Unit--WHAT'S DOWN THERE?

Seafloor Profiling

 

Unit's Activities At a Glance:

The overall purpose of this unit is to introduce students to the general system for mapping the seafloor remotely, since most of the seafloor is deep and not visible from the sea surface. In Lesson #1, students will model a seafloor with shoeboxes and blocks, and then map the seafloor using yakitori skewers or lei needles. Lesson #2 is a teacher demonstration modeling echolocation. Lesson #3 allows students to interpret an actual seafloor map from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

 

Appropriate Grade Levels: Grade 7 to 12

 

Subjects: Earth Science

 

Minimum Time Required for the Unit: about 3.5 45-minute periods

 

Hawaii Content and Performance Standards:

Science Standard 2; Benchmark 8.2.2 'Describe how scale and mathematical models can be used to support and explain scientific data'

 

Materials:

 

• Lesson #1—blocks of wood, shoeboxes, metric ruler, graph paper, paper, pencil yakitori skewers or lei needles, and student handout, 'Seafloor Profiling Data Table.'

 

• Lesson #2 –ping pong ball, stopwatch

 

• Lesson #3—Internet access, student handout, 'Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Seafloor Maps'

 

Procedure/Assessment:

Author: Barbara Mayer (bamayer@gmail.com)

See the Procedures/Assessment for each of the following 3 lessons in this unit:

• SEAFLOOR PROFILING—Lesson #1: Introduction
• SEAFLOOR PROFILING—Lesson #2: Echolocation
•   SEAFLOOR PROFILING—Lesson #3: Understanding seafloor maps from the NWHI

 

Rubric for this unit.