Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology, 11th Edition

A new authorship and editorial panel bring a new perspective

• NEW! Vince Cronin from Baylor University replaces Rich Busch as author and editor of the 11th edition, along with the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, to bring a modern pedagogical, digital approach to the labs and a new narrative that supports the need of students to get the most out of the activities.  
• NEW! Visuals, including 189 new photographs and images; 31 new maps; 58 new graphs, block diagrams, and other types of illustrations; and 11 new charts or tables have been added.

Use activity-based exercises to build students’ lab skills

• NEW! Changes to Laboratory 1: Filling Your Geoscience Toolbox include increased emphasis on the use of math in science with new activities on geographic coordinates, UTM coordinates, scaling, proportion, and using maps and rearranging equations.
• NEW! Activities include:
• Activity 1.1: A View of Earth From Above: New activity based on Google Earth
• Activity 1.2: Latitude and Longitude or UTM Coordinates of a Point
• Activity 1.3: Plotting a Point on a Map Using UTM Coordinates
• Activity 1.4: Floating Blocks and Icebergs
• Activity 5.5: Estimate Percentage of Mafic Minerals
• Activity 5.6: Estimate Composition of a Phaneritic Rock by Point Counting
• Activity 6.2: Sediment From Source to Sink
• Activity 7.2: Minerals in Metamorphic Rock
• Activity 9.5: Relief and Gradient (Slope) Analysis
• Activity 10.1: Map Contacts and Formations
• Activity 12.2: Where Is the Nasty Stuff Going?
• Activity 12.3: Using Data to Map the Flow of Groundwater
• Activity-based exercises correlate to learning objectives to build skills (e.g., observing, investigating, measuring, recording data, charting, graphing, and mapping) that students apply when analyzing and evaluating samples, data, maps, models, and images. These skills are also applied when recording data/results and making inferences.
• An inquiry-based pedagogical approach in each lab begins with students reading the lab’s Big Idea. Students then turn their attention to the Focus Your Inquiry part of the chapter opener, where they are presented with the activities they will complete, and the Think About It question, which is the big idea that the activity will answer. Each activity within a lab builds upon skills learned from the previous activities, and students are always asked to Reflect and Discuss their findings in order to complete the activities.
• Convenient lab activity tear-out sheets provide lab activity information and offer a corresponding exercise, which is turned in for grading. Grading students’ work is easier for instructors, because all students submit their own work in a similar format.
• Outstanding visual clarity and appeal by Tasa are found throughout the lab manual in high-quality photographs, images, stereograms, maps, and charts. They support activity-based exercises and add more clarity to the text.

Prepare both students and teaching assistants for labs

• NEW! Teaching videos give teaching assistants successful teaching tips for each lab activity and lab set-up help.
• NEW! Pre-lab videos introduce students to the content, lab materials, and techniques they will be using to complete each lab.

Also available with Mastering Geology

Mastering™ Geology is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Interactive, self-paced coaching activities provide individualized coaching to help students stay on track. With a wide range of activities available, students can actively learn, understand, and retain even the most difficult concepts.

• Easily assign media that is automatically graded and helps to improve students’ Earth Science literacy and spatial reasoning skills.
• NEW! Pre-Lab videos linked from the book via Quick Response (QR) codes save instructors and students time by reviewing the core concepts and background information needed to complete the lab activities.
• Pre-Lab Activities are a set of assessments built around the Pre-Lab videos. They provide students and faculty with the opportunity to come to lab better prepared and ready to participate in the inquiry learning process.
• Post-Lab Activities are transitional assessments that test students’ comprehension of the lab content.
• Encounter Activities provide rich, interactive explorations of geology and earth science concepts using the dynamic features of Google Earth™ to visualize and explore the Earth’s physical landscape.
• GigaPan^® Activities allow students to take advantage of a virtual field experience by analyzing high-resolution picture technology that has been developed by Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with NASA.
• NEW! Geoscience Animation Activities illuminate the most difficult-to-visualize topics from across the physical geosciences. Animations and corresponding assessment questions with wrong-answer feedback may be assigned.
• NEW! GeoTutor Activities challenge learners by involving them in activities that require higher-order thinking skills such as the synthesis, analysis, and application of the most challenging topics in geology.
• Learning Catalytics^™ helps you generate class discussion, customize your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. As a student response tool, Learning Catalytics uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more interactive tasks and thinking.
• NEW! Upload a full PowerPoint^® deck for easy creation of slide questions.
• NEW! Team names are no longer case sensitive.
• Help your students develop critical thinking skills.
• Monitor responses to find out where your students are struggling.
• Rely on real-time data to adjust your teaching strategy.
• Automatically group students for discussion, teamwork, and peer-to-peer learning.
• The Pearson eText gives students access to their textbook anytime, anywhere. In addition to note taking, highlighting, and bookmarking, the Pearson eText offers interactive and sharing features. Rich media options let students watch lecture and example videos as they read or do their homework. Instructors can share their comments or highlights, and students can add their own, creating a tight community of learners in your class. The Pearson eText companion app allows existing subscribers to access their titles on an iPad or Android tablet for either online or offline viewing.