A. Philip Randolph Campus HS                                        Regents Earth Science
                    American Museum of Natural History Field Trip Activities

                                                      Mr. Wm. Wilson

[NOTE: For purposes of format, this document has been "tightened" so that questions have been separated by only one blank line. If you wish to use this with students, copy it onto your computer and create a spread-out formatting to your preference.]

                                                Lab 1: Hall of Planet Earth

Enter the hall from the museum entrance, not the Planetarium entrance.

Move around the hall to the left answering the questions below as you examine the displays.

1. What are the 5 reasons Earth is habitable?
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5. 
       
2. What is an “ore”?

3. Describe 2 ways ores can form:
   1.  
   2.  
       
4. Describe the steps of the rock cycle:
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
       
5. Describe the steps of the water cycle:
   1.  
   2.  
   3.  
   4.  
   5.  
       
6. How are “black smokers” and ore deposits related?

7. How do we believe the earth and moon were formed?

8. What element provides most of Earth’s internal heat?

9. How are Terranes and Cratons different?

10. How did banded iron formations originate?

11. What do stromatolites tell us about conditions on the early Earth?

12. How do we know about Earth’s early atmosphere?

13. Why do some volcanos explode?

14. Was the early Earth an “icebox” or a “hot house”?

15. Why did you choose your answer to #14?

16. How do granites form?

17. How do cool rocks deform?

18. How do hot rocks deform?

19. How are mountains formed?

20. How did the Gore Mountain Garnets form?

21. How did the Himalayas form?

22. How much energy would be released by a magnitude 10 earthquake?
     
23. Describe 3 types of destructive powers created by earthquakes?
    1.  
    2.  
    3. 
        
24. Why do Earthquakes occur?

25. How large are the Columbia River flood basalts?

26. How do they compare with other flood basalts around the world?

27. How old is the Grand Canyon? How do we know?
    1. Age:
    2. Evidence:

28. How are A’a and Pahoehoe lavas different? How are they similar?
    1. Different:
2. Similar:

29. Describe what happens at different depths inside Kilauea volcano in Hawaii:
    1. Depth 1:

2. Depth 2:

3. Depth 3:

4. Depth 4:

30. Name and describe 3 different places where tectonic plates separate:
    1. Location 1:

2. Location 2:

3. Location 3:

31. Name and describe 3 different places where tectonic plates move past each other:
    1. Location 1:

2. Location 2:

3. Location 3:

32. Examine the video of earthquakes from 1960 to today – what do you see happening?

33. Identify 4 times and describe the events, types of life and the length of the day for 4 points on the geologic time scale:
    1. Time 1:

2. Time 2:

3. Time 3:

4. Time 4:

34. Describe how we use radioactivity to determine the ages of rocks:

Leave the Exhibit and follow the museum maps through the Hall of Biodiversity to the Hall of the NYS Environment.

1. How has human habitation & agriculture changed New York? 

2. Examine the 3 soil profiles, what differences do you see?  

3. Describe how each is formed:

            a. Stratified:

            b. Till:

            c. Alluvial: 

4. Describe 4 geologic features displayed and how they provide evidence of glaciation:

a.

            b.

            c.

            d.

5. Examine the cross-section (geologic history panel) , how many faults can you find? 

6. What type of fault are they? Which direction are they moving? 

7. Describe the sequence of events illustrated in the lower display in  the panel: 

[NOTE: If the Halls of Meteorites and Gems & Minerals have been re-opened after renovations, you may wish to include questions about these.] 

Labs 3 & 4: Halls of Vertebrate Evolution

From the elevators or stairs walk through the exhibits till you reach the Introduction hall. Watch the short video and then start through the exhibit halls in order answering the following questions as you examine the displays and computer information booths.

1. What is a cladogram?

2. Name two reasons that vertebrates are important to us:

A.

B.

3. What are/were the Neoselachians and Chondrichthyans?

4. What does ostracoderm mean?

5.  How did ostracoderms feed?

6. Are there any living ostracoderms? If yes, name them:

7. How are we (humans), Coelecanths and lungfish related?

8. How are the fin of Sauripteris and the limb of Eryops similar and related?

9. What are the Actinopterygians?

10. How are lizards, pleisiosaurs and ichthyosaurs related?

11. How are crocodilians different from lizards?

12. Could Pterosaurs fly? Why or why not?

13. Examine the nesting display – Who was sitting on the nest?

  
How do we know?

14. Examine the computer displays on cladography of dinosaurs:
    What feature in their hips do all dinosaurs share?

15. Examine the computer displays on cladography of dinosaurs:
     What feature in their skeleton do all therapods share?

16. How have our ideas about carnosaur posture and hunting changed over time?

17. What do dinosaur track ways tell us?

18. How can birds be dinosaurs?

19. Were dinosaurs warm blooded?

What is your evidence?

Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs

1. What does Ornithischian mean?

2. Did stegosaurus have two brains?

3. Did horned dinosaurs walk like lizards or like Rhinos?

Why do you think so?

4. What do we know about duckbill lifestyles?
    

What is the evidence?

Hall of Mammals

From the entrance move around the exhibit to your left and then down the hall.

1. Why were these early forms called “mammal like reptiles”?

2. What do we think the sails may have been used for?

3. Where did the bones of the middle ear of mammals come from?

4. Examine the computer displays on cladography of mammals:
   What feature do marsupial and placental mammals share that monotremes lack?

5. Describe the difference between the  “classic” and revised story of the evolution of horses:

6. Which story suggests a “ladder of development”

7. Which suggests an evolutionary “bush”?

8. What other modern mammals are whales most closely related to?

9. What can we learn about extinct mammals from their fossils?

Lab 5: Hall of the Universe

Go up to the third floor using the elevators and enter the bottom of the planetarium for the 5 minute Big Bang show.

1. Describe 3 things that happened during the Big Bang:

A.

B.

C.

2. On exiting the show – How old is the Universe?

3. Measure your step on the scales provided.
   How long is your step in millions of years?

Proceed down and around the spiraled walkway reading and examining the displays.

4. How large was the Universe when it was 2 billion years old?

5. What are Quasars?

6. When did the first galaxies form?

7. How old was the Universe when it had a Z of 2?

8. How old was the Universe when our solar system formed?

9. Describe what was said at two more of the stations along the ramp:

First Station:

Second Station:

10. Where are you on the ramp when humans first appear?

Walk off the ramp and around the second floor exhibits.

11. On earth 1 pound of weight is often translated as 2.2 kilograms of mass even though they are not equivalent, what is your mass on Earth?
     

What is your weight on Jupiter?
 

What is your weight on the moon?
 

Did you change any by getting on different scales?  

Walk around the overlook reading the information on sense of scale for the Universe.

12. Which 2 comparisons are most surprising to you?

A.

B.

13. How many times smaller is a proton than the Universe (how many times did you change scale)?

Walk back around to the stairs down to the bottom floor and go down and over to the Origin of the Universe station.

14. What is the Cosmic Background Radiation?

15. How was it formed?

16. Go to the lives of stars station. How do all stars form?

17. What happens when a small star dies?

18. What happens when a large star dies?

19. What is a supernova?

20. Examine the iron meteorite on display. How do the Native Americans describe this meteorite?

In the space below list 3 questions you have about what you saw in this  hall:

1.

2.

3.