Adult Education Earth Space Science (lab)

Competency

Weather and Climate: Student will demonstrate knowledge of Earth’s atmosphere by identifying its structure and composition, investigating the relationships between temperature, pressure and altitude, and analyzing data to determine weather patterns.

Project

You are a Park Ranger. You are creating a mountain weather safety manual for hikers. Your manual will explain the dangers of mountain weather by investigating the relationships of temperature, pressure, and altitude. Your manual will educate hikers about Earth’s atmosphere and how weather is created within the atmosphere.

Competency

Earth’s Geosphere: Student will demonstrate an understanding of Earth’s geosphere and composition of Earth’s interior by explaining how Earth events, abruptly and over time, can bring about changes in Earth’s surface.

Project

You are an Emergency Management Risk Consultant. You have been asked to provide a presentation on Earth’s geosphere to your team so that they can study the risk of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In order to study the risks, you need to provide an understanding of the structural geology, mechanisms of movement, and geological events that affect earthquakes and volcanoes. Along with the presentation, you will produce two risk assessment checklists. One checklist will focus on earthquake risk and the other on volcano risk.

Competency

Earth’s Oceans: Student will demonstrate understanding of Earth’s oceans by hypothesizing how ocean currents can affect our weather and climate by mapping their location and movement as well as collecting data to illustrate how the gravitational pull of the moon causes tides.

Project

You are a Marine Navigator for an international shipping company. As the marine navigator, you are responsible for finding the fastest, safest, and least expensive shipping route for your company’s vessel. You will need to consider ocean currents, weather, climate, and tidal factors to find the most ideal route.

Competency

Fresh Water System: Student will demonstrate understanding of the freshwater system by explaining the processes that cause cycling of water in our atmosphere and on Earth and identifying the natural and human processes that impact water quality.

Project

You are a Career Counselor at a university. The Dean of Science has asked you to create a booklet to help environmental science students understand water and water quality issues that pertain to the wide variety of careers related to water quality. Water quality impacts human health, livelihood, and economic activity. The booklet will need to provide a broad understanding for students, on how water quality is affected by natural and human impacts, and will identify a career.

Competency

Geologic Time: Student will demonstrate understanding of Earth’s past by describing geologic time, summarizing the principles and laws by which geologists make assumptions about time, and using fossil evidence to infer events of the distant past.

Project

You are the Curator of a paleontological site’s visitor center. You are creating an exhibit about the history of fossil discovery and current fossil research for the general public. You will look closely into paleontological discoveries to understand geologic time, relative and absolute dating techniques, and how basic geologic principles are used in fossil research.

Competency

Matter and Energy: Student will demonstrate understanding of matter and energy by researching the properties of atoms and elements as well as explaining the laws of conservation of matter and energy using specific data and examples.

Project

You are an Energy Auditor for a television show like Extreme Home Makeover. Your team is updating an old Victorian house. You are are responsible for recommending the best heating options and recommending updates to improve the heating efficiency of the house.

Competency

Rocks and Minerals: Student will demonstrate understanding of rocks and minerals by examining the physical characteristics of rocks and minerals and using this information to draw conclusions about the rock’s history and connection to the rock cycle.

Project

You are a Geologist attending the Geological Society Annual Conference. You have been chosen to present information about interesting rocks and rock formations. You will act as a virtual tour guide by creating a slide presentation that takes your audience to different parts of the United States where significant rocks and rock formations exist. You recognize that every rock tells a story, and you will want to choose the minerals, rocks, and, rock formations with the most interesting stories for your tour.

Competency

Solar System: Student will demonstrate understanding of the solar system by explaining how physical forces have impacted our solar system both during its formation and the present day, and by observing how the temporal and spatial interrelationships amongst the distinct parts of the solar system create phenomena such as moon phases, seasons and eclipses.

Project

You are a Scriptwriter for a Planetarium. You have been asked to prepare a script and slideshow. Your job is to explain the formation of the solar system, characteristics of objects in the solar system, eclipses, moon phases and the seasons.

Competency

The Universe: Student will demonstrate understanding of the universe by investigating a variety of technologies used by astronomers and analyzing laboratory data to explain the origins and contents of the universe, including stars and galaxies.

Project

You are a Astronomy Program Director for a major research university. You will write a proposal to the National Science Foundation grant committee to support research in the origin of stars and galaxies.

In your budget, you will need to specify tools to purchase, such as optical telescopes, radio telescopes, satellites, unmanned probes, or manned spacecrafts (depending on what you feel will be most useful).