The oscillating atmospheric CO[subscript 2] concentrations at Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States of America, are Fourier transformed in order to extract the period of oscillations. Also well-known as the Keeling curve, CO[subscript 2] concentrations (in time series) at Mauna Loa oscillate in direct association with seasonal…

The vast extent to which quantitative prerequisites vary among post-secondary geoscience programs often presents a challenge for educators and students alike in courses for which math and physics are foundational. This study discusses the design of GEOAppS, a suite of educational numerical models, and its application toward lowering the…

This dissertation is the product of several individual multi-disciplinary investigations that cover a variety of topics in mathematics, physics, geology, and geoscience education. The first chapter formulates a better understanding of the timings, magma source, and relationships between dikes and associated magmatic bodies of the Red Bluff…

Simulations of physical systems are widely available online, with no cost, and are ready to be used in our classrooms. Such simulations offer an accessible tool that can be used for a range of interactive learning activities. The Jovian Moons Apple allows the user to track the position of Jupiter's four Galilean moons with a variety of…

We investigated the effect of modeling and visualization resources on upper-division, undergraduate and graduate students' performance on an open-ended assessment of their understanding of physical hydrology. The students were enrolled in one of five sections of a physical hydrology course. In two of the sections, students completed homework…

Describes how to fit binocular observations of the planets to a theoretical model of circular orbits using a modern computer spreadsheet, from which fundamental data about the solar system may be deduced. (AIM)

Describes how a spreadsheet is used to fit a circular orbit model to observations of Jupiter's moons made with a small telescope. Kepler's Third Law and the inverse square law of gravity are observed. (AIM)

Two classroom studies, one conducted in the spring of 1985 and the second in the spring of 1986, showed that many high school students do not differentiate between heat and temperature; instead, they have a single concept that contains some of the features of heat and some of the features of temperature. Because the distinction between these two…

The concept of the density of a material has an important role in elementary and secondary school science curricula, but it is a difficult concept to grasp. This project explores why this should be and whether there are some simpler, more accessible notions which can serve as the basis for building a concept of density in students' minds during…