Assignment 1

Welcome to Assignment 1 using Netscape and World Wide Web on the Internet.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is an international communication network on the computer. It is sometimes called the "Information Superhighway" (and like a superhighway, sometimes you can go very fast, other times it is very slow, and sometimes you have a crash).

What is the World Wide Web?

The World Wide Web (WWW) is "the universe of network-accessible information". It is like a library that you can access by computer (called a virtual library). WWW uses hypertext, which means that certain words (or graphics) are highlighted in blue, and if you click on them using your mouse (left button), you will be connected to additional information on the subject.

What is Netscape?

Netscape is a multimedia program which allows you to access the WWW so that text, graphics, and video can be viewed. (Sound is also available on some systems.)

These features are useful for education because they provide tutorials, classroom activities, and up-to-the minute data and photographs (such as pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, satellite weather maps, maps of the ozone hole, current earthquake information, etc.)

As you view the hypertext files, I recommend that you read (or at least skim) the entire file before clicking on the highlighted words.

Entering addresses:

Each file you access in Netscape has an address (called a URL or uniform reference locator) in a long white rectangle across the top fo the screen (labelled "location"). Most addresses begin with "http://". If for some reason, the hypertext (blue word) is not taking you to the site, or if you wish to go to a site and you have its address (from the newspaper, for example), use your mouse to highlight the address that is already there. Using your mouse, click on the first part of the first part of the address. Hold the mouse button down, and drag it along until the entire address is highlighted. Then, just start typing the address you need. In most cases, the URL will be included in your assignments.

Earthquake Assignment

Instructions:

You should use this document as a "clickable page", returning to it after answering each question.

First, I would like for you to learn something about the Worldwide distribution of earthquakes.

St. Louis University maintains a map of World Earthquakes of 1996. Click here to see it and answer the following questions.

  1. You have been given a world outline map. Carefully transfer the earthquake epicenter data onto your outline map. At this point, it is the locations that are important, not the colors.

  2. Locate and label the following on your map:
    1. The continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica

    2. The oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic or Southern Ocean

  3. Earthquakes tend to occur along linear belts or zones. Lightly trace in red pencil the linear zones along which the earthquakes are located. Note that some may not be in a linear zone.
  4. Describe the locations of each of the earthquake belts with respect to the continents and oceans (for example, along the western side of such and such, or down the middle of such and such).
  5. If there are isolated earthquakes that do not fit the pattern, describe their position(s).
  6. The magnitude of an earthquake is its strength, or the amount of shaking. Note that all earthquakes on this map have a magnitude greater than 5.

  7. What do the colors refer to?

  8. What was the magnitude of the largest quake or quakes? (Look at the table below the map. Find the largest magnitude number. Tell the location in words.

    Now we will examine the largest earthquakes of a week ago.

    Go to the weekly seismicity reports from the U.S. Geological Survey.

    Here you will be able to click on "The World" and get a map of where the largest earthquakes were during the past week (see dates at the top of the map). Each triangle is an earthquake epicenter; the larger the triangle, the larger the earthquake. The number in some of the larger triangles keys them to the date at the top. Earthquake magnitude (or strength) is also listed at the top (following Mb=). The larger the Mb magnitude number, the larger the earthquake.

    Answer the following questions:

  9. Where were the three largest earthquakes last week?

  10. What was the date of each?

  11. What was the magnitude of each?

    Print out this map if possible (but don't all try at the same time or the printer will jam).

    Slightly more recent information can also be found.

    Look at the epicenter maps from St. Louis University.

    Click on the "recent earthquake map" for the last 14 days.

  12. How often are these maps updated? Then click on "Continental US and Adjacent Canada".

  13. Were there any earthquakes in the US recently?

  14. Where were the closest ones to Georgia?

    This assignment TO BE CONTINUED. You will be able to do more once we have discussed earthquakes in lecture.