Tree Core Models

Simulate soil sample assemblages. Individuals create soil layers in a cup. They then use straws to collect core samples from these layers. What information can they glean from the core samples, I wonder?

No need to dig further for a resource on core samples. Scholars build a device capable of taking core samples to model similar tools that collect samples from planets and moons. They try out their devices on potatoes in the third lesson...

How do you know the moon is going broke? It's down to its last quarter. The lesson provides a more accurate way to teach lunar phases, emphasizing not only naming or understanding them, but being able to explain why they occur....

Dust is everywhere around us; it's unavoidable. But what exactly is dust and are certain locations dustier than others? These are the questions students try to answer in an interesting scientific investigation. Working independently or...

Students explore what is beneath the surface of the earth is one of the jobs of a geologist. Rather than digging up vast tracts of land to expose an oil field, or to find coalbearing strata, core samples can be taken.

Your geology class practices taking core samples of a potato to examine the stratigraphy. This is a terrific modeling lesson that helps youngsters visualize strata that cannot be seen from the surface of the ground. The directions...

Students identify and experiment with dendrochronology (the study of tree rings to answer ecological questions about the recent past) and come up with conclusions as to what possible climatic conditions might affect tree growth in their...

Learners conduct a simulation to explore how scientists estimate the size of animal populations. They analyze a random sample and then extrapolate those results to a larger population. Additionally, they will apply the principals of...

Students sample goodies from an unseen ocean floor and try to accurately describe their composition. This simulation helps students explain the limitations of sampling and the problem of obtaining representative samples of sea floor...

Turn your students into young tree-tectives with this fun science investigation into the life of trees. To begin, a class volunteer gets dressed up in a tree costume as the different parts of trees are introduced. Then, the class learns...