Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 30394
Investigating Earthquakes with Google Earth
Students will explore the relationship between earthquakes and the tectonic plate boundaries using Google Earth. Students will track earthquakes
noting location, magnitude and date. Students will apply their findings to formulate an understanding the processes that shape the earth.
Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Computers for Students, Internet Connection,
Overhead Projector
Instructional Time: 3 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: tectonic plates, earthquakes, latitude, longitude
Instructional Design Framework(s): Learning Cycle (e.g., 5E)
Resource Collection: Brevard County School District
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: Learning Cycle (5E Model)
Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will learn that most earthquakes occur near plate boundaries.
Earthquakes occur hundreds of times around the world in 24 hours.
Most earthquakes are in the magnitude range of 1-4.
Students will learn to use Google Earth as a tool to aid in their understanding of earth processes.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
SC.7.E.6.1: Describe the layers of the solid Earth, including the lithosphere, the hot convecting mantle, and the dense metallic liquid and solid cores.
SC.7.E.6.5: Explore the scientific theory of plate tectonics by describing how the movement of Earth's crustal plates causes both slow and rapid changes in Earth's
surface, including volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and mountain building.
SC.7.E.6.7: Recognize that heat flow and movement of material within Earth causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and creates mountains and ocean basins.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
Where and how frequently do earthquakes occur around the world?
Engage: What object, event, or questions will the teacher use to trigger the students' curiosity and engage them in the concepts?
Open discussion by showing clips of destruction around the world caused by earthquakes. Some images found on Google Image search are included but you can find
your own. Note copyright rules. Please cite the sources!
Where do earthquakes occur? How often? What causes them? The students may or may not know the answers to these questions. They might remember from middle
school that earthquakes usually occur along tectonic plate boundaries. They usually don't realize however how many earthquakes occur daily as they only hear about
those in the news that are big enough and cause damage. Earthquakes happen constantly, however, with more than 100 a day occurring all over the world. What this
tells us is that the earth is constantly active and pressure builds in certain places, just like when baking a pie. If you place a pie in the oven and don't make a slice in
the top of the crust, then while baking the pie crust will crack and it won't look so pretty. Bakers make cuts in the crust before baking to allow the hot pie ingredients to
page 1 of 4 release gases and liquids that are created from the increasing pressure below. The pressure occurs from the expanding liquids as the material gets hotter. The
molecules are moving faster and faster as the temperature increases. This creates the pressure that forces something to happen.
Earth is like a giant pie with cracks that allow the molten lava, gases and water escape. The cracks are usually where most of the activity occurs: through earthquakes
and volcanoes.
In this lesson we will investigate how the boundaries are related to earthquakes.
Explore: What will the students do to explore the concepts and skills being developed through the lesson?
Students will explore the earth through Google Earth looking for earthquakes, their magnitude and location. Through their investigation students will discover some
patterns that help reinforce the concept of a dynamic earth and the earth's processes that shape the earth.
Teacher Notes:
To use Google Earth:
Google Earth is a free software program that downloads to any computer. http://www.google.com/earth/index.html
If possible have it installed on every machine a student would use in your class. Please note that any work done in Google Earth only installs on that computer per
personal profile. If each student logs into a computer to open Google Earth, only their work will be stored there. There is a way to share Google Earth files if
necessary. Visit the Google Earth help for information on how to do this.
Google Earth is a great resource to teach plate tectonics and other earth processes and has many other educational uses.
For Students:
In Google Earth, add the '"Real Time Earthquakes" layer to Google Earth. To do this go down to the Layers section on the middle of the left hand section and select
"Earth Gallery." Click there and search for Real Time EarthQuakes by USGS.
Once you locate it, click "View."
Once the layer is installed, right click on the name and select "Add to my places." This will move the layer out of the temporary folder to your permanent folder. (This
will allow it to automatically open each time you open the program--if you don't do this it will erase each time you exit the program)
Ask students to view the key on the layer and discuss what each piece indicates:
the size of the circles
the color
the red lines
the arrows
As a class identify one earthquake together. The teacher should project the image from their computer screen to the entire class. Ask students to identify what type of
earthquake they are looking at from the information given. (Formative Assessment)
Ask students to practice by locating 2 earthquakes in any area. Ask them to record their answers in their lab notebooks. The teacher should facilitate as students work
on this part of the lesson.
Ask students to scroll around the planet on Google Earth now looking for any earthquakes according the supplied key.
Notes for Teacher: The image below was taken on 7/21/12. You can see two yellow circles indicating earthquakes having occurred in the past week. The size of the
circle also give students a glimpse at the magnitude. On the map with the layer added you can also view the different plate boundaries and notice the distance
between the event and the boundary.
Depending on the magnitude and the distance away from the ground students might not see anything at first. Have them zoom in with the slider on the right of the
screen. Once they find an earthquake, they can click on the location with their mouse to bring up more details including a link to the USGS site for detailed information.
Explain: What will the students and teacher do so students have opportunities to clarify their ideas, reach a conclusion or
generalization, and communicate what they know to others?
Break the earth map into sections. Divide students in small groups or partners and assign each a region of the world.
Suggestions include:
Include areas where there are active earthquakes (especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire) to allow students to collect more data.
North of the Equator (00 at the equator to 900 North latitude, with a 100 degree range of longitude (such as from 20 E longitude to 120 E longitude)
South of the Equator (00 at the equator to 900 South latitude, with a 100 degree range of longitude (from 20 W longitude to 120 W longitude)
Have students locate earthquakes in their assigned section of the earth. Have them record the following into their logbooks:
the magnitude of the earthquake
the date/time of the earthquake
the latitude and longitude to the nearest .1 degree (ie: 120.20)
the depth of the earthquake.
Next in Google Earth have students turn off the earthquake layer but keep the Tectonic Plate Boundaries checked:
Have them then create pushpin locations on Google Earth where they include the information from their identified locations.
To create a location in Google Earth, click on the pushpin icon located on the top horizontal bar:
The information window pops up. Students name the placemark based on the location of the earthquake, filling in the latitude and longitude. In the description window
they can include the other required information you asked students to collect such as the distance to the nearest fault/boundary line.
page 2 of 4 Also click on the pushpin icon to the right of the name field to change the color of the pin. Students can change to another pushpin color that matches the color on the
other USGS layer key.
Since orange is not one of the automatic pushpin colors, you can select the color box to change the color of the pin to orange when necessary.
Elaborate: What will the students do to apply their conceptual understanding and skills to solve a problem, make a decision,
perform a task, or make sense of new knowledge?
After students have logged all of their earthquakes onto their own layer of Google Earth, they should analyze it for patterns. By having the official earthquake layer
turned off but the boundaries still visible they should now only be looking at their own data compared to the boundaries.
Other information can be obtained by following the links to the identified earthquakes to learn about the amount of destruction or damage caused by the earthquake if
it happened to occur over land in a populated area.
Have students look for patterns in the location of the boundary lines also. Are they close together, spread evenly across the earth? Can you notice from the topography
where the boundaries are located (near mountain ranges, deep crevices in the earth)? How might these be related?
Students can discuss their findings as a class as they strengthen their understanding.
Summative Assessment
Students will write their findings in their journals after working on this project for 3 class periods.
They will have determined their findings based on the data they have collected for their assigned region of the world.
Findings should include an understanding that earthquakes occur near plate boundaries, they occur frequently often hundreds in a day. The magnitude is usually in the
range of 1-4. They probably will conclude that this is much more than they hypothesized prior to the assignment.
Formative Assessment
The teacher will act as a facilitator during the activity asking questions about what students are finding with each earthquake they identify such as:
magnitude of the earthquake
location of the earthquake in the world
location of the earthquake near a tectonic plate boundary
when the earthquake occurred.
This will show whether students are able to identify information based on the key provided.
Once students get more into the project other questions will be asked such as:
Are you noticing any patterns?
How many earthquakes have you observed in your assigned region in 6 hours, 24 hours, 1 week?
Was this more than you thought before we started this investigation?
Feedback to Students
As the teacher moves around the room checking student progress, students will have the opportunity to ask questions, get immediate feedback, and correct any issues.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations: Students can be assigned to work in small groups according to their needs/abilities.
The teacher will facilitate regularly when students are working to provide any necessary assistance.
Extensions: The next phase of this investigation is to delve more deeply into plate tectonics, including the history of the discovery and how relatively recent these
findings were made.
Students can explore related volcanoes, volcanic ranges as they relate to the earthquakes and boundaries.
Students can predict where the next "big one" could be located based on their research.
Students can investigate and present on some of the largest most destructive earthquakes in modern times and discuss the solutions that we are working to prevent
loss of life and property in the future.
Students can relate earthquakes and volcanoes to tsunamis and how they occur.
Students can relate these geologic processes to other planetary objects. What about Mars and planet moons? Can we look at their surface features and detect any
current or former fault lines. Why aren't they experiencing any new earthquakes?
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Internet Connection, Overhead Projector
Special Materials Needed:
Computers for students with Google Earth installed.
Further Recommendations: Take the time to practice using Google Earth on your own before you assign it to your students. It is a fascinating tool to use with
many more features than are covered in this lesson.
page 3 of 4 SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Maggie Molledo
Name of Author/Source: Maggie Molledo
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Brevard
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.910.RH.3.7:
SC.912.E.6.3:
Description
Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
Analyze the scientific theory of plate tectonics and identify related major processes and features as a result of moving
plates.
Remarks/Examples:
Discuss the development of plate tectonic theory, which is derived from the combination of two theories: continental
drift and seafloor spreading. Compare and contrast the three primary types of plate boundaries (convergent,
divergent, and transform). Explain the origin of geologic features and processes that result from plate tectonics
(e.g. earthquakes, volcanoes, trenches, mid-ocean ridges, island arcs and chains, hot spots, earthquake
distribution, tsunamis, mountain ranges).
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