Seismic Sleuths Earthquakes A Teacher’s Package for Grades 7-12 Introduction Produced by The American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue, NW. Washington, DC 20009 Supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Washington, DC 20472 This product was developed by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) with financial support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under Cooperative Agreement EMW-92-K-3892. AGU is solely responsible for the accuracy of statements and interpretations contained herein. Funding for this publication was allocated to FEMA by The United States Congress, under the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended. FEMA maintains a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish or otherwise use and to authorize others to use, the work for public education purposes. FEMA hereby authorizes and encourages the educational community to reproduce this product in its entirety and to disseminate it at no cost to the recipient. Single copies of this publication may be obtained from FEMA at no cost by contacting the FEMA Warehouse: Toll free number: 1-800-480-2520, Fax: 301-497-6378 Mailing address: P.O. Box 2012, Jessup, MD 20794-2012 AGU/FEMA EARTHQUAKE CURRICULUM Project Director: M. Frank Watt Ireton, Manager of Pre-college Education, American Geophysical Union Associate Project Director: Karen Lee Spaulding, Manager of Professional and Continuing Education, American Geophysical Union Project Editor: Mary Liston Liepold, Washington, District of Columbia Copy Editor: Pam Knox, Senior Copy Editor, American Geophysical Union Authors and Reviewers: Roy Q. Beven, Science Teacher, San Juan Capistrano, California Jane Nelson Crowder, Science Teacher, Bellevue, Washington Jo Ellen Dodds, Science Teacher, Twin Falls, Idaho Lynda Vance, Science Teacher, Boise, Idaho James F. Marran, Social Studies Teacher, Wilmette, Illinois Ronald H. Morse, Science Teacher, Cicero, New York Walter L. Sharp, Science Teacher, Camillus, New York James D. Sproull, Science Teaching Consultant, Kirkland, Washington Consultants and Reviewers: Charles Ault, Science Educator, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon Robert A. Christman, Geologist and Science Educator, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington Henry J. Lagorio, Architectural Engineer, Orinda, California Sue J. Nava, Seismologist, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah Martin Stout, Engineering Geologist, Whittier, California Keith A. Sverdrup, Seismologist, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Diana Todd, Structural Engineer, National Institute of Science and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland Monte D. Wilson, Geologist, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho Design by: Auras Design, Washington, District of Columbia Illustrators: Susie Duckworth, Falls Church, Virginia Max Karl Winkler, Silver Spring, Maryland Graphic Artist: Gregg Sekscienski, Albuquerque, New Mexico Project Officer: Marilyn P. MacCabe, Mitigation Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) acknowledge with gratitude the many individuals who provided technical experience, teaching knowledge, and classrooms for field testing in the development of this project. Along with the authors and consultants, they provided continuous feedback in the development of these materials. Without the assistance of these individuals and the students who participated in the field test this volume would not have been possible. Technical Reviewers: William Chavez, Geological Engineer, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico Lucy Jones, Seismologist, United States Geological Survey David Love, Environmental Geologist, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico Mary Ellen Williams, Earthquake Program Specialist, United States Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts Curriculum Reviewers: Allen Bone, Science Teacher, Butte, Montana William Krayer, Science Teacher, Gaithersburg, Maryland Sharon Stroud, Science Teacher, Colorado Springs, Colorado Field Test Teachers: Roger Alsup, Jim Anderson, Richard Arrington, Joann Ball, Allen Bone, Gail Chaid, Linda Dudley, Jo Dodds, Elizabeth Ellis, George Foley, John Gallagher, Melody Green, Paul Grogger, Kay Kidder, Paul Jamerson, Larry Madden, Lloyd Magnuson, Gay Ann Masolo, Sue Ayn Moore, Becky Orahood, Doyle Orrell, Nancy Sallee, Sandy Shutey, Jack Staker, Ann Sullivan, Edith Thurman, Maris Ward, Leslie Wehner, Ronald Wieland, and Walt Woolbaugh. Teachers who participated in the two 1994 Seismic Sleuths Leadership Institutes also conducted field testing and review of the lessons during the institutes. The suggestions and additions by the initial field test and institute teacher participants have contributed to a stronger curriculum package. A special note of thanks to Katharyn E. K. Ross, whose comprehensive Fourth Edition of Earthquake Education Materials for Grades K - 12 contributed greatly to the unit resource lists in this package, and to Sean Cox, teacher, Salem High School, New Hampshire, who provided the appendix to Unit Six. Introduction Earthquakes are mystifying events. They are as unpredictable as they are powerful, and not even seismologists fully understand the forces within the Earth that set them in motion. As an educator, you can capitalize on that mysterious appeal to engage your students’ interest. Ultimately, however, the purpose of these lessons is to demystify earthquakes, and to counter the fatalism that frequently accompanies ignorance about natural phenomena. Interactive lessons invite students to discover what is known about quakes—the considerable body of knowledge that deals with their causes, the patterns of their occurrence, and what human beings can do to minimize their catastrophic effects on themselves and their communities. The units in this package follow a pattern of zooming in and out, beginning with concerns closest to home, moving to general principles and global perspectives, then homing in again to engage students in evaluating their personal preparedness and that of their families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Look for the magnifying glass symbols opposite the text, which indicate essential vocabulary and helpful hints (Teaching Clues and Cues). Units 1 and 6 deal most specifically with the personal and local, but every unit contains a mixture of general information and specific, local applications. A healthy respect for the power of earthquakes requires both kinds of understanding. Units 4 and 5 feature interactive lessons in architecture and engineering, topics seldom dealt with in grade 7-12 curriculum materials. You may not find time to teach every lesson in this package. For teachers who must pick and choose, most of the lessons are designed to stand on their own. Take time to familiarize yourself with the outline, however. Read the unit introductions; take advantage of the background readings provided and of the unit resource lists. The Teacher Preparation section in each lesson outlines things you need to do before class begins, in addition to assembling the items on the materials list. Plan ahead now for the cooperation you will need in Unit 1, the materials you will need in Unit 4, and the field trips you will make in Unit 5. You’ll see a burst of learning to reward your efforts and a wealth of ideas to enrich your science and social studies teaching. Theory takes a back seat to hands-on experience in most of these lessons. As its name implies, this Seismic Sleuths package focuses on discovery. Ideally, the process of discovery will ripple through the town or city outside your classroom. Beginning in Unit 1, students will be interacting with a wide range of public officials. Please initiate and encourage these relationships. They will benefit the students, the school, and the community. Through interacting with adults in positions of responsibility, students will develop a realistic sense of how their community functions day to day and how it would function in the aftermath of an earthquake or other natural disaster. Most will find it enormously reassuring to learn that emergency plans are in effect. Moreover, they will be empowered by the knowledge that their individual and collective actions can make a difference. Cultivating relationships within their community will also expose students to a variety of careers they might never have considered and provide a motivation to stay in school. In the long range, these activities will prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s concerned and informed participants in democracy. The school will benefit from these relationships by widening the pool of local adults who take an active interest in education, share their expertise and experience, and serve as role models for students. The community at large will benefit greatly, whether or not it is in an area known to be seismically active. Most of the kinds of emergency planning that students will learn about, and model in Unit 6, would be appropriate not only in the event of an earth- quake but also in case of flood, hurricane, or other large-scale disaster. In just the last few years, almost every section of the country has experienced destructive natural events. Overview of the Units Unit 1. This three-part introductory unit sets the stage for what follows. Every teacher should take time to include some of the materials contained in this unit. The introductory lesson assesses students’ knowledge of earthquakes. In lesson two students describe their own experiences and tell how they would prepare for an earthquake. Lesson three requires students to make contact with emergency personnel in their community to ascertain emergency preparedness plans. Lessons in this unit are referred to in future units. Unit 2. This five-part unit moves students beyond their personal survival into the causes of earthquakes. This unit sketches the big picture, building on students’ knowledge from earth science or other science classes. The unit begins with students modeling stress buildup in the crust, followed by lessons on how earthquakes and other evidence tell scientists about the structure of the Earth. In the third lesson, students contrast historic time with the vastness of geologic time and simulate techniques of paleoseismology. The unit concludes with lessons on some potential side effects of earthquakes, such as tsunami, liquefaction, and landslides. Students study how the geology of an area influences the destructive effects and how high population density at unsafe sites can increase the amount of damage during an earthquake. Unit 3. In this four-part unit, students learn about the different wave motions during an earthquake and how these motions are studied. A historical piece on the development of seismology adds background to students’ knowledge. Students study and simulate the measurement of earthquakes using the Richter and Mercalli scales to find out how seismologists arrive at earthquake measurements. This unit concludes with activities that plot the distribution of earthquakes worldwide, then focuses in on local earthquakes, first in Japan, then in the United States. It offers a variety of lessons in science, mathematics, and social studies. Unit 4. This five-part unit is designed to allow students to construct an understanding of how buildings respond to earthquakes. Lessons on building design and how earthquake forces act on various designs provide students with information on how to build earthquake resistant structures. Students then apply this knowledge by constructing testing devices and testing their designs. This unit is critical for developing students’ understanding of why buildings collapse and what can be done to make buildings safer. Unit 5. This five-part unit focuses students’ attention on what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. By studying historical earthquakes as reported in the press, students learn how people have responded to earthquakes in the past. Students then learn what their response should be during an earthquake by planning and practicing earthquake drills. Students conduct safety assessments of their home, classroom, and community and see how secondary disasters associated with earthquakes can also be alleviated. Unit 6. This concluding four-part unit offers a variety of summing-up and assessment activities. Writing activities, a fast paced quiz game, and a high pressure simulation allow students a chance to show off what they have learned in this curriculum. An extensive resource list provides detailed instructions for conducting a community-wide disaster simulation that becomes realistic and dramatic with the involvement of community disaster officials. Seismic Sleuths Matrices for the National Education Standards A Seismic Sleuths development team has put together the matrices on the following pages to use in correlating the Seismic Sleuths materials with the National Science Education Standards. The National Science Education Standards, under development by the National Research Council since 1993, will be released in late 1995. The Standards have been developed through consensus building among K-12 teachers, teacher education faculty, scientists, and other education specialists. Through this process a document that represents the broad thinking of the science education community is being developed as to what students should know, how they should be taught, and how they should be assessed. The Standards are meant to be descriptive rather than prescriptive and designed to be a tool to strengthen science education. Using the Seismic Sleuths Standards matrices The development team, working with the November 1994 draft of the National Science Education Standards, examined Seismic Sleuths section by section identifying correlations to the Science Content areas listed in the Standards. Two criteria were used: the section made a strong and direct connection to that content area, or the section made an indirect connection. A strong, direct connection is shown in bold faced type. The following matrices are provided. Below is a summary of Seismic Sleuths and the content areas listed in the Standards. This page shows at a glance the correlations between Seismic Sleuths and the Standards. The next six pages describe more detailed correlations between Seismic Sleuths and the Standards using wording from the Standards. In some cases the development team felt that where a particular concept was not listed in the wording of the Standards a possible connection could be shown in parentheses. When using the matrices it should be kept in mind the descriptive nature of the Standards. The connections shown in these matrices are suggested connections based on the development team’s experience working with Seismic Sleuths. Many other correlations can be made and will become evident as the curriculum materials are used. Additionally, connections can also be made between Seismic Sleuths and Benchmarks for Science Literacy, (AAAS, 1993), Content Core, (NSTA, 1992), and Earth Science Content Guidelines Grades K-12, (AGI, 1991). The user is referred to these documents for further connections. UNIT 1: What’s It All About? Pre-assessment of student’s knowledge of earthquakes and hazards preparedness. UNIT 2: What Happens When The Earth Quakes? An exploration of earthquake processes, including causes and measurement. UNIT 3: How Do People Learn About Earthquakes? Students explore the science and history of seismology. UNIT 4: Can Buildings Be Made Safer? Students construct an understanding of how ground shaking during an earthquake can damage buildings and how buildings can be made better able to withstand this shaking. UNIT 5: What Should People Do Before, During, and After An Earthquake? UNIT 6: Now You Know It, Can You Show It? A variety of summing-up and assessment activities that showcase students’ knowledge. SEISMIC SLEUTHS CURRICULUM PACKAGE Unit 1. What’s It All About? 2 1. What Do You Know about Earthquakes? 3 2. It Could Happen Here 11 3. Investigating Community Preparedness 17 Unit Resources 25 Unit 2. What Happens When the Earth Quakes? 38 1. Stick-Slip Movement 39 2. Shifting Plates and Wandering Poles 45 3. Earthquakes in Geologic Time 67 4. Earthquake Hazards 89 5. Quake-Smart Siting 127 Unit Resources 137 Unit 3. How Do People Learn about Earthquakes? 142 1. The Waves of Quakes 143 2. Pioneering Ideas 151 3. Sizing Up Earthquakes 161 4. Distribution of Earthquakes 193 Unit Resources 221 Unit 4. Can Buildings Be Made Safer? 226 1. Building Fun 227 2. Structural Reinforcement: The Better Building 232 3. The BOSS Model: Building Oscillation Seismic Simulation 247 4. Earthquake in a Box 257 5. The Building Challenge 263 Unit Resources 270 Unit 5. What Should People Do Before, During, and After an Earthquake? 272 1. Predicting Earthquakes 273 2. Starting Here, Starting Now 289 3. Find and Fix the Hazards (Wood Frame Homes) 299 4. Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) in the Community 311 5. Are the Lifelines Open? Critical Emergency Facilities and Lifeline Utility Systems 319 Unit Resources 327 Unit 6. Now You Know It, Can You Show It? 330 1. Preparing for the Worst: A Simulation 331 2. Earthquake Simulation: Putting Plans into Action 341 3. What’s Your E.Q. I.Q.? 345 4. Hey, Look at Me Now! 353 Unit Resources 355 Appendix: Earthquake Drill 356 Earthquake Glossary 360