Uploaded January 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
www.iris.edu/earthquake
See Parts 1 & 2 here: youtu.be/21SPVqMY0uE
How can we demonstrate earthquake magnitude and frequency using block, sandpaper, and rubber bands?
Learners will be able to:
° Summarize the earthquake cycle in a short paragraph
° Use the Earthquake Machine model to demonstrate the causes of earthquakes, noting the flow of energy through the system
° Describe the role of models in the process of science.
In this lesson, learners work collaboratively in small groups to explore the earthquake cycle by using a mechanical model. To make learners’ prior knowledge explicit and activate their thinking about the topic of earthquakes, each learner writes their definition of an earthquake on a sticky note. Next, through a collaborative process, small groups of learners combine their individual definitions to create a consensus definition for an earthquake. Using an open-inquiry approach, they then experiment with the Earthquake Machine and compare their group’s definition of an earthquake to the behavior of the model. Finally, the entire class discusses how the model is both like and unlike the actual phenomena of an earthquake.
Video by Natalie Edgecombe
Dr. Wendy Bohon demonstrates the model.
www.iris.edu/earthquake
See Parts 1 & 2 here: youtu.be/21SPVqMY0uE
How can we demonstrate earthquake magnitude and frequency using block, sandpaper, and rubber bands?
Learners will be able to:
° Summarize the earthquake cycle in a short paragraph
° Use the Earthquake Machine model to demonstrate the causes of earthquakes, noting the flow of energy through the system
° Describe the role of models in the process of science.
In this lesson, learners work collaboratively in small groups to explore the earthquake cycle by using a mechanical model. To make learners’ prior knowledge explicit and activate their thinking about the topic of earthquakes, each learner writes their definition of an earthquake on a sticky note. Next, through a collaborative process, small groups of learners combine their individual definitions to create a consensus definition for an earthquake. Using an open-inquiry approach, they then experiment with the Earthquake Machine and compare their group’s definition of an earthquake to the behavior of the model. Finally, the entire class discusses how the model is both like and unlike the actual phenomena of an earthquake.
Video by Natalie Edgecombe
Dr. Wendy Bohon demonstrates the model.
![M7.2 Haiti Earthquake, August 14, 2021 [Tectonic setting extracted from 2 IRIS animations]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xzKQLmdAodA/mqdefault.jpg "M7.2 Haiti Earthquake, August 14, 2021 [Tectonic setting extracted from 2 IRIS animations]
Animation made to accompany the Recent Earthquake Teachable Moment PowerPoint presentation here: https://www.iris.edu/hq/retm/event/7042
This animation is a composite of TWO separate IRIS animations:
2010 Haiti Earthquake—10-yrs later: www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/650
and
Hispaniola Tectonics & Earthquakes: www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/714")
