Richter Scale

Celebrate the birthday of the inventor of the Richter Scale with some geological, tectonic, earth-shaking activities. Each of these activities meets a variety of state and national standards for technology and core subject areas.

Grades K-2
Discuss as a class the basics of geology, tectonic movement, earthquakes, and the Richter Scale. On the board, write the numbers of the Richter Scale along with a brief description of each. Have students use Word Processing software to type each number along with a sentence describing what they think an earthquake of that magnitude would be like. Have students practice typing numbers, words, and using Enter between each line.
EasyTech units: Word Processing Basics, Introduction to Keyboards

Grades 3-5
Have students use the Web to research the geology, geological movements, and earthquakes—and/or have them complete the associated Aha!Science units. Then as a class brainstorm all the vocabulary words related to plate tectonics and earthquakes students can think of. Assign each student several of the words, have then use the Web to research definitions, and then enter the Word, Definition, Source(s), and Description into an earthquake Database. As a class, search the database for various words and ideas to see what entries come up and to understand how different geological processes are related.
EasyTech units: Web Browsing Basics, Database Basics

Grades 6-8
Have students use the Web to track earthquake activity, and record each earthquake for a week in Spreadsheet software. Students should note the date, time, location, and magnitude of each quake. At the end of the week, have students use their data to predict the location of the next quake and use Word Processing software to write a letter to people in that location, warning them of a potential quake, telling them the reasons for the prediction, and advising them on how to be prepared.
EasyTech units: Web Browsing, Word Processing Software, Spreadsheet Software