Kilauea
Did you know that our Club awards a $100 gift certificate for Barnes and Noble for outstanding projects related to earth sciences at the Northwest Regional Science Fair. Well we do, and the recipients receive their awards and display their projects at a general club meeting.
We invite Club members to volunteer to serve as judges on behalf of the Club. Being a judge is fun, educational, and rewarding! You will be working with veteran judges from the Club that know the ropes, talking with kids that restore your faith in America's youth, and receive free snacks and refreshments to boot.
So, do your self a favor and contact Hank Miller at a Club meeting or by phone at 255-7218, or e-mail rgmhgm2@qwest.net and help the AGMC encourage local students to continue their interest in geology. See you at the Science Fair.
For More Information see Northwestern New Mexico Regional Science and Engineering Fair.
A great Student's Guide to Science and Engineering Fair Projects has been put out by the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). The information can be printed and copied for students or classroom use. PNM holds the copyright on this booklet. Copies may not be sold.
45TH Annual NWNM Regional Science & Engineering Fair
March 2004
ABSTRACT
Is It Possible To Calculate The Diffusivity Of Water And Pollutants Through Soils Of The Rio Grande?
Senior Division
Christine I. Welch
Sophomore at St. Pius X High School
The Purpose of this experiment is to discern the rate of diffusion of various liquid contaminants and water through the widely varied soils of the Middle Rio Grande into the aquifer. I surmise that the outcome of this experiment will be that the density of the different soils will affect the rate of diffusion through it and therefore impede or increase the recharge rate of the aquifer, as will the density of the liquids themselves. Whether or not the soils were from burned areas of the Bosque or near developed areas will also be a factor. In order to do this, one must follow a set procedure. First, one must place 236.6 cubic cm of soil in a Ziploc container. Then, one must place 474 mL of liquid on the dirt. Subsequently, one must record how much of this liquid has drained through the container into another below it every fifteen minutes. One must repeat this until the desired number of tests has been attained. One must convert this into a rate and apply it to the diffusivity constant. The result of this experiment was that the Candelaria soil sample was found to drain water the fastest, and the Bosque del Apache drained it the slowest. After analyzing the data, it was concluded that the viscosity of the liquid, the amount of sand in the soil, and whether or not the soil was from a burned area determined the diffusivity.
Junior Division
James L. Burton
6th grade at Lincoln Middle School
My question was could solely adding water to sand create quicksand. I believed that I could just add water to sand and it would become quicksand. I started my experiment by adding fine sand to a small fish tank and adding water in small amounts. I put washers on the mud and they did not sink. I stirred the mud and the washers sank a little. Then I replaced the sand with coarse grains of sand. I then repeated the process of adding water. To make the washers sink I had to stir the sand vigorously and then quickly put on the washers. The previous experiments made me believe that I would need water flowing from underneath to part the sand grains to make it into quicksand. Then I built a model with a pump attached to a hose to let the water flow from underneath like a spring. After some modifications I was successful at creating a quicksand model.
ABSTRACT OF
Laura “Megan” Gray
First Place in Junior Division
2003 NWNM Regional Science and Engineering Fair
11 years old from South Mountain elementary school
The Reason I’m doing this project is to find out which rock is the strongest, limestone or shale.
I would also like to research how they are formed.
Then I would like to know where they would be found here in New Mexico. I would also like to know how long it takes to form these rocks. Last but not least, I would like to know how old these rocks are.
I think the outcome of this project will be that Limestone might be stronger than Shale. The reason I predict this, is after the little research I’ve done, Limestone is a much more complex mineral rock than Shale, which would make Limestone much harder.
Then I think both rocks will be located in the same place, or in the same area. Last I think that Limestone is older than Shale.
Then to do my experiment, I will test the shale by scraping it with a penny. Then I will test the shale by scraping it with a knife. Last I will use a piece of broken window glass to scrape the shale I will then repeat steps 1 through 3 with the limestone.
The results of this project were very surprising.
On the Mohs scale (harness from one through ten, ten being the hardest) the fossil Limestone rated number one. The organic Limestone rated number two and the black shale rated number three. The results were inconclusive in respect to comparing the Limestone to the shale, due to the age of the rocks being so far apart.
The Conclusion of this project was that, due to inconclusive experiment, my hypothesis was wrong -- the Shale was harder than Limestone. But if I had pure Limestone it would have been the other way around. I had a good time doing this project and wish to do lots more research On Shale, and Limestone and any other subject that interest me, myself, and I.
Abstracts of Winning Students from 2002 Fair
3/21/02
Joshua A. Kapsner, 8th grade at Holy Ghost MS
Abstract: Magnetic Mountain II - Layer by Layer
The purpose of my experiment is to determine if magnetite crystals in the magma chamber of the Sandia Mountains were heavier than other crystals and tended to settle to the lower chamber by establishing the magnetite concentrations in the granite of the Sandias at various levels. It is related to the science fair project I performed last year where I found that the processes of weathering and erosion cause magnetite to move form the Sandia Mountains down through Albuquerque. My hypothesis this year is that there is more magnetite in the granite at the base of the Sandia Mountains than at the top.
With my father’s help I hiked down the La Luz trail. Using an altimeter I stopped every time the elevation dropped about 400 feet and collected a sample of granite. I pulverized the granite into dust and, using a magnet, collected the magnetite and calculated its percentage.
I learned that there was more magnetite at each lower elevation except 9,400 feet and 9,100 feet. When I pulverized the granite from 9,100 feet it appeared red, like the granite from 10,195 feet. All the other samples appeared gray. Therefore, it may be that the granite from 9,100 feet had actually fallen down from a higher elevation. I do not know why the granite from 9,400 feet did not have more magnetite than the elevation above it.
My conclusion is that magnetite crystals in the Sandia Mountain magma chamber did settle to the lower part of the chamber.
3/21/02
Carmen M. Martinez, 6th grade at Queen of Heaven school
Abstract: Aquifer Recharge Rates for Various Geologies
Fresh water is becoming scarce around the world and especially in desert climates like Albuquerque New Mexico where water is a precious resource. The purpose of this experiment was to determine what the various recharge rates were for different locations in Albuquerque.
Determination of recharge rates for different parts of the city is important to understand because residents are interested in the depth of aquifers and the rate at which they replenish themselves through natural rainfall. The experiment selected several distinct geologies in the Albuquerque area and determined which area recharged the aquifer below by determining the rate at which surface water filtered through the first foot of soil. It is estimated that the first foot of soil will give a representation for deeper layers below.
Four areas in Albuquerque were selected to take a core sample. The core samples were used, as filters to see how fast water would filter through them. They were timed in one-hour intervals then amount of filtered water was measured. The measurement was then repeated for each sample and recorded in a journal.
The results showed that the sandiest core sample, which was the Rio Grande, filtered water the fastest. The second sandiest core sample was the Sandia Mountains.
The hypothesis was proved correct. Since the Foothills and the North Albuquerque Acres core samples contained clay or another aquitards, it concludes why they didn’t filter as fast as the others.