woodchurch science

when the eruption of vesuvius started on the morning of 24 august, ad 79, it caught the local population utterly unprepared. at the same time, as we now know in retrospect, all the tell-tale signs were there to warn them. volcanologists of today constantly monitor any changes in levels of seismic activity from an observatory on vesuvius, because they know that the same increase of activity in the deep reservoir of magma (molten or partially molten rock beneath the earth’s surface) causes both earth tremors and volcanic eruptions. through measuring seismic activity, these scientists expect to predict an approaching eruption months in advance.

the casts that you see below were made by 20th century archaeologists of the people, frozen in their moments of death. they are a haunting reminder of what nature can do.




kryptonite is no longer just the stuff of science fiction feared by superman. a new mineral matching its unique chemistry has been identified in a mine in serbia. according to comic-book storylines, kryptonite is supposed to sap superman’s powers whenever he is exposed to its large green crystals. however the real mineral is white and harmless. it’s not green and it doesn’t glow either!

you can read more about the discovery here and here.

visit the rio tinto website. what is most noticeable about their home page? what is the main story? visit their products page. they mine for many transition metals with many applications at various locations.

now visit the friends of the earth site. the friends of the earth are an environmental pressure group who are involved in various campaigns. their corporates page states that they are concerned about big business. why is this?

now revisit the rio tinto site. rio tinto refute the claims of environmentalists. their approach page says they are a ‘responsible’ company.

who do you trust? who can you trust? rio tinto or the friends of the earth?

these ancient buildings are made of limestone. why do you think the egyptians needed to build pyramids if they wanted to build high buildings?

see how versatile limestone can be. all of these beautiful buildings have been made from concrete and glass, both products of limestone.




take the tours – two to choose from. also visit the infobank and learn how distillation and cracking work.

the discovery channel charts the rise of the oil industry. here’s a (very brief) excerpt:

the united states has about 5 percent of the world’s population, but the 21 million barrels of crude oil that it consumes each day amounts to nearly a quarter of the world’s usage.
numbers, however, don’t convey the full magnitude of america’s dependence upon oil.

an accessible account of the story of crude oil. make it into a timeline.

in this radio program howard stableford discovers how jurassic plankton ends up in our petrol tanks, why oil dominates world politics and what we might do when it starts to run out. its worth getting pupils to listen to the first 10 minutes or so of the program (including the bit about using a mars bar to illustrate the formation of sedimentary basins!), then get them to, for example, produce a timeline or cartoon strip to illustrate how plankton is converted to oil.

here’s a drag and drop activity to try when your revising the rock cycle. it’s all against the clock so try and beat my best time of 25 seconds…