Topic: Where do we get information about the composition of the Earth?

Target group

1st‑grade high school and technical high school student (basic scope)

Core curriculum

I. Geographical knowledge.

2. Familiarizing with various sources and methods of acquiring geographic information.

Specific requirements

I. Sources of geographic information, geoinformation technologies and methods of spatial data presentation: observations, measurements, maps, photographs, satellite images, numerical data as well as graphic and cartographic presentation.

Student:

1 presents the possibilities of using different sources of geographic information and evaluates their usefulness.

General aim of education

The student will learn how to study the structure of the interior of the Earth.

Key competences

• communicating in the mother tongue;

• communicating in foreign languages;

• IT competences;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what the term geology, geophysics and geological update mean;

• describe the methods used to study the interior of the Earth.

Methods / forms of work

• giving: information lecture;

• problematic: didactic discussion, snowball;

• programmed: using a computer, using an e‑manual;

• practical: exercise concerned;

• forms of work: individual, in pairs, in groups, collective.

Teaching measures

• computers with internet access, or tablets;

• multimedia resources contained in the lesson „Where do we get knowledge about the construction of the Earth?” e‑manual;

• interactive whiteboard / blackboard, marker / chalk.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

• The teacher asks the students: How do we know what is inside the Earth and who looks inside it? It informs students that they will work brainstorming and explain this method if necessary. Saves the question on the board and selects a moderator who will write the student's proposals. It also sets the time to complete the task. After the creative phase, together with the students, he verifies their ideas and completes the information.

Realization

• In the part of the lecture the teacher presents information about the sciences involved in the study of the Earth, explains the differences between geology and geophysics, describes the research methods used by each of these sciences, introduces also the concept of geological update.

• Then the students solve the interactive exercise 1, which aims to consolidate the knowledge about the topic discussed by the teacher. After completing the task, they discuss the answers with the teacher.

• Students are supposed to explain on the basis of the illustration of seismic methods of studying the interior of the Earth (command 1), how we can record seismic waves in various places on the Earth's surface. The teacher informs that the students will work with the snowball method and explain this method:
  a. Students individually write on their pages their own answers and justifications to them.
  b. Then in pairs they compare their proposals and write a list of their joint solutions on a separate sheet.
  c. Students gather in fours and similarly confront their positions, and write the collected solutions on a new sheet.
  d. In the further part of the lesson students join in even larger groups, until the whole class speaks to the problem posed.
  All agreed on the forum of the whole class of the answer together with the arguments are saved on the board.

• on completion of the task, the students and the teacher summarize the knowledge about recording seismic waves caused by earthquakes and created by man and using them to learn about the structure of the Earth.

• Students do exercises on the interactive whiteboard..

Summary

• The teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer? If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

• The teacher asks the students questions:

  • What did you find important and interesting in class?

  • What was easy and what was difficult?

  • How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?

  Willing/selected students summarize the lesson.

Homework

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

• Make at home a note from the lesson using the sketchnoting method.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Where do we get information about the composition of the Earth?

It is difficult to precisely describe the structure of the Earth's interior and the processes that cause this. This science is known as geology. Drilling, in particular the deepest drilling, gives us lots of information, but only about the makeup of the upper parts of the Earth's crust. This allows us to extract samples and study them and measure the pressure and temperature that exists beneath the surface of the Earth. A lot of information is also provided by deep mines and natural rocky outcrops. However, due to rapidly increasing pressure and temperature, it is difficult to explore further by using deep drilling or mine shafts. Traditional geological methods are not sufficient to explore the deepest rocks and layers of the Earth. The discipline that applies methods from physics to study the Earth is called geophysics. The majority of data gathered is on the analysis of the movement of seismic waves which come about from natural shocks caused by earthquakes an sometimes, for the purposes of research, explosions carried out, or by the use of machinery that generates powerful vibrations.

Seismic waves, passing through rocks of varying densities or having other physical properties, can slow down, go faster, divert, stop or even disappear. The analysis of these changes allow us to draw conclusions about the structure of the Earth's interior. Based on this research, it is possible to conclude that our planet most likely consists of a number of layers with varying chemical compositions and different physical properties. Temperature and pressure both increase as you go deeper. In the upper layers of the Earth's crust, increasing depth by 33m leads to a temperature increase of 1°C. This is known as the geothermal temperature. The value given here is an average and depends on the geological makeup, the temperature can increase much more rapidly or slowly. Important information about the structure of the Earth is also provided by research into the relative and absolute age of rocks.