A school after an earthquake |
This
webquest might leave you "shaking" in your shoes! Seriously, though, here
in northern Illinois, we don't worry or even think much about earthquakes.
We assume folks in places like California and Japan are the ones who should
be concerned, not us.
But what about this thing called the New Madrid Fault? Could there be an earthquake there strong enough for us to feel? Has there ever been one? What about the minor earthquake we just had? Could we have more or stronger ones? Should we be building earthquake safe buildings here, too? |
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You will be finding the answers to these questions and more in the Tremor Trepidation webquest (including the meaning of trepidation if necessary!) Your task is to take on the role of an advisor to our county building code committee which decides on building safety regulations. After learning about earthquakes in general, earthquakes in the Midwest, and earthquake-safe buildings, you will work with your group to make a recommendation to this committee about the need for earthquake-safe building laws for our county. | |||
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1. As a class, we'll brainstorm lists
of what we already know about earthquakes and what we still need to know
in order to make our recommendation.
2. We'll do several activities / labs to help us learn about earthquakes, why they happen, how they're measured, how they damage buildings, what "earthquake safe" means. 3. You'll spend some time with books, CD's and the Internet to find answers to our "Need to Knows." 4. We also plan to email geologists and others in the seismology field for their advice. 5. You and your group will define what earthquake probability and magnitude you consider "great enough." 6. Then, you and your group will consider your information carefully to arrive at a consensus as to whether the chances of earthquake damage in northern Illinois are great enough to warrant laws that new buildings should be made earthquake safe. 7. Finally, your group will develop a presentation (PowerPoint, poster, letter,etc) to present your recommendation to the class and then to the committee. |
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Here's a list
of resources you might use:
Glencoe Science Interactions
text series, "Forces Inside the Earth."
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Congratulations! You've used powerful thinking and problem-solving skills to make a decision about a complex question and learned lots of cool stuff about earthquakes in the process.
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