QUICKSAND AND EARTHQUAKES

 

SHORT TERM GOALS:

  1. To help students begin to understand how quicksand is a theory of the disappearance of the continent Atlantis.
  2. To help students make connections between earthquakes and quicksand, as well as how earthquakes can cause objects to disappear in quicksand.

TIME ALLOTMENT: 1/2 hour

MATERIALS:

  1. Fine grained sand
  2. A viscous material (motor oil)
  3. Pop can
  4. Tub or water basin for mixture

PROCEDURE:

  1. Atlantis is an island that is believed to have sunk in the exact area of the Bermuda Triangle. If it did, it can be included as one of the disappearances to have occurred in this area. Otherwise, it could be a cause of another disappearance. Ask the students what could have possibly made an entire continent sink.
  2. Keep the suggestions of the students in mind, but explain it is believed that the continent experienced a great earthquake and then sunk as if in quicksand. Using a big tub, fill it with fine-grained sand. Saturate the sand with a viscous material, such as motor oil. Set a pop can on the mixture, trying not to shake it.
  3. Notice that the pop can sits on the sand and only sinks slightly. Now shake that tub as if a great earthquake is occurring. Observe what happens to the can.
  4. The pop can will eventually disappear much more rapidly than when the mixture was unaffected. Could this have happened to a continent?
  5. The concepts of quicksand and earthquakes may be difficult to understand, especially in relation to a mythical place. Allow the students to research quicksand on the Internet or in some reference books so they can tie in the information to the experiment.

ASSESSMENT:

  1. Experiment Rubric
  2. Observation Checklist
  3. Lab Questions

EXTENSIONS:

  1. The students can research areas of the world where quicksand exists, and its effects on the landscape or populations.
  2. Allow the students to invent a new form of quicksand, giving them few restrictions, to see if they can sink materials in their new mixture.
  3. Research Atlantis in more depth, such as its mythological background, location, and its relation to the Bermuda Triangle.

RESOURCE:

Tim Flood (Science professor at St. Norbert College)

 

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