CUES - Constructing Understandings of Earth Systems


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2.3 Using Models to Study the Inside of the Earth

Understand what causes earthquakes.
Understand the structure of the inside of the Earth.
Understand how scientists know about the inside of the Earth.
Understand that models can be changed and improved.

Inside the Earth US Geological Survey
Read a brief description, with figures, of the internal structure of the Earth.

Ocean Waves Model NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

	Test animations of ocean wave motion

Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake in Alaska USGS
View an animation of the seismic waves of a 7.9 Earthquake in Alaska. The seismic waves were generated by the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake. You can see how P and S waves work.

Reflection of Waves from Boundaries Dr. Dan Russell Kettering University Applied Physics

	View animations of wave reflections from soft and hard boundries.

Wave Simulator Noriyoshi Kato
You can make waves in this interactive animation.

The Earth's Crust USGS

	Where is the Earth's crust the thickest? Where is it the thinnest? This map shows the crustal thickness around the globe.

Earth's Interior Nevada Seismological Laboratory
Find out more about how scientists understand the Earth's interior.

Chapter One
Nature of Science

Chapter Two
Large-Scale Forces that Change the Geosphere

2.1
Evidence, Models, and Explanation

2.2
Matter Within Systems

2.3
Using Models

2.4
Natural Hazards and Risks

2.5
Earthquakes and Volcanoes

2.6
Continental Drift

2.7
Mantle Convecton and Plate Tectonics

2.8
Mountain-
Building

Chapter Three
Surface Process that Change the Geosphere

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This project is supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation (grant no ESI-0095938). Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.