Today in class we worked on a crossword over the concepts in the first chapter and started a foldable art exercise over the layers of the Earth. If the kids didn’t get it done in class, which most didn’t then they need to take it home and work on it. I will give them time in class tomorrow to finish as well. I’m introducing a homework challenge for both of my classes here. This is to see how well they can work out a problem on their own. Give it a shot folks. Let’s see what we come up with.
Homework Challenge!
I am going to test your algebra skills a little by asking you to calculate the distances of the layers of the Earth (and some other markers), if you were and inch tall. We are going to use the football field behind Lux as a visual reference to do this. We will be referring to measurements such as feet, miles and inches because you are more familiar with them at this point. We will convert to the metric system later.
Now imagine:
- You are a six foot person shrunk down to an inch tall, standing on the far eastern edge of the Lux football field, facing West.
- How far would you have to walk across the field to illustrate the depth of the photic zone of the ocean?
- How far would you have to walk to illustrate the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean?
- How far would you have to walk to illustrate the bottom of the Earth’s crust? You might have to walk past the boundary of the Lux football field…
- How far would you have to walk to illustrate the core of the Earth?
Now consider these measurements:
The Lux football field is 500 feet wide, East to West.
The photic zone is 150 meters or about 500 feet deep.
The Mariana Trench is over 6.5 miles or 39940 feet deep.
The Crust is 3 miles deep under the Mariana Trench or another 15840 feet.
The core is 4000 miles below the Earth’s surface.
To answer these questions you will have to calculate a proportion equation! For example, 1 inch is to 6 feet…
1 inch ___ = ______X_______
6 feet Depth of photic zone
Try to figure out these distances and we will talk about them in class!