tectonics - 10/3
An Introduction to Rocks and the Rock Cycle - 10/7
The Carbon Cycle - 10/8
Soil: An Introduction - 10/9
Investigating Soil Properties 1 - 10/10
Investigating Soil Properties 2 - 10/11
Soil Investigation Wrap-Up - 10/15
Soil Horizons - 10/17
Human Impacts on Soil - 10/18
Earthquakes - 10/21
Volcanoes - 10/22

10/11/13

The homework for the long weekend is to:

1. Thoroughly read the Background for the Testing Soil Productivity Lab
2. Complete Assignment 12 (the questions are located in the previous post)

Class Data

Activity 1 – Water Capacity (mass of water held / mass of soil)

Sand	Clay	Humus	Local Soil
0.15	0.7	0.25	0.4

Less than 0.4 = Low capacity for holding water

0.4 to 0.6 = Moderate capacity

Greater than 0.6 = High capacity

Activity 3 – Soil Nutrients

	Local Soil
pH	7
Nitrogen	0 ppm (depleted)
Phosphorus	10 ppm (adequate)
Potassium	600 ppm (sufficient)

Activity 4 – Soil Permeability

	Sand	Clay	Humus	Local Soil
Time until 1st drop fell	10	? (Student data would be nice!)	3	6
Time until last drop fell	90	?	60	60

Activity – Soil Particle Composition

	Humus	Local Soil
% Sand	67	37
% Silt	18	33
% Clay	15	30

10/10/13

Tonight's homework is to:

1. Make sure that you have signed up for Quest (see previous posts).
2. Complete the "Practice" assignment on Quest.
3. Work on Assignment 12 and complete as much as you can.
4. Review your notes for tomorrow's check-in.


Also, any emailed submissions of data from the Soil Investigation would be deeply appreciated.

Assignment #12 - Soil Characteristics Investigation – Day 2 and 3 Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences in your LAB NOTEBOOK.

Activity 1 – Water-Holding Capacity and Capillary Action of Soil

1. Make inferences based on your observations and data. Support these inferences by referring to your data. Be specific.

2. Why is the water-holding capacity of soil important? Think of specific examples.

3. What type of soil could be added to the local soil you are using in order to…

a. improve its ability to hold water?

b. decrease its ability to retain water?

Support your answers.

Activity 3 – Analysis of Free Ions (Soil Nutrients)

4. Make inferences based on your observations and data. Support these inferences by referring to your data. Be specific.

5. How do soils become depleted of their nutrients?

6. What can be done about nutrient depletion in soil?

Activity 4 – Determination of Soil Permeability

7. Make inferences based on your observations and data. Support these inferences by referring to your data. Be specific.

8. Imagine a sloping field of sandy soil and a sloping field of soil with a high clay content, each with an identical drainage ditch at the bottom. After a prolonged, heavy downpour, which ditch would be more likely to be flooded? Why?

9. Most plants need water to penetrate the soil. What soil particle type could be added to your local soil sample in order to increase the soil’s permeability? Support your answer.

Activity 5 – Particle Size Distribution

10a. Make inferences based on your observations and data. Support these inferences by referring to your data. Be specific.

10b. Was your hypothesis about the composition of the local soil sample accurate? Support your conclusions.

10/9/13

Tonight's homework is to sign up for and enroll in the appropriate environmental science course on Quest through the University of Texas. See below.

Instructions for Enrolling in Quest

This year we will be using Quest, a service offered by the University of Texas (UTexas) for online homework assignments.  To use Quest, you will need to create a username, known as your UT EID.  Once this is done you can apply for my course following the instructions below.

Please email me if you run into any issues (pwhelton@sof.edu).

Create Your UT EID:

1. Go to https://quest.cns.utexas.edu/student and click on “Log In to Quest” link.
2. On the next screen, on the right, click on the “I need a UT EID.” link.
3. Follow the steps to create your personal UT EID.
4. At the end of the process, it will display your UT EID.  Please write it down along with your password in a safe place.  You will need this to log into Quest.

Enroll in SoF’s Biology/Environmental Science Course:

1. Go back to https://quest.cns.utexas.edu/student, and click on “Log In to Quest”.
2. Enter your UT EID and password and log in to Quest.
3. Click on the “Enroll in new course” link.  Enter the Unique # for your course.
1. For Biology 11B and 11CD: Enter “BIO403” for the Unique # and click “Lookup Course Info”.
2. For Env. Science 12A:  Enter “ES403” for the Unique # and click “Lookup Course Info”.
3. For Env. Science AP 12CD:  Enter “ES403AP” for the Unique # and click “Lookup Course Info”.
4. Look for the appropriate course (“Environmental Science” or “Environmental Science AP”) and click “Request Enrollment”.
5. Log off and email me to let me know that you’re waiting for me to approve the enrollment.  I’ll do my best to do this quickly and will reply to let you know when it’s done.

Complete the “Practice” Assignment:

1. Once your enrollment has been approved, log back into Quest.
2. Click on the course now displayed under “My Courses”.  
3. Choose the “Practice” Assignment.
4. The assignment questions should be displayed on the left half of the window.  (Some web browsers instead may immediately download the assignment as a PDF, which you will need to open.)  You can enter answers to these questions on the right.  
5. Answer the five questions (purposely answer a few wrong to see what happens – remember, this doesn’t count for a grade). Email me if you run into any issues.

Special Notes about using Quest:

• Quest may function differently on different browsers. In general I’ve noticed that Firefox or Google Chrome work well, but feel free to try Safari, etc.
• When you enter your answer, Quest will tell you if it is right or wrong. If it’s wrong, you’ll have the opportunity to try again.  However, with each wrong answer, the maximum amount of points you can earn for that problem will be reduced by some amount.
• On occasion, you will be completed questions that require some calculations. Some helpful tips:
• The sign of your answer (positive or negative) must be included in your response, but not units.
• When entering an answer with a decimal, be careful not to round too much because Quest may mark it as wrong. For example, if the actual answer to a problem is 0.2432 and you enter 0.2, it would be marked as wrong. However, if you enter 0.25 or 0.241, your answer would be marked right. For this reason, it is best to round as little as possible when answering Quest problems.

10/8/13

Tonight's homework is to read and take notes about Section 11.4 "Soils" on p. 221 through 224 of Botkin and Keller. Since tomorrow is Wednesday, there will be an exit card and looking over your notes from this week is strongly advised.

Also...

10/7/13

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 11. See below for the questions and assistance.

Useful Rock Cycle Link

Assignment #11 - The Characteristics of Rocks and the Rock Cycle Comprehension & Practice Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability. Use complete sentences when appropriate.

1. Identify the three types of rock.

2. Define magma.

3. Metamorphic rock transforms to igneous rock by______________.

A. heat and pressure                                                 C. melting and cooling

B. weathering and erosion                                         D. cementation

4. After changing to sediment the igneous rock is then transformed to sedimentary rock by_________________.

A. heat and pressure                                                 C. melting and cooling

B. weathering and erosion                                         D. cementation and compaction

5. Igneous rock transforms to metamorphic rock by _____________.

A. cementation and compaction                                C. melting and cooling

B. heat and pressure                                                 D. weathering and erosion

6. You are a human. In detail, explain how your carbon and minerals have been part of the rock cycle and have been part of each type of rock.

The diagram below represents the characteristics of four different rock samples. Answer questions 7 and 8 based on the diagram.

7. Which sample could be granite? Support your answer.

8. What characteristic do samples 2 and 4 have in common?

The diagram below represents the characteristics of four different rock samples. Answer questions 9, 10, and 11 based on the diagram.

9. Which rock sample could be a metamorphic rock? Explain.

10. Which rock sample is the best choice as an example of a sedimentary rock? How do you know?

11. Describe how rock sample 2 formed.

12. How does the rock sample relate to our discussions of life on Earth and the factors that allow it to be possible? Use vocabulary and specific examples whenever possible.

10/4/13

Tonight's homework is as follows:

12A only: Finish reflection in response to "Based on what you currently know, why is the earth habitable?"

12A and 12CD: In Botkin and Keller, read and take notes on the diagrams/cycles from p. 116 through 120 (in Sections 6.4 and 6.5) specifically, the rock, carbon, and carbon-silicate cycles.