Activity—Cupcake Geology

Drill a cupcake—an analogy to offshore drilling to uncover a geologic history.

Read descriptions of turbidites on previous pages.

What’s inside that cupcake?

All is not what it seems.

Using a large straw, students “drill” and collect

samples through different parts of the specially
layered cupcake and keep a log of the drill core.
By defining different colored cake and filling, they
can reconstruct a history of deposition. Student
worksheets provided.

Science Standards
(NGSS; pg. 287)
• Earth’s Place in the Universe:
MS-ESS1-4, HS-ESS1-5
• Earth’s Systems: HS-ESS2-1,
MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-3
• Earth and Human Activity:
HS-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-2

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 Cupcake Geology
This activity was developed by Bonnie Magura, Jackson Middle School, Portland, OR.

Introduction: Materials
Students’ understanding of their environment must
• Cake mix or recipe, frosting
include some knowledge of the Earth below their feet.
• Food colorings
Knowing about differences in the Earth’s structure and
•• Foil baking cup liners
understanding the processes of scientific investigations
• Clear Straws
are essential for knowledgeable citizens. Students
• Plastic knife
will use the scientific method (below) to investigate
• Colored pencils
unknowns. Sampling is a critical concept. This lesson
• Lab recording sheet (see below)
is fun for students and actively engages them in a
scientific investigation. (We have all hypothesized,
then did some form of “drilling” exploration to Scientific method
discover just what was in that Holiday chocolate • Observation
before committing to it.) • Research (what might be found?)
• Construct a hypothesis
Concept: • Test hypothesis/ Experiment
Inquiry-based scientific investigation using a • Analysis (support/reject hypothesis)
“layered-Earth” cupcake to learn how scientists • Draw a conclusion
discover what is hidden at shallow depths beneath the • Communicate results
surface of the Earth.

Purpose:
Students will:
• learn that the earth is made up of various substances
Pre-class Preparation:
in different layers; Prepare a white cake mix recipe; a fairly dense
• learn how to hypothesize the outcome of an cake works best. Divide batter into several bowls
investigation, plan a sampling strategy, and test and add various food colorings to each batch. Add
their hypothesis; small amounts of each colored batch to a cupcake
• understand the value of systematic sampling; pan. Bake. Top cupcake with frosting. Day old
• become familiar with soil and be encouraged to ask cupcakes work best. If you don’t have time/
questions about things they might not understand. inclination to bake, filled cupcakes could work.

Figure 1.3 Cupcakes at various stages of the investigation. See Pre-class Preparation to see how the layers are made.

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Set-Up Procedure—teacher
1. Pass out napkins, straws, plastic knife, lab recording
sheet and a cupcake to students.
Note: depending on how many students you have,
you may want to use pairs or use cooperative
learning table groups.
2. Explain to the students that geologists often don’t
know what layers lie beneath the Earth’s surface.
They must somehow predict what layers might
be present and then do experiments to test their
ideas. Geologists working for petroleum companies
often detect subsurface layers by bouncing seismic
(sound) waves off the layers and making an
“echogram” of the subsurface. Marine geologists
often use coring devices to collect sediment cores
from the bottom of the ocean.
3. Demonstrate how to sample the cupcake with a
straw and explain that this is similar to a core
sample of Earth. Insert the straw into the cupcake,
and remove.

Diagram the position A – E where your

demonstration core sample was taken.

Closure:
Discuss lab findings and applications of core samples
in real world situations.

Extension:
Have students dig a hole in the soil near school and
near their home. They should then draw or diagram the
layers of soil they find and compare the differences.

Evaluation Strategies
Collect the students’ diagrams of the investigation
and have them explain how sampling is essential to
scientific investigations.

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 Names: ____________________
____________________

Cupcake Geology
Modeling Geologic Core Samples
Materials
• Frosted cupcakes • Clear Straws
• Plastic knife • Colored pencils
Procedure
1. Take core samples from the cupcake using your straws. Diagram the position A – E
where each core sample was taken using the recording diagrams below.
2. Draw what each of your core samples looks like. Use colored pencils
3. Draw a cross-section picture of what you think the inside of the cupcake looks like based
on the core sample diagrams. Use color.
4. Cut your cupcake in half and make a cross-section drawing of what your cupcake actually
looks like on the interior. Use color.

A B C D E

Prediction of cupcake Cupcake cut in half

based on core samples Showing actual interior

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Conclusion:

1. How did your assumptions about the cupcake change as the lab progressed?
a. Cupcake with no information

b. Cupcake with partial information (only one core sample)

c. Cupcake with more information (all core samples considered)

d. Cupcake cut in half

2. Describe at least two examples of real world situations where core sampling is used to
provide information about unseen geology.

3. What other sampling techniques are used in the field to provide similar information?

4. Compare and contrast the Cupcake Geology core sampling lab with real-world core
sampling situations. (Use thoughtful examples that demonstrate new understanding)

Similar Different

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