Oceans play a significant role in determining and moderating the effects of energy imbalances. Students will begin this lesson by working with temperature data to reinforce the importance of protocols, practice computing statistical measures of data and interpreting their significance. The lesson continues with investigations into daily and annual energy cycles. Using a sea surface environment visualizer, students then identify patterns of sea surface current and temperature data. Note that this is lesson five of five on the Ocean Motion website. Each lesson investigates ocean surface circulation using satellite and model data and can be done independently. See Related URL's for links to the Ocean Motion Website that provide science background information, data resources, teacher material, student guides and a lesson matrix.

This is a lesson about science as a human endeavor. Learners will use a diverse collection of profiles of people who work on the Cassini‰ÛÒHuygens mission to learn about science as a human endeavor and to reflect on their own career goals and personal impressions of the mission. This is lesson 6 of 6 in the Saturn Educators Guide.

This is an activity about the basic properties of magnets and magnetism. Learners explore concepts such as magnetic fields and polarity, which form the basic ingredients of a study of Earth's magnetic field and the technology of magnetometers. Materials needed include bar magnets and paper clips. This is Activity 1 of Exploring Magnetism: A Teacher's Magnetism Activity Guide.

This NASA site features color satellite photographs of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. The site shows pictures of the Gulf of Mexico region in natural colors as well as on a scale of different chlorophyll concentrations. The site also has a short explanation of the Gulf of Mexico eutrophication.

This is an activity about the way distance, albedo, and atmosphere affect the temperature of a planet. Learners will create a planet using a computer game and change features of the planet to increase or decrease the planet's temperature. They will then discuss their results in terms of greenhouse strength and the presence of liquid water. This lesson is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering education program focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

This is an activity about the atmospheric conditions (greenhouse strength, atmospheric thickness) Mars needs to maintain surface water. Learners will use a computer interactive to learn about Mars past and present before exploring the pressure and greenhouse strength needed for Mars to have a watery surface as it had in the past. This lesson is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering education program focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

This is an activity about how much atmospheric pressure is needed on Mars to maintain surface water and why it does not have surface water today. Learners will use a computer interactive to learn about Mars past and present before exploring the pressure and greenhouse strength needed for Mars to have a watery surface as it had in the past. This lesson is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering education program focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

This is an activity about the way distance, reflectivity, and atmosphere affect the temperature of a planet. Learners will create a planet using a computer game and change features of the planet to increase or decrease the planet's temperature. This lesson is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering education program focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

This is an activity about the different characteristics of the planets in our Solar System. Learners will use the Solar System Update program to complete a worksheet. The worksheet asks learners to identify multiple characteristics for each planetary body, and consider the relationships between certain characteristics. Required materials include the Solar System Update software and a computer with Internet access. This activity is Solar System Activity 3 in a larger resource, Space Update.

This is an activity about defining characteristics or features of the planets and their moons. Learners will use the Solar System Update software to complete a worksheet asking them to find the planet and/or moon that matches each listed description. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access, and is Solar System Activity 1 in a larger resource, Space Update.

Learners and their families are encouraged to go outside on a clear evening and view the sky to see the planets for themselves. Using sky charts and other resources, and possibly in partnership with a local astronomical society, children navigate the night sky and view planets with the naked eye and binoculars or telescopes. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments.

The PlanetQuest Observing Cards are designed to give telescope operators and other interpreters a new way of explaining the night sky. Relating common observing objects to our search for exoplanets makes these spectacular sights more understandable. These cards are a great resource for use at observing night events, providing new stories to tell about commonly viewed celestial objects.

This is an activity about the orbits of the planets in our Solar System. Learners will utilize the Sky Tonight online program to track the movement and visibility of the planets in our night sky. They will then attempt to locate these planets outside on a clear night. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access and access to the clear night sky. This activity is Sky Tonight Activity 3 in a larger resource, Space Update.

In this problem-based learning activity, students are presented with the scenario that they are representatives of an organization that is tasked with evaluating the potential effects of a warming climate on New England forests. Student worksheets, teacher guide, and assessment rubric are included. The resource is part of Forests: A Sticky Situation, from the lesson series The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.

This is an activity about the altitude and azimuth for the Moon. Learners will use the Sky Tonight online program to take data on the position of the Moon, plot it and see what kind of relationship the data has. This activity requires the use of a computer with Internet access, and is Sky Tonight Activity 5 in a larger resource, Space Update.

In this learning activity, students compare changes in insolation with changes in surface temperature in the polar regions using scientific visualizations of global data sets. Links to readings related to the shrinking ice cap and albedo are included. This is part 1 of a four-part activity on polar science. Extension activities examining air and sea surface temperature in relation to changing Earth albedo are included. This activity is one of several learning activities connected with the 2007 GLOBE Earth system poster.

Graph reading and data analysis are highlighted in this activity where students identify the countries that produce the highest levels of polluting atmospheric emissions. They compare these data with the population of the countries, and describe how the percentage of total emissions and total population numbers are related. The resource includes the graph and a student worksheet. This is an activity from Space Update, a collection of resources and activities provided to teach about Earth and space. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site.

This is a hands-on lab activity about seawater density, specifically the relationship between density of fluid, weight of an object, and buoyancy. Learners will develop hypotheses and observe a demonstration of density to understand its role in buoyancy. They will also examine the effect of salinity on density. Background information, common preconceptions, a glossary and more is included. This activity is part of the Aquarius Hands-on Laboratory Activities.

This is an activity about solar energy. Learners will first use computers to research and learn how solar panels convert sunlight into electricity. Next, they will calculate the surface area of solar panels board a satellite and their total power generated in various positions of the satellite, given the dimension of the panels. After, learners will organize and write a report summarizing the information about the MMS mission satellites. This activity requires student access to internet accessible computers. This is lesson four as part of the MMS Mission Educator's Instructional Guide.

Using the simple example of calculating the probability of reaching a traffic light while green, students are shown how to build a mathematical model using a very commonly-taught formula (sum of first n integers) to solve a rather practical problem. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.