Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used …
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click where the bottom of the lithosphere will be after the mountains have eroded away."
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The following topical questions and selected resources are designed to guide you …
The following topical questions and selected resources are designed to guide you through the current debate on the origin of Yellowstone hotspot: does it originate from processes operating only in the shallow portions of the Earth's mantle, or from a deeper-seated feature, perhaps a mantle plume generated at the core-mantle boundary? The resources linked from this page include an assortment of web- and non-web resources, published papers, abstracts, and graphics. Direct links to web resources are followed by a "more info" link that gives a short description of the web resource. These resources by no means comprise a comprehensive treatment of the literature on the subject, but should at least give you a place to start in your study of the origin of the Yellowstone hotspot.
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Students investigate potential energy held within springs (elastic potential energy) as part …
Students investigate potential energy held within springs (elastic potential energy) as part of the Research and Revise step. Class begins with a video of spring shoes or bungee jumping. Then students move on into notes and problems as a group. A few questions are given as homework. The Test Your Mettle section concludes. The lesson includes a dry lab that involves pogo sticks to solidify the concepts of spring potential energy, kinetic energy and gravitational energy, as well as conservation of energy.
Make sparks fly with John Travoltage. Wiggle Johnnie's foot and he picks …
Make sparks fly with John Travoltage. Wiggle Johnnie's foot and he picks up charges from the carpet. Bring his hand close to the door knob and get rid of the excess charge.
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used …
This lesson introduces students to three of the six simple machines used by many engineers. These machines include the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. In general, engineers use the inclined plane to lift heavy loads, the wedge to cut materials apart, and the screw to convert rotational motion into linear movement. Furthermore, the mechanical advantage describes how easily each machine can do work and is determined by its physical dimensions.
In this final lesson of the Dancing Lights curriculum, students will reflect …
In this final lesson of the Dancing Lights curriculum, students will reflect on and discuss what they learned about the aurora. First, students will compare what they know now with what they knew at the beginning of the program, and discuss their answers with a partner using Think, Pair, Share. The entire class will create a new KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) chart on the board before turning in their individual work.
This page from the National Hurricane Center hosts a variety of still …
This page from the National Hurricane Center hosts a variety of still graphics that can be looped into animations of the storm's progress. Images include 3- and 5-day Watches and Warnings, Wind Swaths and Strike Probabilities.
In this exercise, we analyze the trends in the CO2 record monitored …
In this exercise, we analyze the trends in the CO2 record monitored at Mauna Loa, (the 'Keeling Curve'). This is an exercise in data handling, interpolation, trend estimation and extrapolation.
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Student teams design insulated beverage bottles with the challenge to test them …
Student teams design insulated beverage bottles with the challenge to test them to determine which materials (and material thicknesses) work best at insulating hot water to keep it warm for as long as possible. Students test and compare their designs in still air and under a stream of moving air from a house fan.
Students learn how roadways are designed and constructed, and discuss the advantages …
Students learn how roadways are designed and constructed, and discuss the advantages and limitations of the current roadway construction process. They look at current practices of roadway monitoring, discuss the limitations, and consider ways to further road monitoring research. To conclude, student groups compete to design smooth, cost-efficient and sound model road bases using gravel, sand, water and rubber (representing asphalt). This lesson prepares students for the associated activity in which they act as civil engineers hired by USDOT to research through their own model experimentation how to best use piezoelectric materials to detect road damage by showing how piezoelectric transducers can indicate road damage.
This 2-page color fact sheet briefly describes NASA's Kepler mission, its instruments, …
This 2-page color fact sheet briefly describes NASA's Kepler mission, its instruments, and ground system. Also included are tables listing the instrument parameters and the major institutions involved. Kepler is a spaceborne telescope specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to detect and characterize hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone. The habitable zone encompasses the distances from a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Note: The fact sheets states that the Kepler Telescope was launched in 2007 but did not launch until 2009.
Visit with Andres during fiesta time at Paracho Michoacan, Mexico's "guitar town". …
Visit with Andres during fiesta time at Paracho Michoacan, Mexico's "guitar town". As Andres shows in this video segment from ZOOM, guitar music goes beyond simple sound vibrations.
In this activity, students will model the time after the Big Bang …
In this activity, students will model the time after the Big Bang when the first nuclei of hydrogen and helium were created. The students will move and display cards that show the elements that are formed. This activity requires a large area - e.g., an outside location, a large classroom with seats moved back, or a gym. This activity is part of the "What is Your Cosmic Connection to the Elements" activity and information booklet. The booklet includes teacher notes and instructions as well as follow-up questions.
In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic …
In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic energy as forms of mechanical energy. A hands-on activity demonstrates how potential energy can change into kinetic energy by swinging a pendulum, illustrating the concept of conservation of energy. Students calculate the potential energy of the pendulum and predict how fast it will travel knowing that the potential energy will convert into kinetic energy. They verify their predictions by measuring the speed of the pendulum.
In the north Atlantic, the American Lobster is the undisputed king of …
In the north Atlantic, the American Lobster is the undisputed king of crustaceans. ItŰŞs also a tremendously important commercial catch. While all the other fisheries are collapsing, why are lobsters resisting the trend? In this video, Jonathan goes out with a Maine lobsterman to learn why, and he dives down below to find the biggest lobsters he has ever seen. This segment won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
This lesson presents the basics of aerodynamics by using kite flying as …
This lesson presents the basics of aerodynamics by using kite flying as an example, i.e., forces acting on a flying object. Students will measure the net force acting on a kite due to blowing air and will learn how a simple instrument like a spring can be used to measure such force. They will also examine and experience how the force on the kite is transferred to the string in the form of tension and will again measure that tension with a simple spring. This lesson will take about 30 minutes to complete. One will need a calibrated spring to measure forces, as well as a few springs to study the coplanar forces.
Students use a LEGO® ball shooter to demonstrate and analyze the motion …
Students use a LEGO® ball shooter to demonstrate and analyze the motion of a projectile through use of a line graph. This activity involves using a method of data organization and trend observation with respect to dynamic experimentation with a complex machine. Also, the topic of line data graphing is covered. The main objective is to introduce students graphs in terms of observing and demonstrating their usefulness in scientific and engineering inquiries. During the activity, students point out trends in the data and the overall relationship that can be deduced from plotting data derived from test trials with the ball shooter.
In Part A of this activity, students will learn about how sea …
In Part A of this activity, students will learn about how sea ice forms and influences ocean currents around the globe. In Part B, they will look at how sea ice thickness changes over time. Finally, in Part C, students will use NSIDC sea ice index data to explore changes in sea ice extent on multiple time scales including months, years, and decades.
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This is a version of the time-tested lab where students roll a …
This is a version of the time-tested lab where students roll a ball off a table top and use kinematics in two dimensions to try to predict where the ball will land. While many versions of this lab have been previously published, in this version students determine the uncertainty of all measurements and uncertainty of their prediction. The techniques and vocabulary are consistent with the Introduction to Measurement packet.
Students use a microphone and Vernier LabQuest to record the sound of …
Students use a microphone and Vernier LabQuest to record the sound of a finger-snap echo in a 1-2 meter cardboard tube. Students measure the time for the echo to return to the microphone, and measure the length of the tube. Using their measurements, students determine the speed of sound. While other authors have produced similar labs, this version includes uncertainty analysis consistent with effective measurement technique as presented in the module Measurement and Uncertainty.
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