Young Black Scholar Scholarships For College Freshmen

There is scholarship money for black freshmen.

Earning a degree has become increasingly difficult because of the skyrocketing costs associated with going to college. As a result, some choose instead to make a living rather than go to school. However, there is scholarship money to help college freshmen address their financial needs. The opportunities vary in the amount awarded, but for those selected, they are essential to getting their degrees.

ACS Scholarship Program

Offered by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the ACS Scholarship Program is available to students pursuing chemically-related science majors. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or college freshmen, sophomore and juniors to qualify. They must also be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents with at least a 3.0 GPA. They are expected to demonstrate financial need by using both the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Student Aid Report forms. Recipients will get awards up to $5,000.

AGI Minority Participation Program

Young black freshmen can apply for the AGI Minority Participation Program. Established by the American Geological Institute in 1972, the program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the geosciences field. The scholarship program is open to both undergraduates and graduates who are U.S. citizens. They must be full-time students, pursuing a geoscience-related major such as earth-science education, geochemistry, geology, geophysics, hydrology, physical oceanography or planetary geology. All applicants must complete an application form plus a transcript and submit two letters of recommendation.

NAACP/HBCU Scholarship Fund

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization that was created in 1909. Through the NAACP/HBCU Scholarship, students attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have access to financial assistance. To be eligible, applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. At a minimum, they need to have a 2.5 GPA and be enrolled full-time. To complete their application form, applicants must demonstrate financial need and provide three letters of recommendation, an official transcript, proof of enrollment and an essay. Those selected will receive $2,000.

Roy Wilkins Scholarship

Also provided by the NAACP is the Roy Wilkins Scholarship. It is available to new college freshmen who will attend an accredited college. They must plan to be full-time students and must have graduated from high school with at least a 2.5 GPA. The application form must be accompanied by the following: an essay, two letters of recommendation, an official transcript, a letter of acceptance to college, proof of NAACP membership and proof of financial need. Those selected will receive $1,000 to apply toward their education-related costs

Tags: application form, financial need, letters recommendation, They must, applicants must, black freshmen

Get Legitimate Oil And Gas Jobs In Angola Online

The oil and gas industry is very large in Angola.

I am sure you want to know get legitimate oil and gas jobs in Angola online. Angola has a huge oil and gas industry. Major gas companies are doing business there. They are constantly hiring. The pay is good and there are usually many benefits.

Instructions

1. MAJOR COMPANIES - There are many large companies that are known around the world in the oil and gas industry that are located in Angola, Africa. Companies such as BP and Exxonmobil have businesses there.

2. WEBSITES - There are several excellent websites that are devoted to jobs in the oil and gas industry. Websites such as infooil.com, oilcareers.com and oilrecruiter.net. There are many oil and gas jobs in Angola and other African nations. It is easy to find out get legitimate oil and gas jobs in Angola online.

3. SUBMIT YOUR RESUME - Create a very professional resume and submit it to all of the jobs that you can find that you are qualified for. You may even want to submit your resume for positions that you are over qualified for, just in case. If you get the job you may be able to advance up later on.

4. RECRUITERS - There are many legitimate recruiters working independently and directly for the oil and gas industry. When you are working with a recruiter make sure that they are actually representing the company that they claim they are working for by contacting the companies human resources department.

Start applying today. Now you know get legitimate oil and gas jobs in Angola online.

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Dolphin Science Projects

Dolphins are intelligent, playful and a good subject for a school science project.

Dolphins are highly intelligent and social mammals and, because of that fact, have frequent encounters with humans, both in the wild and in captivity. Humans have a dramatic impact on dolphin habitat and population, making the subject of dolphins an excellent topic for a school science project. Although dolphins cannot be experimented on directly, there are a number of observation and research projects that are sure to earn you a top grade on your science project.

Bycatch Project

Research statistics about the fishing industry. Explain what bycatch, or the accidental catching of dolphins in fishing nets, is and the effects that it has on dolphin populations. Research bycatch laws in different countries and which countries have the highest rate of bycatch. List your research clearly on your project board, along with ways you think bycatch can be further reduced.

Social Behavior Project

Observe dolphin activity through research, documentaries and even at aquariums that have dolphins. Explain what social behaviors are most common to dolphins, and under what circumstances they are most likely to display those behaviors. Study the language of clicks and whistles that dolphins use and how they employ it to interact with each other. Talk about what effect human presence has on dolphin social activity. List your observations and conclusions.

Captivity Project

Observe captive dolphins at an entertainment park or an aquarium, or by watching documentaries about entertainment parks or aquariums. Talk about the differences in behavior between captive dolphins and wild dolphins. Discuss the effect that captivity has on the well-being of dolphins. Present a conclusion as to whether or not you think that keeping dolphins captive is a good idea or a bad idea, and why.

Endangered Dolphins Project

Research species of dolphins that are at risk of becoming endangered. Discuss how humans impact dolphins and their habitats. Talk about subjects such as bycatch and the traditional dolphin slaughter in Japan. List ways that you believe endangered species of dolphins can be preserved and how species of dolphins that are not endangered can remain off the endangered species list. Include statistics on human, environmental and natural impacts on dolphin populations.

Biology Project

Create a two-dimensional cardboard model of a dolphin, either life-size or to scale, or create a three-dimensional model out of plastic, paper mache or other art supplies. Draw the biology of the dolphin on the cardboard, including organs, muscles, skeletal system and outer appendages. Research facts about dolphins, their habitat, their food sources and their physiology. Display a project board detailing your research alongside your model dolphin.

Tags: science project, species dolphins, Talk about, captive dolphins, dolphin populations, dolphins that

Back Country Camping In Kentucky

Find the perfect back country camping spot in Kentucky.

When most people think of going camping, they head for the traditional campground equipped with cabins, showers, rec centers, even playgrounds for the kids; but if you want to really experience the elements, back country camping is for you. Some of the best back country camping awaits you in Kentucky. You can pitch your tent in the middle of nowhere, fish from some of America's most awesome lakes and wake up to a beautiful sunrise.

Land Between the Lakes

Land Between the Lakes is a prime place to go for back country camping; you can really get beyond the sidewalks here on 170,000 acres of uncultivated land and over 300 miles of shoreline.There is total isolation in the forests and hiking trails and back country camping is permitted year round anywhere in Land Between the Lakes except for cemeteries, picnic areas, fee campgrounds, the Environmental Education Area and within 200 yards of Highway 68. You'll need to get a Back Country Camping Permit at the Visitor's Center at Golden Pond.

Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park has trails that lead to remote wilderness areas where back country camping is allowed with a permit; the permits are free and you can get one at the Visitors Center. When camping here be aware of bears, which are active in Cumberland Gap. For your protection keep all your food stored inside your vehicle until you plan to use it and dispose of all trash in park bear-proof containers.

Red River Gorge

The Red River Gorge is inside the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Here you'll find 40 acres of good, level camping ground where there's plenty of room to pitch your tent and enjoy a primitive camping experience.You'll also have access to 1,200 feet of the Red River for fishing and boating, so bring your canoe or small boat. If you want to hike, there are nature trails and horses are welcome. Red River Gorge is just minutes from Natural Bridge State Park.

Big South Fork

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area claims 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau and has stunning natural geological formations and lush vegetation. You'll see picturesque gorges and sandstone bluffs in this vast wilderness and back country camping permits aren't required, but are recommended for your safety. The Bandy Creek Campground here is in the Tennessee portion of Big South Fork and has 181 campsites; some have water and electric hook ups and some are sites for tent camping. Other good camping sites are Honey Creek Overlook and Blue Heron.

Mammoth Cave

When you visit Mammoth Cave National Park you can hike, canoe, go caving and go camping. Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system and is a great place to "rough it;" there are dozens of campsites in the back country and along the rivers here. Three of the campsites are developed and at least a dozen are primitive sites along the Green and Nolin Rivers.

Tags: country camping, back country, back country camping, back country camping, Between Lakes

Dewey Decimal System Topics

The ubiquitous white tags on library books show their Dewey Decimal numbers.

The Dewey Decimal System was first implemented in 1873 at Amherst College Library by librarian Melvin Dewey. Its ease of use combined with its flexibility and the depth of categorization and subdivision it allows led it to eventually become the standard for libraries all over the world. Save time and hassle at the library by learning the system for yourself.

000 to 299

000 to 099 are general knowledge topics, including books about computer science from 003 through 006, bibliographies, catalogs, encyclopedias, books on museums and libraries, almanacs, books of trivia and global periodicals.

The 100s are philosophy and psychology, including books on ethics, feelings, death and dying, space, time and the self.

The 200s are books on religion, including the Bible, Koran and other sacred works, books on all major religions, God, the problem of evil, Biblical figures, spirituality and mythology.

300 to 499

The 300s are social sciences and folklore, with topics from world statistics in the 310s to political science, economics, law, civics, the military, education, communication, transportation and etiquette; then folklore and customs of war and diplomacy in 398 and 399. The 400s are language books, including books on the philosophy of language and dictionaries, etymologies and grammar books for all world language groups.

500 to 799

Books in the 500s are on math and science. Mathematical topics like geometry, algebra and mathematical theory run from 510 to 519, while books on the sciences from astronomy, to physics, then chemistry, geology, paleontology, evolution and biology go from 520 to 599

The 600's books are on medicine and technology, including topics like pharmacology, surgery, disease, patient care, history of medicine, anatomy and specialized medicine. 600 to 619 contains books on engineering, mining, agriculture, food, housekeeping, child rearing, metal working and textiles. Clothes and construction make up 620 to 698.

800 to 999

The 800s are literature. American poetry, drama, fiction, essays, speeches, letters, satires, and books about them are the 810s. Their British counterparts are in the 820s, Germanic literature in the 830s, French in the 840s, Italian in the 850s, Ionian in the 860s, classical and modern Greek and Roman in the 870s, and other world literature starting in the 880s.

The 900s are geography and history, progressing from histories of the ancient world, to histories of Europe, Asia, Africa, North then South America, to Oceania, ending with 999, extraterrestrial worlds.

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Find Garnets In Maryland

A garnet rock

Garnets are dark-colored crystals often found in certain mineralized areas within the rock. Due to the normal weathering of these rocks, garnets separate out from the host rock. They are then carried out by rainwater and accumulate along the water course, also known as a gully. There are two ways of hunting for garnets. One is to do a surface search by visual inspection. Tiny garnets typically appear dark in color against the lighter background of the soil. The other method is more strenuous and involves using a chisel and hammer to break open the rock. In Maryland, garnets have been mined in areas like Rock Run watershed, Montgomery County and Hunting Hill Quarry at Rockville. The Hunting Hill area is one of the rare places in the world where garnets rich in pokrovskite and xonotlite are found.

Instructions

1. Select the location. Read up about the places where garnets occur in Maryland. The Hunting Hill Quarry at Rockville is a good site. Entry to this spot is permitted at specific times only. Get in touch with the quarry to find out what details you need to provide in order to gain entrance. Silver Spring and Rock Run are other spots to try. Study past data of garnets found in the area to get an idea of the color, shape and size of garnets you can expect to find in that area.

2. Choose the method. If you're new to garnet hunting, use the visual search method and perfect the art of identifying garnets. As you gain experience, you can take up rock mining to find garnets. Rock mining is tough, and there's a lot of physical labor required to chisel out the rock.

3. Get ready. You'll need a bucket, shovel, screen box, gloves and a container to hold the garnets you've found. Collect all these materials and keep them ready for your garnet hunting trip. If the weather is hot, carry along some sunscreen and a hat to protect yourself from the heat. Make sure you have sufficient drinking water with you.

4. Get to work. When you arrive at the mining area, choose a spot to begin. Garnets are often found in drainage areas and gullies. Find an area that shows the presence of some dark-colored stones that show up against the background soil. Dip your shovel into the ground, pull out the rocks and dirt and dump into the bucket. Repeat this until the bucket is almost completely filled. Carry it to the screen box and sift to separate out the rocks from the sand and dirt. After you've collected a sizeable number, take the rocks to a sluice box and wash thoroughly.

5. Identify garnets. As you wash the rocks, observe their appearance carefully. Find ones that have a dull shine like plastic and keep these separately. These are probably garnets.

Tags: Hunting Hill, background soil, garnet hunting, garnets found, Hill Quarry

Get Camping Reservations For Yellowstone Nationa Park In Wyoming

Millions of visitors make Yellowstone National Park their vacation destination each year.

Yellowstone National Park welcomes millions of visitors each year. With more than 2 million acres of land, an array of wildlife and breathtaking scenery, it is no wonder it is such a popular spot. For those who enjoy sleeping under the stars, there are 12 camping areas around the park. However, only a portion of them accept reservations. Others are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. For those camping areas that allow reservations, booking a spot is a simple process.

Instructions

1. Contact Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the company that manages and takes reservations at the Yellowstone campsites of Bridge Bay, Canyon, Fishing Bridge RV Park, Grant Village and Madison. They can be reached at 307-344-7901 for same-day reservations or at 307-344-7311 for later reservations.

2. Select the location you wish to secure a campsite. A trip planner for the park is available on the National Park Service website.

3. Provide a deposit to the Yellowstone representative and secure the campsite. Costs of the sites vary.

Tags: National Park, camping areas, each year, secure campsite, Yellowstone National, Yellowstone National Park

What Is Slab Rollback

Slab rollback can occur when one tectonic plate slides beneath another one.

In geology, subduction is a process that occurs at certain regions, called destructive plate boundaries, where a tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate. This process can lead to a kind of slab movement called slab rollback. Does this Spark an idea?

Definition

Slab rollback refers to the process that involves an older oceanic crust, which is colder and more dense than other slabs, subducting at a steep angle. As the older slab collapses into the asthenosphere, it can "roll back" through the mantle. Slab rollback can pull the upper plate with it, causing an extension in the overlying plate, and possibly resulting in backarc spreading.

Backarc Spreading

Backarc spreading is a process caused by the sinking of a subducting plate. If this plate sinks and slides under the overriding plate faster than the overriding plate moves forward, rifting can occur.

Rifting

Slab rollback can cause the overriding plate in the subduction zone to become stretched until it rifts. Rifting results in extensional tectonics or a process where the lithosphere and the Earth's crust pull apart. This stretching enables magma to rise into the gap created by the rift.

Tags: overriding plate, tectonic plate, plate moves, process that, Slab rollback

Environmental Science Entry Level Careers

Entry-level environmental science jobs can be found in government and the private sector.

Environmental science is a high-demand career route that merges biology, chemistry and geology. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, individuals who work in environmental science hold at least a bachelor's degree in environmental science or any life or physical science. Entry-level opportunities for recent graduates are available in federal, state, and local governments, as well as private companies. With the concern for our planet rising, careers in environmental science will continue to grow.

Teacher

An environmental educator is a passionate representative of the natural world. They engage community groups and individuals with their knowledge of sustainability, general ecology, and conservation ethics. The environmental education career field is an extremely competitive one, full of qualified job-seekers with not a whole lot of openings. For better chances at employment, it is advisable to maintain a broad range of skills and a solid academic background.

Forester

Foresters are engaged in the management of forest resources for industrial, resource and recreational use. They have a very diverse job description, including oversight of a number of things that involve the health of a forest. They make sure the needs of resource exploitation companies are met, while making sure that those activities do not negatively impact the sustainability of the forest for wildlife and human recreational use. Foresters often start out as forestry technicians.

Inspector

Environmental inspectors require a diverse skill set encompassing environmental knowledge and law. Environmental inspectors work in a regulatory capacity, making sure that businesses follow the strict environmental regulations set in place to govern their respective industries. Environmental inspection is a popular, and therefore competitive, job market. Individuals should start off in environmental restoration or law enforcement capacities to enhance their likelihood of finding a job in this field. As of 2011, inspectors can expect to make anywhere between $24,161 and $60,402 depending on their level of experience, education, and whether they enter the private or public sector.

Scientist

Most undergraduates do not have the opportunity to jump right into research. In the field of environmental science, many private companies hire assistants who are fresh out of college. New graduates hired in the private and public sectors can use their skills to help senior professionals on research studies. Entry-level scientists' job duties include analyzing and collecting data obtained by researchers and preparing reports. Candidates with experience in digital mapping, remote sensing, and geographic information systems are attractable attributes to employers. According to Payscale, in May 2011, an entry-level environmental scientist can earn at least $40,000 a year.

Tags: environmental science, Environmental inspectors, environmental science, making sure, making sure that, private companies, private public

Fossil Lab Activities For Middle School

Many interesting things can be learned from a fossil.

Learning about fossils is valuable for students, as it gives them insight into many different subjects: geology, history, biology and evolution. Fossil labs can be both educational and fun, and it is easy to get students interested because they tend to like dinosaurs in the first place. These are some fun, simple labs that teach middle school students about how fossils are formed and what we can learn from them.

Limits of Learning from Fossils

A very simple lab that teaches a valuable lesson about science involves comparing a picture of a skeleton of an animal that the students are familiar with, such as a cat, dog or horse, to that of a dinosaur. Have the students look at the skeleton of the familiar animal and list traits that are known about it, such as fur or skin texture, color, behavioral traits and so on. In a fossil, only hard tissues such as bone or teeth are preserved in the vast majority of instances. Discuss what items on the list of traits would be unknown and which ones could be guessed from the skeletal structure of the animal. Discuss what could be guessed about the dinosaur based on its skeletal structure. This lesson teaches students valuable information about how scientists know what they know about ancient animals and what the limitations are to what they can determine from fossils.

Sidewalk Fossils

For an activity that gets students moving around, try going outside and looking at sidewalks. Many times, when concrete is poured, a leaf will fall in, or a cat will walk across the concrete or someone will even place their hands or feet into the concrete on purpose. This leaves a record, much like a fossil. Look at the imprint and discuss how old it might be or what might have made it. Look for clues, such as nearby trees.

Plaster Fossils

Letting students make their own plaster "fossil" is a fun activity that also helps to demonstrate how fossils are formed. Press a bone or other item into soft, non-drying clay, then remove it. Spread some petroleum jelly over the imprint and cover with plaster of Paris. Let the plaster harden overnight and peel off the clay the next day. This process, though obviously not done with clay, petroleum jelly and plaster, is very similar to how fossils are formed.

Trace Fossils

Some of the most interesting fossils are those that are made from the footprints of animals, as these fossils can show us how an animal moved. A fun but messy activity involves painting the feet of some volunteers and letting them walk, run or jump across long sheets of butcher paper in different ways. Let the students look at the patterns that this makes and discuss what kind of movement might have caused each pattern and how they could find out if they were correct in their hypotheses.

Tags: fossils formed, about fossils, activity that, could guessed, list traits, might have

Contest Flood Zones

What flood zone are you in?

Flood zones are determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The way a property is zoned within the flood system can have a drastic effect on the flood insurance premiums you are charged and can even change whether your mortgage company requires you to buy flood insurance. FEMA and the NFIP establish your initial flood zone through a flood insurance rate map (FIRM). To contest your flood zone, you must comply with the Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) process established by the NFIP.

Instructions

1. Obtain Form MT-EZ from the NFIP. Using this form helps ensure that you submit all of the required information.

2. Fill out Section A of the form. This will ask for the legal description of the property, which should be on the copy of the deed. It will also ask you to state whether you are contesting the flood zone for your entire property or only parts of it. You also need to state whether fill dirt may have been placed on your property to elevate it above the base flood elevation (BFE). If so, you will need a different form, MT-1. Next, fill in your name, address, email address and phone number. Then sign and date the first page of the form.

3. Hire a registered professional engineer or licensed land surveyor to complete a survey of your property. The surveyor will complete Section B of Form MT-EZ. If you are contesting the flood zone for a structure only and have an elevation certificate for that structure, you can submit it in lieu of Section B.

4. Include your supporting documentation with the form. This includes a flood insurance rate map (FIRM), which you can look up at the FEMA map service center. The engineer or surveyor you use will also have a copy. You will also need a plat map and a copy of the property deed, which must have a stamp from your local recorder's office.

5. Mail Form MT-EZ and your documentation to the following address:

LOMC Clearinghouse

7390 Coca Cola Drive, Suite 204

Hanover, MD 21076

Attn: LOMA Manager

Tags: flood zone, Form MT-EZ, will also, also need, contesting flood

What Are Ocean Trenches

The Pacific Ocean houses the Marianas Trench, the lowest point on Earth.

The deepest regions of the oceans occur at the ocean trenches, chasms in the ocean floor with high pressures, low temperatures and minimal light conditions. In 1960, oceanographers Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh explored the deep ocean in the Trieste, a submarine vehicle designed to withstand the hostile conditions of the deep sea. Intent on investigating the oceans' deepest point, the Marianas Trench, which lies 11,000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean off Japan's coast, the explorers observed a fish swimming in a region long thought to be devoid of life. These two scientists have remained the only humans ever to attain these depths.

Description

Water covers more than two-thirds of the surface of Earth. The average depth of the oceans measures about 4 km, but the trenches, appearing as long, vast chasms dug into the surface of the ocean floor, stretch thousands of fathoms beyond the ocean floor. These features can reach as far down as 11 km, eclipsing even the height of the highest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, which measures 9 km in height. Extreme conditions in the ocean trenches, or hadal zones, force creatures that inhabit them to survive pitch darkness, frigid temperatures and brutal pressures.

Conditions

Twenty-two of the 26 better-known ocean trenches occur in the Pacific Ocean alone. Pressure decreases 1 atmosphere, the force exerted by air on objects at sea level, for every 10-meter descent in water. The pressure at the lowest point in the oceans could surpass 1,000 times the pressure you experience on land, able to crush conventional submarines like aluminum cans. Because sunlight cannot penetrate beyond the upper 1,000 m of water, the trenches reach near freezing temperatures, and the surroundings are bathed in complete darkness.

Creation

The same subterranean movements that cause natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis also formed the Earth's surface, giving rise to all landforms and sea features. The surface of Earth comprises a series of puzzle pieces, called tectonic plates, which join together at different boundaries. Plates edge away from one another in divergent boundaries, move closer together in convergent boundaries and slide against one another in transform boundaries. Convergent movement of the plates lining the ocean floor created the ocean trenches; plates wriggled underneath other plates, creating gashes kilometers deep in the ocean floor.

Ecological Dynamics

Because of the lack of light at the ocean's lower levels, food becomes scarce in the trenches. Food chains and food webs almost everywhere begin with producers, organisms such as plants and algae that make their own food. All other creatures within the food chain rely on producers, either directly by consumption or indirectly by consuming those organisms feeding on the producers. Other trench animals have adapted a scavenging lifestyle, living off the remains of dead organisms that fall from the upper levels of the ocean. Predatory animals that feed on these scavengers have evolved characteristics that allow them to maximize feeding opportunities.

Life in the Trenches

More than 40 years after the Trieste's dive, Alan Jamieson, a researcher at the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, released the Hadal-Lander, an unmanned exploratory vessel, into various ocean trenches. Pictures brought back to the researchers revealed that life in the trenches included fish, shellfish, snails, sea cucumbers, worms, starfish and the shrimp-like amphipods. Fish such as the rat-tail living in the ocean trenches appear less bizarre than fish such as the fangtooth, which occupies waters that run less deep.

Tags: ocean floor, ocean trenches, Pacific Ocean, deep ocean, lowest point

Program Clack Water Softener

Water softeners are water treatment systems that use sodium ions to replace the calcium and magnesium ions found in hard, mineral rich water. The resulting "softened" water is cleaner and less likely to leave soap scum or scale residue on your dishes or home surfaces. The Clack Corp. manufactures residential and commercial water treatment systems. Programming a new Clack water softener takes only minutes. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1. Set the clock on your Clack water softener. Press the "Set Clock" button on the control panel; the time will display and the hour digits will begin to flash. Set the hours digits using the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons. Press "Next" when the desired value is displayed; the minutes digits will begin to flash. Adjust the minute digits to the desired value using the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons. Press the "Next" button again to exit the clock setting mode.

2. Press and hold the "Down Arrow" and "Next" buttons for three seconds; the "Set" and "Softening" messages will appear on the digital display screen. Press either of the arrow buttons to highlight the "Softening" option; press "Next."

3. Refer to the grains of hardness as calcium carbonate information on your water test data sheet when setting the ion exchange capacity for your Clack water softener. Adjust the ion exchange capacity using the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons until the desired value is shown on the digital display screen. Press "Next."

4. Program in the amount of salt that you want your water soften to use for each regeneration; refer to your water test data sheet. Use the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons to adjust the pounds per regeneration indicator until the desired value is displayed. Press the "Next" button to advance to the next setting screen.

5. Program the backwash and gallons capacity settings for your water softener. Use the "Up Arrow" or "Down Arrow" buttons to highlight the "Normal" or "Longer" backwash options; press the "Next" button. Use the arrow buttons to highlight the "Auto" option on the display screen; the gallons capacity for the water softener will be automatically calculated based on the grains capacity and water hardness settings. Press "Next."

6. Tell the water softener when to refill the brine tank. Choose between "PoST" to refill the tank after the final rinse or "PrE" to refill the tank two hours before the scheduled regeneration time. Highlight the desired option using the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons, then press "Next."

7. Program the water softener to know when to regenerate. Use the "Up Arrow" and "Down Arrow" buttons to highlight the "Normal + 0" option; the water softener will be programmed to regenerate automatically, based on its other settings. Press "Next" to exit the water softener setup mode.

Tags: Down Arrow, Arrow Down, Arrow Down Arrow, Down Arrow buttons, water softener, Arrow buttons

Waterfront Properties In Oregon

Much of Oregon's coastline remains largely undeveloped.

Oregon's Pacific Coast boasts remarkable landscapes and a wide variety of home properties. This state's cool average temperatures and properties with just the right amount of remoteness mean Oregon property investors are able to find vacation homes that often pale in price in comparison to California's high-priced land. The 363 miles of Oregon coastline possesses breathtaking, often dramatic and rocky views and a varied collection of beachfront and cliffside properties.

The Northern Coast

Cannon Beach in northern Oregon.

Astoria, at the very mouth of the Columbia River, was the final destination of Lewis and Clark's journey across the American West. In addition to its historical significance, it is the northernmost point of Oregon's coastline. About 25 miles south, a variety of remarkable geological formations attract visitors and second-home buyers, including Haystack Rock, near Pacific City, a variety of tidal pools, and the dramatic Devil's Punchbowl. Properties from Astoria to Newport benefit as well from their proximity to Portland, Oregon's largest metropolitan area. At publication, home prices in the area ranged from under $500,000 to over $1.6 million and from $200 to $500 per square foot.

The Middle Coast

An Oregon log cabin at the beach.

The centerpiece of the mid-coast is the area around Florence, Coos Bay and North Bend, and the famous Heceta Head lighthouse. Coos Bay creates a series of inlets and nearby lakes that offer affordable waterfront property. The renowned Bandon Dunes Golf Course also attracts players from around the country. Area real estate values average around $500,000, many featuring values at around $200 per square foot as of publication.

The Southern Coast

The landscape along the southern Oregon coast is often considered less breathtaking than the north, with fewer cliffs rising over the crashing Pacific tide. Brookings and Gold Beach residents, however, benefit from microclimates that yield warmer average temperatures than the rest of the state enjoys. People are attracted to this area for nearby recreation on the Rogue River and proximity to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Home prices often exceed $2.6 million in this area, or over $600 per square foot, primarily due to proximity to California.

Risks of Owning Beachfront Property

In early 2011, Oregon residents felt the effects of an earthquake with an epicenter on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami that devastated Japan spread its way across the ocean, leading to massive evacuations along the Pacific Coast of the United States; that tsunami passed without creating more than a few non-threatening swells; however, the Oregon coastline is susceptible to earthquakes from its proximity to fault lines along with the risk of mudslides from the steep coastal range behind it, high seasonal rainfall, and often very windy conditions. Residents of the Oregon coastline have become increasingly proactive in their preparedness for disaster, however, and remain attracted to the coast for its rugged beauty.

Tags: Oregon coastline, square foot, average temperatures, Pacific Coast, this area

Get A Degree As An Ultrasound Technician

Ultrasound technicians must pass a skills exam demonstrating proficiency on ultrasound scanners.

Medical offices, clinics and hospitals hire ultra sound technicians (sonographers) to operate ultrasound machines and scan patients' bodies with sound waves. The scans produce images that doctors can use to detect medical conditions, diagnoses illnesses, and monitor fetal health (Reference 1). To work as an ultrasound technician, an individual must receive an associate's degree in ultrasound technology, pass a career skills exam and register with American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

Instructions

1. Complete a high school degree or high school equivalence (GED) degree. While it is not a pre-requisite, many schools admissions committees are looking to admit students that have shown an interest in the sciences, and have successfully completed high school coursework in natural sciences, math and physics.

2. Apply to any accredited college or university that offers a 1- or 2-year degree in Ultrasound Technology. There are 176 training programs across the United States that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

3. Complete all of the required coursework successfully. Typically you will have to take classes in patient care, anatomy, physiology, medical ethics and physics.

4. Pass the career skills exam that will be offered upon your completion of all of the coursework. Depending on your success and program requirements, you will finish your coursework within 1 or 2 years of starting the program.

5. Register with the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) after you pass your career skills exam (Reference 2). If you live in New Mexico and Oregon, you will also need to apply for a license to practice as a sonographer.

Tags: skills exam, career skills, career skills exam, high school, American Registry, American Registry Diagnostic, Diagnostic Medical

Get A Career In Physical Therapy Research

Careers in physical therapy research are potentially rewarding for practicing physical therapists who enjoy both the theory and practice of the profession. You will need to have your bachelor's degree and a physical therapist certification to be considered for a serious research position at a university or research center. In most cases, you will also need to have at least begun work on your master's degree in physical therapy to work in serious research programs.

Instructions

1. Consider joining the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). APTA provides funding, publishes and promotes many physical therapy studies conducted at universities and research centers around the country. The APTA Section on Research promotes physical therapy research and helps create guidelines informed by new research for clinical practitioners.

2. Enroll in a graduate program for physical therapy if you have not done so already. Once you are a graduate student in physical therapy, look into research opportunities among professors and officials in the physical therapy department. You may be able to sign up for research internships directly through your course catalog.

3. Conduct your own research either for class credit or as a part of your graduate thesis. Apply for funding from your university for clinical studies and any other research initiatives that may require outside support. Consider applying for grants and scholarships to fund your research from educational or medical research foundations and your local, state and federal government.

4. Research local private hospitals in your area that may be recruiting physical therapists for research positions that offer student loan forgiveness as a hiring perk. Many private hospitals are granted access to loan forgiveness programs through the National Institute of Health in exchange for running medical research programs.

Tags: physical therapy, degree physical, loan forgiveness, medical research, need have

Make A Genogram On The Computer

Use your family pictures to start building a history.

In some ways, a genogram resembles a traditional family tree, in that it records information about your ancestors and those in your family. But instead of simply recording names and dates, a genogram delves deeper, recording information about marriages, divorces and even suicides. Gathering the information you need for your genogram can require a great deal of research, but once you have the information you need you can create that detailed family history right on your computer.

Instructions

1. Record all information you have about your family, from aunts and uncles to grandparents and great grandparents. Write down as much detailed information as you can about births, deaths, marriages, divorces and other family dramas.

2. Research further back on your family tree -- as far back as you can using the information you have. A family Bible can be an excellent source of information about your history and that of your relatives.

3. Download a genogram template from the Internet (see Resources). You can find a number of these free genogram templates online.

4. Double-click the stock image that is part of the geneogram template. Click "Browse" and navigate to the folder containing the family photo you want to use instead. Click "OK" to accept the changes and save the updated template.

5. Click on the first name space in the genogram template and enter the first name from your family history. Continue to enter the rest of the names until the genogram is complete.

Tags: your family, information about, about your, family history, family tree

Calibration Standards For A Hardness Tester Scale

Diamonds are the hardest substance on the Mohs hardness scale with a rating of 10.

The scientific standard for testing material hardness is called the Mohs hardness scale. The Mohs scale is a comparative scale based on the hardness of minerals. In order to calibrate a hardness scale, the scale needs to be tested and adjusted against the standards of the Mohs scale materials or an equivalent test kit stand-in.

The Mohs Hardness Calibration Standard

The Mohs scale determines hardness based on the hardness of various minerals. The hardest mineral on the Mohs scale is diamond, with a rating of 10, and the softest is talc, with a rating of one. To calibrate a hardness tester, take a reading on a material with a known hardness, such as quartz, which rates a seven. If the reading is out of sync with the known hardness of the material, adjust the device following the methods outlined in the user manual. The Mohs hardness standard scale is sometimes considered unwieldy due to the inherent inconvenience of storing material samples for relative hardness testing during calibration. It is this inconvenience that led to the invention of hardness calibration block kits and fully automated precision devices that require calibration at intervals of a year or more.

Hardness Calibration Testing Block Kits

A material hardness calibration block kit uses a variety of materials ranging in hardness from graphite blocks to steel bars to form a basis for physical hardness testing, which can also be used in a more convenient way than direct comparison to the Mohs hardness mineral examples. Block kits are used in conjunction with specialized micrometers in order to take accurate pressure indent readings. The block kits are ideal both for testing the hardness of a material when compared to the plate and as a more portable alternative to the minerals in the standard Mohs scale.

Precision Automatic Hardness Testers

Automatic hardness testers are factory calibrated, though they typically have a recalibration protocol in place to ensure the long-term accuracy of the device. Common locations where calibration errors occur on an automatic tester are pivot points, knife edges, dead weights and other simple design characteristics. High-quality precision testers reduce or eliminate the number of components that require frequent user recalibration.

Tags: Mohs scale, Mohs hardness, hardness scale, with rating, based hardness

What Causes A Tundra To Form

What Causes a Tundra to Form?

The tundra is one of the coldest regions on the planet, with an average temperature of 16 degrees Fahrenheit. Several key factors help geologists and environmentalists determine the conditions of a tundra. The Koppen system classifies a tundra as Dfc. The "D" pertains to the tundra's snowy climate. The "f" stands for sufficient precipitation year-round, and the "c" indicates that fewer than four months have average temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree on the Celsius scale. Precipitation is sparse and primarily snow, with no more than 18 inches a year. There are tundras in northern Europe, Russia, parts of Alaska, and northern Canada--all near the Arctic Circle.

A tundra forms because the area takes in more carbon dioxide than it produces. The tundra is one of Earth's three major carbon dioxide sinks. Plants indigenous to the tundra region do not undergo a regular photosynthetic cycle. They absorb oxygen during the short summer months but quickly freeze during winter and trap in carbon dioxide. Normally plants give off carbon dioxide when they decompose, but in the tundra they undergo a phenomenon called permafrost. Scientists have uncovered thousand-year-old plants frozen in the tundra permafrost.

The northern latitude and unusually cold climate create the unique soil structure of the tundra. The permafrost is a layer of Earth's soil that freezes all year long. The animals in tundra regions are prevented from burrowing into the surface, as so many other species do in warmer climates. The permafrost acts as a barrier, providing no shelter from the harsh winds and temperatures. Only a portion of the topsoil thaws during the summer months, and the lower soil remains biologically inactive.

Several plants and animals have adapted to the tundra and its harsh conditions. Cushion plants like moss, heaths, and lichen grow in warm rock depressions where there is shelter from the harsh winds. This creates a soggy bottom floor covered with marshes and boggy lakes. This also makes the tundra an insect-rich environment, supporting species of mosquitoes, flies and midges. Larger animals like mountain goats, foxes and caribou have adapted to live in the tundra's barren wasteland.

Tags: carbon dioxide, Causes Tundra, Causes Tundra Form, degrees Fahrenheit, from harsh

Description Of The Rock Cycle

Description of the Rock Cycle

The three different types of rocks-sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic-are constantly being changed from one type to another through various geological processes.

Volcanic Eruption

Although an explanation of the rock cycle can start at any stage, this one will begin with the eruption of a volcano.

Igneous Rock

When magma erupts from a volcano, it cools to become igneous rock. Igneous rock can also be formed underground and then slowly push to the surface. Common forms of igneous rock include granite, obsidian and basalt.

Sediment and Lava

Igneous rock can then undergo several changes. If it melts, it turns back into lava. If it receive heat and pressure, it changes to metamorphic rock. If it is eroded, it becomes sediment.

Sedimentary Rock

When sediment is compacted and cemented together, it turns into sedimentary rock. The most well known types of sedimentary rock are limestone, sandstone and conglomerate rock.

Metamorphic Rock

The sedimentary rock will then either erode and become sediment again, or will undergo heat and pressure and become metamorphic rock, commonly known as gneiss, marble, or quartzite. Metamorphic rock is then either eroded and turned into sediment, or melted and turned to lava.

Tags: sedimentary rock, Description Rock, Description Rock Cycle, heat pressure, metamorphic rock

Games For Middle School Earth Science

The earth's elements are a fascinating thing to explore hands on.

Earth science is best taught through interactive, hands-on games because of the abundance of materials that teachers can use. Earth science focuses on the movement and relationships of soil, rocks, water, wind and natural disasters. The teacher should be sure to let students touch and experience these things first hand through guided games and projects.

Name That Planet

Students are more likely to understand the planets if they are asked to pick one to study for its unique details and characteristics. After picking their planet, students can figure out how hot or cold it is, what type of soil it has, how gravity interacts with objects there, and any other characteristics that may set their planet apart from others. Once they collect this background information, students present their planet to the class so that all students are introduced to each planet. Afterwards, test whether or not students were paying attention by playing a Name That Planet game. Call out the characteristics of a planet but not the name, and whichever student raises her hand first is allowed to guess. Reward correct guesses with small prizes as initiative.

Naming Minerals

Go to such websites as sciencekit.com or storeforknowledge.com or go to school supply stores to find rocks and minerals that you can use for tactile teaching. This will give the students a chance to touch the things they are learning about, to feel the different textures and to distinguish rocks and minerals from each other by their physical characteristics. Once every student has had a chance to touch and look at every rock and mineral, have them close their eyes, rearrange the order in which they touched them, and ask them to blindly feel each rock or mineral and name it from their previously acquired knowledge.

Build a Volcano

You can find an easy volcano model recipe at mahalo.com, along with numerous other websites and science texts. This will be a good project for students to work together in teams of three to five. With some basic materials, each team can attempt to make the most realistic volcano, both in appearance and style of eruption. This project is a long-term assignment, as each step of the building process will require time for the materials to set in for the next step. Allow students ample time to mix, build and detail their volcanoes over the course of the week, and then make the finale an eruption competition between the teams. Giving out awards for things such as most realistic, best eruption, and hardest working team will encourage and reward the efforts of each team.

Excavation

Every kid likes to play in the dirt, so why not give them time to do so during school hours? Bury fake fossils and mock artifacts that resemble those found by archeologists on digs to uncover history. Hide them throughout the school yard, and send the students on a search. Bury objects at different depths and, if time allows, under different kinds of rock, soil or sediment. Make sure that each student digs properly and carefully while retaining the integrity of the earth around the object and the object itself. Have students analyze their object and what the depth of the burial might mean for how old the object is.

Tags: their planet, chance touch, each team, Earth science, most realistic, Name That

10 Famous Greek Pottery Pieces

This Stone Age piece is an antecedent of classical Greek pottery.

Ancient Greek potters plied their craft from roughly 1000 BCE until the ascendancy of the Roman empire around 31 BCE. However, as "Art Encyclopedia" says, the origins of Greek pottery go all the way back to the Stone Age, 7,000 years before the Christian era.

Timelines

This amphora vase dates from the Classical period of Greek pottery.

The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History begins with the Geometric period (900 - 700 BCE) and identifies three more after that: the Archaic (700 - 480 BCE), the Classical (480 - 323 BCE) and the Hellenistic (323 - 31 BCE). Greek pottery dating from the century before the Geometric period is called Protogeometric.

Art historians also identify Greek pottery along a more specific timeline of evolving styles, beginning again with the Geometric style (900 - 725 BCE). The Oriental style (725 - 600 BCE) is followed by the Black-Figure style (600 - 480 BCE). The Red-Figure style emerged around 530 BCE and continued alongside the Black-Figure style. After that, the evolution of pottery styles corresponds to the final two broad categories mentioned above: the Classical and the Hellenistic.

Form Follows Function

This large Greek storage jar, called a pithos, was intended for outdoor use.

Greek pottery was meant to be utilitarian. The way each piece of pottery is shaped, and the way it is decorated, reflects the particular use to which that piece was put. The scenes and figures depicted on Greek pottery also convey information about mythology, historic events and cultural traditions. Knowing something about Greek history, culture, religious beliefs and customs helps people understand the decorative aspects of the pottery, but it's also true that close study of the people, activities and events depicted on the pottery has greatly aided understanding of ancient Greece as a society.

The Beazley Archive

The Louvre in Paris is one of many museums that houses famous examples of ancient Greek pottery.

The Beazley Archive -- part of the Classical Art Research Centre in Oxford, England -- is the complete archive of Sir John Beazley, a professor of classical archaeology in the early part of the 20th century and one of the foremost historical experts on Greek and Roman art. The Beazley Archive houses a large collection of ancient Greek pottery, and on its website provides details of other famous archaeological finds from museum collections around the world. Ten are listed below.

10 Famous Pieces

The Greek god Hermes was one of many mythological figures depicted on ancient Greek pottery.

1. The Francois vase is one of the earliest known Athenian clay bowls. This bowl, called a krater, is a black-figure piece depicting a wedding procession. Also inscribed on the piece, which is housed at the Museo Archeologico in Florence, Italy, are the names of the potter (Ergotimos) and the painter (Kleitias).

2. Tieson's Little Master cup is another black-figure piece. It is inscribed "Tleson ho Nearcho epoisen," which means "Tieson, son of Nearchos, made this." The piece is housed at the former Castle Ashby (now a museum) in Northamptonshire, England.

3. Amasis Painter's black-figure "vintaging amphora" is a type of vase used to hold wine. The scenes of satyrs and the god of wine, Dionysos, in a vineyard celebrating and dancing identify this piece's use at the time. This amphora is housed in Basel, Switzerland, at the Antikensammlungen.

4. The Lysippides Painter amphora shows the god Heracles taking a bull to be sacrificed. This piece, which is housed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, was intended both for storage and display.

5. The Antaios krater was painted by Euphronios. The potter's name is Ezekias. Antaios was a mythological giant. He appears as a character in works by the Greek poet Pindar and also in one or more tragic plays by Phrynichos -- both of whom were contemporaries of Euphronios. The Antaios krater is a red-figure piece executed in a style called "Pioneer," which used anatomical principles to depict physical movement. It is housed at the Louvre in Paris.

6. The Berlin Painter's name vase is a red-figure amphora meant for both storage and display. It is executed, according to its description at the Beazley Archive, in "a careful and highly structured style that leads on to the classical Achilles and Phiale Painters." It is housed at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, Germany.

7. Kleophrades Painter "Sack of Troy" hydria is a red-figure water pot housed at the Museo Nazionale Archeologico in Naples, Italy. A hydria is a three-handled water jar. Two of the handles are used to carry the jar; the third is used to pour. Hydriai were also used as repositories for voting ballots and for cremation ashes.

8. The Achilles Painter name vase is a red-figure amphora intended for storage and display. It is an example of the Classical style and is housed at the Vatican.

9. The Eretria Painter name vase is another piece in the Classical style. It is a red-figure piece with a "moulded female head" and decorated with feminine motifs such as images of a bride, and wedding scenes. It is housed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens, Greece.

10. The Meidias Painter name vase is a red-figure piece in the Classical style. It depicts scenes and figures from Greek mythology. Its purpose is uncertain, although it may have been used for display. The painter's name (Meidias) is inscribed on the vase's shoulder. The piece is housed at the British Museum in London.

Tags: Greek pottery, Greek pottery, Beazley Archive, name vase, Painter name vase, ancient Greek, ancient Greek pottery

Test Silver Ore

Silver jewelry is made from the precious element extracted from silver ore.

Ore is a variety of rock that contains precious metals. Silver ore is mined underground, and the silver must be extracted using heat, crushing methods and chemical injections. Once removed, it is used to make items like jewelry, batteries, silverware and medical equipment. Silver ore is primarily mined in Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Canada, Peru, Mexico, Arizona, Chile and Germany. It is found in the veins of rock that have hot water flowing through and around them.

Instructions

Testing for Silver Ore

1. Gather a test-concentrated portion of the suspected silver ore. A bean-sized sample is ideal to get a visible result from the test. From the ore, you can either chip off a portion of the silver or scrape off the equivalent amount of powder.

2. Collect a sample of chlorine-free water for the silver ore test. Chlorine test strips can be found at home improvement or pool supply stores. Once the water is filtrated and tested free of chlorine, the test can begin.

3. Add 2 cubic centimeters of chlorine-free water to a test tube and 1 cubic centimeter of nitric acid with the specimen collected from the silver ore. Boil this solution until the silver specimen is dissolved.

4. Add a few drops of hydrochloric acid to the dissolved mixture. If silver is present, the solution will turn milky in appearance, which indicates it is a low-quality specimen. If the acid is added and the result is a thick, curdy mass, then it is a high-grade specimen of silver.

Tags: chlorine-free water, from silver, rock that

Edible Rock Cycle Activities For Kids

Students can better understand how different rocks form after completing these activities.

The rock cycle is made up of three different rock types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Throughout the rock cycle, rocks might settle together to become sedimentary rocks, melt and reform to become igneous rocks and join together under intense pressure to become metamorphic rocks, over and over again. In order to help your students understand each step of the rock cycle in a hands-on way, you can use these edible activities.

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are surprisingly easy to represent. Most solid, non-cook foods can represent sedimentary rocks, since they entail several edible materials combined together without intense pressure or incredibly high heat. (They will entail some heat or pressure, but very little relative to the other rocks types.) You can make Rice Krispy treats with your students made by mixing the cereal with marshmallow fluff and pressing it into a pan, or you can use peanut butter to stick small cereal pieces together for a similar effect. As a healthy alternative, you can make any healthy no-bake granola bar recipe, using honey to stick together oatmeal, granola, raisins and other basic ingredients.

Igneous Rocks

Igneous rocks form when rocks are heated to the point where they melt and become magma, and then cool and solidify again. You can represent this process by simply melting chocolate and then allowing it to reform. Students may enjoy pouring the molten chocolate into candy molds to show how the magma takes on the form of the location in which it solidifies. You can also make chocolate chip cookies, which begin as balls but slowly melt and reform as circles.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks form when two rocks are subjected to extreme pressure and mold together to form a new rock. To represent this process, you can take two taffies, place them in a stack on top of a piece of wax paper, cover them with a second piece of wax paper, and then instruct students to subject them to pressure (through squishing or pounding) in order to join them into one piece of taffy. You can also use two pieces of bread--perhaps whole grain and regular--pressed together with a rolling pin, or two colors of edible play dough.

Putting It All Together

Throughout these activities, discuss with students what they have learned about rocks through making these edible treats. They may notice that the molten rock can be melted and reformed again and again, that the metamorphic rock has two different colors or layers in it just as some rocks do, or that you can see each of the ingredients in the sedimentary rock easily and that they haven't seemed to change their form. This can lead to a deeper understanding of the differences between these three basic rock types.

Tags: rock cycle, rocks form, form when, form when rocks, intense pressure, melt reform, piece paper

Online Physical Science Activities

At the NASA website, students can add their names to a microchip going to Mars.

Match elements to their symbols or fill in missing chemicals on the periodic table with online activities at Sheppard Software. Learn about geomagnetism via an online comic book, or put your name on a microchip bound for Mars on the NASA website. The Internet is brimming with interactive physical science activities to educate and entertain students.

Space and the Solar System

Learn about the chemical compositions of the planets on the NASA website.

The National Aeronautical and Space Administration, NASA, has an interactive website for kids with activities at five skill levels. Elementary games use space-themed icons, whereas the highest level offers a quiz game about the solar system. For older students, NASA has a web page full of links to activities such as NASA podcasts and educational videos, NASA career information, an extensive image gallery and interactive space shuttle activities. Students can also put their names on a microchip that is to be sent to Mars in 2011 on the NASA site, and a printable certificate of participation is generated.

Climate, Weather and Marine Life

At the NOAA website, learn how ocean temperatures are measured.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, offers online activities in the subjects of oceans and coasts, climate, weather and atmosphere, and marine life. Track tsunamis across the ocean via a buoy system, or watch webcasts and videos about extreme weather. Use an online weather forecast simulator, which prompts students to make decisions about evacuations and announcements to the public. Learn how the ocean's climate and temperature are measured, learn read real-world climate data, and study the rise and fall of the sea level. NOAA's website offers resources and interactive experiences for students of all grade levels.

Geology and Geomagnetism

The USGS website has information about rocks and geology in addition to chemistry and geomagnetics.

The U. S. Geological Survey, or USGS, offers online physical science resources for elementary and secondary grades as well as college levels. The USGS site hosts educational videos and animations, photo collections, interactive maps and databases, and lessons and activities. Activities on this site cover the topics of ecosystems, biology, chemistry, geology, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, volcanoes, rocks, minerals, plate tectonics, astronomy, geomagnetism, groundwater and floods. Read a 16-page comic book, "Journey Along a Field Line," about geomagnetism online, or print it out in PDF format, browse through a virtual solar system or learn collect and identify rocks. The USGS also runs an astrogeology website for kids, which includes games and activities such as printable moon and Mars coloring books and magnets.

Chemicstry, Biology and Physics

Play games while learning about the periodic table of the elements.

Sheppard Software has an assortment of interactive activities for the subject areas of chemistry, biology, physics and other physical sciences. Play element matching and learning games as well as a six-skill-level periodic table of the elements game. The site also has three cell tutorials with games, covering plant, animal and bacterial cells.

Tags: NASA website, periodic table, about geomagnetism, about geomagnetism online, activities such, comic book

Different Sedimentary Rocks

It typically takes millions of years for sedimentary rocks to form.

If you've ever visited the Grand Canyon or been by any river or cliff where you observed horizontal stripes in the rocks there, then you have seen sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks always form where they has been water, so they provide a geological record of sorts. They may indicate where a body of water, such as a lake or river once was, and also reveal the minerals and even the plant and animal life that was there at the time that layer of sediment was laid down.

The Basic Process

Sedimentary rock is formed when minerals are carried, usually by water but sometimes by wind or gravity, to a place where they are deposited in layers. As the layers grow, the weight on the lower levels increases until the sheer amount of pressure being exerted on them causes them to fuse and harden into rock. Each layer may be slightly different from the others, as weather and other forces conspire to drop different materials at different times.

Clastic

Clastic, also called silicaclastic, rocks are formed out of other rocks and bits of sand and clay. If you can see chunks of different minerals inside a rock, then it is a clastic rock. The minerals that make up clastic rocks are not dissolvable in water and have silica as one of their major components. They call be very small particles, such as the "silt" that makes up siltstone, moderately small, like the sand that makes up sandstone, or the size of pebbles more than two millimeters across, such as those to be found in a clastic rock descriptively named conglomerate.

Chemical

Chemical sedimentary rocks form out of minerals, such as salt and gypsum, that are able to dissolve into a solution. If the minerals become highly concentrated in the water, either because of evaporation or deposition, then they form rocks. Iron is a chemical sedimentary rock formed when iron and oxygen form in a solution together. A large portion of these rocks are composed of calcite, and they are called carbonates. Dolomite is one example of a chemical carbonate.

Organic

Organic sedimentary rocks are formed from the accumulation of plant and animal debris---that is to say, organic matter. They are also called biochemical rocks because, like chemical rocks, their minerals start out in a solution. The only way that those minerals are removed from the solution is by absorption into an animal or plant. When that animal or plant dies, then the minerals in its skeleton form rock. Classic examples of this are coal and some varieties of limestone.

Tags: also called, animal plant, clastic rock, formed when, plant animal, rock formed, rock formed when

Find Minerals & Gems In Virginia

Raw topaz gems can be found in rock in Virginia.

Finding raw minerals and gems in Virginia is possible, but it takes some preparation. The state has locations rich in garnet, topaz, columbite and other crystals; you just have to know where to look to find them. Whether you are an experienced gem hunter or a beginner, you should be able to find gems in Virginia's mines. If you are a beginner, studying the appearance of the gems you hope to find in their natural states will help you correctly identify them.

Instructions

1. List the minerals and gems that you would like to collect. Virginia mines are known to contain topaz, garnet, columbite, phosphate minerals, zinnwaldite and amazonite, among other minerals and gems. Study photos of your gems and minerals of choice to help you identify them.

2. Travel to a mine that is known to contain the gems and minerals you seek. Morefield Mine, located 45 minutes west of Richmond in Amelia County, is rich with a wide variety of gems. The Great Falls area is known to contain gold. Be sure that you are going to a place that is known to have what you hope to find.

3. Bring essential equipment based on the weather and natural conditions that you will be working in. If you are entering mines, you will need headlamps and other safety equipment. If you will be panning for gold or other minerals and gems, waders will help keep you dry. You will need pans and strainers to pick up the matter that you will be examining for gems and minerals. Go to an outdoor-enthusiast store to purchase the equipment that you need.

4. Look in loose gravel, rocks, riverbed stones, limestone deposits and other areas where gems and minerals are known to be found. Examine each piece you pick up for signs of your chosen gems and minerals. Keep everything that you suspect is a gem or mineral. If you're not sure, have it appraised by a jeweler later.

Tags: gems minerals, minerals gems, known contain, gems Virginia, hope find, identify them, other minerals

Types Of Plate Tectonics In Earthquakes

The theory of plate tectonics was developed in the 1960s and 1970s, and transformed our understanding of geology. According to the theory, Earth's crust is broken into pieces, or plates, that are constantly in motion. Three primary types of plate tectonic boundaries exist: transform boundaries, divergent boundaries and convergent boundaries. The nature of convergent boundaries varies depending on whether they occur in the ocean floor or continental floor.

Transform Boundaries

Transform boundaries, known more commonly as faults, occur where two plates slide horizontally past each other. Most faults occur along the ocean floor and produce shallow earthquakes. However, some faults--such as the San Andreas fault in California--occur on land. Earthquakes along the San Andreas fault result from the Pacific Plate sliding past the North American Plate, which it has been doing for 10 million years at a rate of several inches per year.

Divergent Boundaries

At divergent boundaries, neighboring plates pull away from each other. This produces new crust, which expands the ocean floors or creates a rift zone on land. Diverging landmasses will eventually become distinct, as the divide between them fills with water. For this reason, Iceland will someday be split down the middle into two islands. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between South America and Africa, is another example of diverging plates.

Convergent Boundaries: Oceanic Convergence

Oceanic convergence can occur where two oceanic plates meet, or when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate. A deep oceanic trench can develop when two oceanic plates collide, as one plate tends to get subducted under the other. Ocean volcanoes also form at oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries, collecting lava and debris until they grow out of the water and become island volcanoes. This process often forms island arcs that are subject to frequent, strong earthquakes. When an oceanic plate converges on a continental plate, the oceanic plate generally gets pushed under the continental plate, creating mountain ranges, generating powerful earthquakes and breaking the subducted oceanic plate into pieces.

Convergent Boundaries: Continental Convergence

Continental rocks are a relatively light part of the Earth's crust. Thus, when two continental plates meet, the surface gets pushed upward. Unlike convergence with oceanic plates, neither plate will get pushed under the other; instead, the convergence is like icebergs colliding. For this reason, earthquakes are common, but volcanism is comparatively rare. The Himalayas resulted from the convergence of the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate.

Tags: oceanic plate, continental plate, oceanic plates, Andreas fault, Convergent Boundaries, convergent boundaries

Science Fair Projects With Limestone Popcorn Crystals

Popcorn rock is a type of limestone crystal that grows naturally, and creates a fun platform for a number of science experiments.

A crystal growing experiment can give students deepened understanding of how mineral crystals grow. Popcorn rock is a naturally occurring light weight, aragonite limestone crystal found at some outcrops in the Great Basin of the western United States. The popcorn-like crystals are formed from limestone formations. Students can try various experiments using this rock. Growing crystals is not only easy, but also fun and educational.

Growing Popcorn Rock Crystals

The students can collect some pieces of popcorn rocks and produce a healthy new crop of popcorn crystals. They just need to put the popcorn rock in a clear glass bowl and add enough white distilled vinegar to completely cover them. The existing crystals act as seeds, and new crystals begin to form within one to three weeks. If proper care is given, the popcorn crystals will last for years.

Crystal Decay

The students can do a comparative experiment using popcorn crystals and show how humans can destroy crystal formations by a single touch. Popcorn rock forms into beautiful crystal as the vinegar evaporates from the bowl. Students can take two dishes of popcorn rocks, and allow classmates to touch the rocks in one bowl while safeguarding another bowl from any human contact. Students will observe that crystal formations can be affected by human touch. The oils in the students' fingers slowly destroy the crystals in one dish, while the untouched crystals are unaffected.

Popcorn Rock Chemistry

After watching the popcorn rocks grow, students can learn more about geology, chemistry and the process of a chemical reaction by writing a report on the chemical reaction that creates the popcorn like crystals. Students can try to grow crystals in other types of acids, and discuss which one works the best. Students should be able to discuss why this particular rock reacts to form crystals, while other limestone and quartz crystals do not. By investigating the chemical reaction, students will deepen their knowledge of the popcorn rock crystals, and how the earth forms different chemicals.

Crystal Growth Comparison

The students can observe the effects of popcorn rock in vinegar solution, and apply different variables to the crystals as they grow to see how the environment around the crystals affects their growth. Students can change some of the variables like keeping the glass bowl sealed or open and compare the results on the crystal's growth. Students can also place the bowl in light or dark locations to grow popcorn crystals. As the crystals grow, students can record any differences between the sample's growth, and report on which conditions are more favorable for crystal growth after the results are recorded.

Tags: chemical reaction, popcorn crystals, popcorn rocks, crystal formations, crystals grow

Famous Landforms

The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

If you're looking for an exciting place to go on vacation, consider going to one of the world's most famous landforms. These giant structures are millions of years old and have truly stood the test of time. These natural phenomenons surpass anything man-made on the planet.

Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is one of the largest volcanoes in the world.

Mount Saint Helens is located in the state of Washington and recently erupted in 1990.. The eruption demolished 229 square miles and burned a few million dollars worth of timber. Mount Saint Helens has erupted five times in the 20th century.

Grand Canyon

Did you know you can take donkey rides to the bottom of the Grand Canyon?

The Grand Canyon has been carved by the Colorado River for 17 million years. The width of the canyon ranges from four to 18 miles and is 277 miles in length. The first Europeans to visit the Grand Canyon were conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas who were helped by Hopi Indian guides.

Mount Everest

View from Mount Everest base camp.

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on the planet sitting approximately 8.85 kilometers higher than sea level. The mountain was named after Sir George Everest, British Surveyor-General of India, in 1865. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top.

Howe Caverns

Lester Howe entered what would soon be called Howe Caverns on May 22,1842, with his friend Henry Westel for the first time, according to Howecaverns.com. Each time they went into the cave, they would venture deeper and deeper. The two of them explored approximately one and a half miles of underground tunnels together. Lester Howe bought the cavern from Henry Westel, who owned the land above the cave at the time, for $100. Lester Howe opened the cave as a commercial venture in 1843. Howe Caverns is located in Howes Cave, N.Y., and is still open to the public.

Great Lakes

Shown above, the shoreline of Lake Superior.

The Great Lakes hold a total of 6 quadrillion gallons of water, which is 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water. Six states border the Great Lakes and all of the lakes aside from Lake Michigan border both Canada and the United States. The Great Lakes were formed approximately 20,000 years ago when a giant glacier scraped out massive chunks of land in the region, according to NASA.

Tags: Grand Canyon, Great Lakes, Mount Saint, Mount Saint Helens, Saint Helens

Find The Bedrock In A Creek

Running water erodes vertically, eventually cutting down to the bedrock.

Soil, surface rocks, pebbles and boulders all originate from solid-rock formations. When such formations are exposed on or near the surface, the processes of weathering begins to break them up, and erosion then moves the remains from place to place. A creek bed littered with assorted rocks and sediment will often reflect the nature of the relatively solid underlying, or bedrock deposits. Finding the bedrock usually involves the removal of the loose surface material, called overburden.

Instructions

1. Examine the geology map covering the area in which the creek is situated. Establish the sequence of rock deposits present in the area and their relationship to the creek. Determine whether the same deposits underlie all of the creek or whether different rock types outcrop at different places along the course of the creek. Mark boundaries between hard rocks and softer rocks on your map as these are often the site of waterfalls or rapids and are ideal places to find exposed bedrock.

2. Walk along the side of the creek and observe the stream bed. Look for large areas of exposed solid rock on the creek bed and to either side of the stream. Consult the geological map to identify the underlying bedrock that should be present in each location, then compare it to the visible rocks. If the visible rocks are identical to the geology predicted by the map, they are exposures of bedrock.

3. Visit the "break-of-slope" locations where hard rocks give way to soft rocks. For example, the face of a waterfall will expose the bedrock underlying the upper part of the falls. The back of the plunge pool --- a deep pool formed at the base of the falls --- exposes the bedrock below the fall.

4. Dig down through the overburden when it is not possible to locate exposures of bedrock. Choose fast-flowing sections of the creek that are likely to have thinner layers of overburden as erosion is more efficient at higher-water velocities.

Tags: exposures bedrock, hard rocks, underlying bedrock, visible rocks

The History Of The San Andreas Fault Zone

Earthquakes like the San Francisco temblor of 1906 cause economic and personal hardship.

Understanding the history of the San Andreas Fault zone is vital to creating a clear picture of the geological history of California. By studying the fault zone, seismologists can determine earthquake risks and engineers and urban planners can implement safety planning for future earthquakes. Builders can reduce fatalities by creating and constructing buildings that will better withstand earthquakes.

San Andreas Fault Is Old and Long

The San Andreas Fault runs approximately 800 miles through California. Twenty million years ago, changes in plate configuration between the North American and Pacific plates produced the San Andreas Fault. In 1895, geologist A.C. Lawson, from the University of California at Berkeley, named the fault for San Andreas Lake, which is now one of the two reservoirs that provide water for San Francisco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Lawson discovered that the San Andreas Fault stretched into Southern California.

Newspapers Record Earthquakes

Early records that describe the San Andreas Fault are scarce. Before the 1848 gold rush, Franciscan missions that operated from 1769 until the 1830s provided scattered accounts of earthquake records. Documented earthquake sources from the Mexican period, the early 1830s to 1846, are also scarce. The gold rush eventually brought newspapers to California, and earthquake events began to be recorded. Newspaper accounts still play an important part in tracing San Andreas Fault history.

Fort Tejon Shakes

Two major earthquakes have occurred along the San Andreas Fault in recorded history, the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. At Fort Tejon, located about 75 miles northwest of Bakersfield, Calif., buildings were damaged and only a few people were injured. Buildings in Los Angeles were cracked but sustained no major damage.The Southern California Earthquake Research Center reports that there were few fatalities because the area was sparsely populated.

San Francisco Trembles

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 rocked the coast of Northern California on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, measuring a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale of 10. Residents of Los Angeles and people as far away as Oregon and Nevada felt the temblor. The United States Geological Survey puts the death toll at 700. However, Gladys Hansen, now the curator at the Museum of the City of San Francisco, says the actual death toll from the quake and subsequent fire is closer to 3,000, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

John Milne Introduces Seismographs

In 1896, John Milne introduced instruments capable of systematically detecting California and Nevada earthquakes. Seismographs from these instruments and their successors provided earthquake information. Seismographic instruments began to be used extensively at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1926, the Wood-Anderson seismograph appeared, and in 1935 Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology invented the Richter mathematical scale to measure earthquake magnitude.

Seismologists Predict Earthquakes

In recent years, seismologists have studied the San Andres Fault with the goal of discovering the history of the earth's movement along the fault. They have documented major earthquakes other than the Fort Tejon and San Francisco temblors by examining soil layers using radiometric dating. Estimating the frequency and magnitude of these quakes helps seismologists define when the next earthquake will occur, which they say is already overdue.

Tags: Andreas Fault, Fort Tejon, Francisco earthquake, 1906 Francisco, 1906 Francisco earthquake, death toll, earthquake 1906