Implementing Discovery-Based Geochemistry Labs and Broadening the Scope of Research Projects in Introductory and Advanced Geology Courses through XRF-Spectrometry

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This project is supporting a sequence of discovery-based geochemistry laboratory projects. It is making improvements in the research projects of three other geology courses, including a high-enrollment introductory course, and supporting an expanding student research program. All of these improvements are being made possible by the new x-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and supporting equipment. In order to make geochemistry more appropriate for chemistry and biology majors in environmental sciences concentration, as well as for geology majors interested in environmental fields, a sequence of laboratory projects is being implemented to give students a detailed view of the rock cycle from a chemical perspective. The subjects of these projects include chemical weathering, adsorption, sedimentary differentiation, and igneous fractionation. The XRF equipment enhancing existing projects in other courses by expanding the precision and range of analytical work available to students. In Introductory Geology, a successful water-quality research project is being broadened by allowing students to work with sediment and soil samples as well as with water. In Petrology, the precision and efficiency of the spectrometer is allowing faculty to expand class projects on the chemistry of rock suites to the point that analytical work is becoming the principal means of introducing the chemical characteristics of important rock associations. In Environmental Geology, class research projects are being expanded by work with soils and sediments.