S103 Discovering Science Diary
Block 3
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15th February 2003
I've finished the block - but not quite finished the TMA as I'm uncertain as to what is wanted in the last part of the last question - so am hanging on for a while. (Haven't even finished, completely, TMA02 yet!!).
Well, now that this (very interesting) block is finished, the home kit arrived!!
Small quartz crystal, sandstone, crinoidal limestone (polished), mica schist (with garnets), basalt, granite, trilobite, coral (think), crinoid, ammonite, brachiopod, echinoid, indicator papers (litmus paper stuff), (another) hand lens and a diffraction grating, which is for the quantum stuff and throws out serious rainbows! All this is neatly packed inside a plastic box - and we get to keep it! :)
3rd February 2003
Jupiter's spot and moons
Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
I am well into this block already! I find it the most interesting of the blocks so far (and, in truth, some of it I've found rather easy because of doing S260 first). I am trying to slow down a little, or else I'm going to run out of work - but it's quite fascinating stuff and it's hard to stop reading. I am particularly taken with the astronomy aspects at the beginning of the block and have added the short course S140 (Introducing Astronomy) to my list (in place of the Blue Oceans)!
The S103 conference is not the same as the S260 one, which is understandable, given that many (if not most) of the students are first timers to the OU - and that there are so many of them! However, I find it a valuable source of camaraderie - even although some students don't understand me (what's new?!?! :)) There are also complaints from some students, that the conferences are being hogged by the same people. Well, if they would put forward comments or answer questions themselves, then the same people perhaps wouldn't feel the need to hog??
Onwards with the sea-floor spreading!!
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| The Earth and its place in the Universe - Block 3 contents
The view from the Earth
The Sun
The Moon and the planets
The stars
The Milky Way
Exploring the Universe
The Solar System
The Galaxy
The journey time
Galaxies galore!
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Newton's laws
Newton's first law of motion
Newton's second law of motion
Newton's law of gravity
Orbital motions in the Solar System and in the Galaxy
The Solar System
The Sun
The planets (and their satellites)
The small bodies in the Solar System
The origin of the Solar System
The Earth's surface
The Earth's atomosphere and oceans
The solid Earth
Heights and depths
Earthquakes
What happens during an earthquake?
Why do earthquakes occur?
Where do earthquakes occur?
The size of earthquakes
Volcanic activity
Volcanoes and their eruptions
Where do volcanoes occur
Volcanoes and earthquakes
How rocks are formed
Rocks and minerals
The formation of igneous rocks
The formation of sedimentary rocks
The formation of metamorphic rocks
Reviewing the features of different rock types
The Earth's interior
How is the inside of the Earth investigated?
The seismic structure of the Earth
Density, magnetism and meteorites
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Continental drift: a theory for the Earth?
Continental drift
A first test of the hypothesis: fossils
A second test of the hypothesis: ancient climates
A third test: the palaeomagnetic record
From hypothesis to theory
Sea-floor spreading
Exploring a mid-ocean ridge
Sea-floor spreading and the origin of ocean basins
Continental drift and sea-floor spreading: examples of scientific discovery
The theory of plate tectonics
Plates, lithosphere and asthenosphere
Plate boundaries
Plate motion
The speed of relative plate motion
Processes at plate boundaries
Divergent plate boundaries
Convergent plate boundaries
Transform fault plate boundaries
Using plate tectonics to explain (nearly) everything
Why do plates move?
The Hawaiian hot spot
Hot-spot trails and absolute plate motion
Speed limits for plates
Plate tectonics and Earth history
The cycle of oceanic lithosphere creation and destruction
Plate tectonics and the growth of continental crust
Plate motion in the past and future
The rock cycle
Moving around the rock cycle
The rock cycle and plate tectonics
The biosphere
The business of life
Life and the atmosphere
Life and the water cycle
Life and the rock cycle
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