Finally finished marking the Mock exams guys, and......
....looking good! No results until the Mock results day on Jan 10th, but lots to be smiley about: 79% A*-C and we still have a term and half to go with some intensive revision sessions heading your way!!
However, there are some obvious areas to work on:
Fossils - Features and ages of Ammonoids (get the term Septal Suture in your heads!!), Bivalves - again features are key here. Think mode of life too - use the obvious characteristics of the fossil to help. I suggest that you also have a look at Graptolites. They didn't come up in the Mock, or last years paper so.....
Evidence for the theory of Plate Tectonics - speaks for itself really, but have a good look at your notes on palaeomagnetism.
Formation of Minerals - 5 methods of Mineral formation (especially formation of minerals due to circulating hydrothermal fliuds - think Ganague Minerals - what are they?!!
Igneous rocks - and in particular lava types - which lava types do we find commonly forming at different plate boundaries? Make sure you can distinguish between Granite, Basalt and Andesite!!!!
Sedimentary Rocks - you love them! what are the key types and how do they form (hopefully the Controlled Assessment will be of some use here!
Enjoy Christmas - but do some revision boys and girls!!!
Monday 24 December 2012
Landslide in Dorset
The second land slide in as many days struck the coast of Burlington Chine, Swanage on the 23rd dec. This slip was caught on Camera:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9763420/Landslide-in-Dorset-caught-on-camera.html
Purbeck District Council have warned that people are continuuing to ignore warning signs, even after a 22 year old woman was killed in July: BBC news Dorset landlside
This area of coastline is prone to movement, but the recent heavy rains have been a factor in accelerating the rate of slip.
How do landslides happen?
The term landslide is a generic term that refers to the mass movement of sediment down a slope. This can be thought of as a combination of erosion and transportation, with gravity as the agent.
More details here :-)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9763420/Landslide-in-Dorset-caught-on-camera.html
Purbeck District Council have warned that people are continuuing to ignore warning signs, even after a 22 year old woman was killed in July: BBC news Dorset landlside
This area of coastline is prone to movement, but the recent heavy rains have been a factor in accelerating the rate of slip.
How do landslides happen?
The term landslide is a generic term that refers to the mass movement of sediment down a slope. This can be thought of as a combination of erosion and transportation, with gravity as the agent.
More details here :-)
Monday 17 December 2012
Fracking: what is it and why are we doing it?
So, we're running out of oil and natural gas. Right?
Wrong. There are still plentiful supplies of both, however the number of easily tapable resources are getting fewer, and whilst the discussions over what to do with old Oil reservoirs continues (worth doing some research on Carbon sequestration).
Eventually traditional methids of extracting hydrocarbons will exhaust supplies, so scientists are turning to reserves that have previously not needed to be used, either becaue they are too expensive, we didn't have the technology to extract them, or Governments were afraid of environmental reprucussions.
However we now find our selves in a position where we need to turn to the reserves. President Obama has already alluded to the need for the US to develop its oil sands (more commonly referred to as Tar Sands) extraction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands
with controversial outcomes.
Now Britain is looking to increase its resources of Natural Gas through a controversial process known as Fracking. Until recently it was banned following damage done to local houses. However the Government recently, and controversially, lifted the Ban and opened the reserves up for exploitation.
In simple terms Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing as it is officially known, is a method of freeing gas trapped in rocks by injected water at high pressure into resevoir rocks (in this case non-permeable shale), this cause the rocks to fracture and so release the gas.
This is controversial for a number of reasons. The following links explore this in more detail, and will allow you to form an opinion of your own. But the ultimate question here is: To what lengths should we go in order to meet our demands for hydrocarbons?
Something else worth exploring is the difference between reserves and resources.
BBC News - Fracking, untangling the myths
Telegraph - How much gas can Fracking provide?
This next site also contains a link to a document on Fracking from the Environment Summit held in Rio in 2012:
Friends of the Earth - say no to Fracking
Uni of Rochester - fracking feasible if practiced safely
Wrong. There are still plentiful supplies of both, however the number of easily tapable resources are getting fewer, and whilst the discussions over what to do with old Oil reservoirs continues (worth doing some research on Carbon sequestration).
Eventually traditional methids of extracting hydrocarbons will exhaust supplies, so scientists are turning to reserves that have previously not needed to be used, either becaue they are too expensive, we didn't have the technology to extract them, or Governments were afraid of environmental reprucussions.
However we now find our selves in a position where we need to turn to the reserves. President Obama has already alluded to the need for the US to develop its oil sands (more commonly referred to as Tar Sands) extraction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands
with controversial outcomes.
Now Britain is looking to increase its resources of Natural Gas through a controversial process known as Fracking. Until recently it was banned following damage done to local houses. However the Government recently, and controversially, lifted the Ban and opened the reserves up for exploitation.
In simple terms Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing as it is officially known, is a method of freeing gas trapped in rocks by injected water at high pressure into resevoir rocks (in this case non-permeable shale), this cause the rocks to fracture and so release the gas.
Something else worth exploring is the difference between reserves and resources.
BBC News - Fracking, untangling the myths
Telegraph - How much gas can Fracking provide?
This next site also contains a link to a document on Fracking from the Environment Summit held in Rio in 2012:
Friends of the Earth - say no to Fracking
Uni of Rochester - fracking feasible if practiced safely
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Year 10 Rock Cycle homework
This week I'd like you to follow a rock through the rock cycle.
Start with Granite as an Intrusive Igneous rock and then follow it through the rock cycle. Create a flow chart to show what happens at each stage. Consider the component minerals of granite (Orthoclase, Plagioclase, Quartz and Mica), you could follow just one of these through the rock cycle (Quartz might be the easiest?).
How does Granite break down? What Sedimentary rocks forms from the mineral/minerals? What happens to this rock when heat and pressure are applied?
Geology through the Rock Cycle
rock cycle animation
How does Granite break down? What Sedimentary rocks forms from the mineral/minerals? What happens to this rock when heat and pressure are applied?
Geology through the Rock Cycle
rock cycle animation
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