Space Awareness
Water is a Heat Sink
One of the key objectives of Europe's Copernicus Earth program is to monitor the temperatures of the oceans and seas on Earth. Young scholars learn the effects of different heat capacities through two experiments. These experiments...
Space Awareness
Fizzy Balloons - C02 in School
Carbon dioxide is a very important gas; it is present in the air, used in cooking, and supports plant and animal life. Scholars investigate the properties of carbon dioxide with three different activities. They experience a color change,...
Curated OER
Alice World:Tornado
Seventh graders use the Alice program and complete a world that is damaged after a tornado. In this atmospheric conditions instructional activity students complete an activity using the Alice program.
Curated OER
The Properties of Water: "Dead Or Alive"
Students study the water cycle and create a booklet entitled: "Discover the Wonder of Water" They observe and record data regarding evaporation, condensation, and precipitation and how water moves from a solid to a liquid to a gas. They...
Curated OER
Structure of the Earth
Sixth graders define atmosphere and hydrosphere, explore through experimentation how the atmosphere was formed, and describe the layers of the Earth's atmosphere and their distances.
Curated OER
Water Cycle
Young scientists explore Earth elements by conducting an experiment. They define water vocabulary terms such as condensation and precipitation. In addition, they conduct a water experiment in which they build a terrarium, so they can...
Curated OER
Is the Earth Warming? a Test of the Effect of Increased Carbon Dioxide on the Thermal Properties of Air
Students investigate the environmental and economic effects of increased carbon dioxide (CO2) content in the atmosphere.
Baylor College
Fuel for Living Things
During a three-part lesson, learners make a cabbage juice pH indicator and use it to analyze the waste products of yeast after feeding them with sugar. The intent is to demonstrate how living organisms produce carbon dioxide, which is...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Black Carbon - a Dusty Situation
Introduce your young meteorologists to black carbon produced by the burning of fossil fuels by showing the video, "Changing Planet: Black Carbon." Viewers discover that deposition of this carbon on polar ice impacts the absorption of...
Curated OER
Making Oxygen
Use demonstrations to enlighten learners on oxygen's role in combustion. Use potatoes and hydrogen peroxide to increase oxygen concentration in a jar, then stick a glowing splint and a burning wad of steel wool into the newly formed...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Carbon, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate
Climate models mathematically represent the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land, sun, surface, and ice. Part two in the series of four lessons looks at the role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth warm and has participants...
Curated OER
What is Water?
Students examine water's properties. They participate in hands-on activities to show the properties of water.
Curated OER
Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom
Learners investigate the greenhouse effect and examine the potential effects of climate change in the Arctic. They construct a mini-greenhouse and test its effect on temperature, analyze historical climate statistics, and conduct an...
Curated OER
Hurricane Research
Students examine the factors that influence hurricanes to develop. In this hurricane instructional activity students research atmospheric trends that affect hurricanes and create a summary.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
University of Colorado
Looking Inside Planets
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
Cornell University
Spectral Analysis with DVDs and CDs
Build a spectrometer to analyze properties of light. Scholars examine the spectrum from CDs and DVDs from two different light sources. Using the spectrum, they work to identify different elements.
Colorado State University
Why Can Warm Air "Hold" More Moisture than Cold Air?—Vapor Pressure Exercise
Does it feel a little humid in here? Learners assume the role of water vapor in the atmosphere as they explore the differences between warm and cold air. They roll dice to determine their level of energy, which determines if they stay...
Curated OER
Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
Curated OER
Creating and Analyzing Graphs of Tropospheric Ozone
Students create and analyze graphs using archived atmospheric data to compare the ozone levels of selected regions around the world.
Curated OER
Chemistry Practice
In this chemistry practice worksheet, students select the correct response to the given questions. Students apply knowledge about the states of matter, finding vapor pressure and atmospheric pressure.
Curated OER
Every Breath You Take
Students explore the nature of the air we breathe by observing petri dishes that have accumulated particulate matter from the atmosphere. Students make mathematical calculations and inferences about the effect of this matter on...
Curated OER
Let's Take a Rock Apart
Students take a crushed rock and sort the remains of the rock minerals into different categories based on the different properties. In this sorting lesson plan, students learn what makes up a rock and how to sort something into categories.
Curated OER
Introduce Solids
Students identify and interpret a variety of solid materials - cloth, wood, metal, plastic, paper, and rubber. After a period of free exploration, they then describe the properties of the objects and develop vocabulary in order to...