+Each project group will select three (3) research questions, ranked in order of preference from 1 (first choice) to 3 (last choice). There is no guarantee that you
will get your first choice, but we will make an effort to accommodate as many groups’ preferences as possible.
#
Research Question
Suggested materials list
1
Does particle size determine porosity? Are coarse-grained soils (sand)
Samples of silt, clay and sand, oven-safe pans for drying soil, balance or scale
able to hold more water than fine-grained soils (silt or clay)?
2
Which textures of earth materials (soils) will have a steeper angle of
Sample of silt and sand, a screen filter (to separate clumps), oven-safe pans for
repose when poured into a pile, coarse- or fine-grained materials?
drying soil, protractor
3
Does limestone chemically and mechanically weather faster than
Samples of granite, sandstone, shale, and limestone, plastic jars, small quantity of
granite, sandstone, and shale?
sand (for abrasive), stopwatch, triple-beam balance, diluted acid.
Students must gather data over a 2 week period with daily testing and adjusting
the pH of the acid.
4
Which types of faults had the greatest number of magnitude 6
Mapping program, data on earthquake activity across the globe. (data mining)
earthquakes during the past 20 years?
5
Does particle size determine permeability? Do coarser particles (sand)
Clear plastic tubes (poster mailing tubes would work if they are plastic), a sealable
have a higher permeability than finer particles (silts, clays)?
valve for the end of the tube, filter fabric screen (available at home improvement
stores), samples of sand and silt
6
How is the conductivity of ocean water related to salinity?
Real-time data from buoys in three different ocean locations, ocean observing
systems, Salinity Calculator
(http://www.es.flinders.edu.au/~mattom/Utilities/salcon.html)
7
Does the Earth-Sun distance affect mean temperature on Earth?
8
What characteristics of the shoreline would cause the force of impact
and wave height of a tsunami?
What characteristics of a meteorite and its impact will have a greater
effect on the diameter of the impact crater?
How does topography influence the rate and amount of erosion?
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
How does infiltration through topsoil affect groundwater acidity? Is
there a difference in acidity when water infiltrates inorganic material?
Is there a relationship between seismic activity and the water depth of
Yellowstone lake?
Has there been a change in the number of > 3+ Atlantic hurricanes in the
last 30 years?
Are there variations in sea level trends for Atlantic City, NJ and Duck Pier,
NC?
How does the depth of an epicenter correlate with the type of plate
boundaries.
How does vegetation effect the rate of erosion?
Weather data website, Latitude and longitude measurements for numerous
locations on Earth. (data mining)
Aquarium, sand, metric rulers, wood to build wave-maker within tank
Pie pans, cornstarch or cake mix, “meteors” of different diameters, metric rulers,
Sand, water, large tub or stream-table to create simulated “stream” (do not wash
sand or other soils down your bathtub drain!), oven-safe pans to dry out soil,
triple-beam balance, water tubes/hoses, large bucket, filters (coffee filter or filter
fabric), metric rulers, protractor
Samples of topsoil (organic) and inorganic soils, filter fabric, large-diameter PVC
pipe(s), pH test strips or an electronic pH meter.
USGS data center (data mining)
Hurricane data center (data mining)
University of Hawaii Sea Level Center, excel graph (data mining)
USGS data center (data mining)
An area with vegetation and an area with no vegetation with the same type of soil