The current experiment investigated the effects of a dynamic spatial ability on comprehension of a geoscience text on plate tectonics and the causes of volcanic activity. 162 undergraduates (54% female) from a large public university who had little prior knowledge of this science content area were asked to learn about plate tectonics. Measures of spatial ability and working memory capacity were...

Mineral inclusions encapsulated in diamonds are the oldest, deepest, and most pristine samples of Earth's mantle. They provide age and chemical information over a period of 3.5 billion years--a span that includes continental crustal growth, atmospheric evolution, and the initiation of plate tectonics. We compiled isotopic and bulk chemical data of silicate and sulfide inclusions and found that ...