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Earth Science Education
Classroom Activities and Speed Calculations
- Trackway lesson plans and activities. T. Cavanaugh and C. Cavanaugh. Provides links to background information on fossil trackways, calculations based on trackways, links to activities and lessons for the classroom based on trackways, computer programs, and resources.
- Interpreting the Tracks (Classroom Activity). Breithaupt, B., and Scotchmoor, J., University of California, Berkeley. Activity for grades 6-8, 9-12 that utilizes dinosaur tracks and asks students to determine what they can tell from the fossil trackways.
- From Stride to Leg Length to Speed. Maryann Buehler and Amy Quillen. Activity aimed at high school students in which data on dinosaur footprints are provided and students use calculations to interpret stride and speed.
- Dinosaur Speed Calculator. Sorby Geology Group, University of Sheffield, England. Online calculator lets you estimate the speed at which dinosaurs were moving based on their tracks. You input a foot length, stride length, and choose from among several conversion factors. An explanation of the conversion factors is provided.