Using benchtop experiments to teach dimensional analysis and analogue modeling to graduate geoscience students

Abstract

The need for geoscience students to develop a quantitative skillset is ever increasing. However, this can be difficult to implement in university-style lecture courses in a way that is both manageable for the instructor and does not involve lengthy, potentially repetitive, question sheets for the students. Here, a method for teaching dimensional analysis, basic fluid dynamics, and the interpretation and scaling of experimental data is presented for a graduate student audience. The proposed method utilizes simple fluid dynamic benchtop experiments that require a small amount of teaching space and use readily available, low cost materials. Our analysis of student performance through pre- and post-tests demonstrates that students have a better knowledge of dimensional analysis, data interpretation and experimental design after the series of practical sessions compared to instruction through a single, passive lecture. We therefore show that simple benchtop experiments can be an effective way to improve and integrate quantitative learning into a graduate geoscience class.

Keywords:

• Fluid dynamics
• analogue experiments
• active learning
• dimensional analysis
• particle settling

Acknowledgements

The authors thank four anonymous reviewers and the editors whose comments helped improve this manuscript. Financial support to TJJ was provided through a Teach@Tübingen Research and Teaching Fellowship funded by the German Science foundation (DFG) University Excellence proposal to the University of Tübingen. TJJ thanks Ed Llewellin for introducing him to the use of scaling and dimensional analysis in the discipline of volcanology.