Teach Engineering
Skin and the Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation
Though UV radiation can damage skin, it isn't all bad. The third installment in a six-part series allows the class to study the structure and function of skin. They learn about the different types of skin cancer and the SPF rating...
Science Geek
Earth's Atmosphere
Ozone gas absorbs the harmful UV-B rays and helps protect humans. An informative presentation begins with the layers of the earth's atmosphere, the pressure and temperature in each of the layers, the ozone layer, the ozone cycle,...
Curated OER
UV light & Ozone layer
Middle-school meteorologists absorb information about ultraviolet radiaton and consider the ozone layer. The book that learners are supposed to refer to is not available, so you might want to locate some graphics or posters...
Curated OER
Earth's Atmosphere
This simple presentation sports a timeline of the last 400 million years. Click by click, the condition and developments in Earth's atmosphere appear along the timeline. This is a nifty PowerPoint that you could use as you teach about...
Curated OER
There's More to Light than Meets the Eye
Students explore the concept that not all light is visible to the
human eye. Although UV light is not visible, it can still be harmful, causing sunburns or skin cancer. They use special beads to detect UV light around the school....
Curated OER
The Atmosphere
Here is a suitable set of slides to use when teaching about the layers of the atmosphere, climate, global winds, and types of clouds. These slides will support a few different lectures. You will probably want to replace the diagrams with...
NASA
The Atmospheric Filter
What is the difference between a comet and a meteoroid? An educational lesson includes five demonstrations of how the atmosphere can inhibit our ability to measure many things in the galaxy.
Exploratorium
Blue Sky
Use a container full of water as a prism and show that as light is bent, the individual colors from different wavelengths become visible. This explains why the sky appears to be blue midday, and why as the sun nears the horizon, it looks...
Curated OER
Comparing Light Bulbs
An average home produces twice as many emissions as an average car. Teach your class how to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. Perform an experiment to compare...
University of Colorado
Star Light, Star Bright? Finding Remote Atmospheres
People might be able to breath there. Learners view a simulation of a planet passing in front of a star. Using data from occultations of planets with known types of atmospheres, scholars determine whether the simulated planet has an...
Colorado State University
Why Are Clouds White?
Is it possible to change the color of clouds? A three-part activity explores the scattering of light by the water droplets that make up clouds. After observing a demonstration, curious scholars conduct their own investigations of the...
Baylor College
Rainbow in the Room
Uncover the science behind the beautiful phenomena of rainbows with a simple demonstration. Shine light through different-sized containers of water as young scientists learn that rainbows occur when visible light is split up into its...
Baylor College
Measuring and Protecting Skin
Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science lesson about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring surface area or an...
Curated OER
Heating The Atmosphere
In this science worksheet, high schoolers look for the answers to finding the correct temperatures that match the location in the atmosphere.
Curated OER
Lights in the Night Sky
Students read about and explore solar winds and spectacular auroras, specifically the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.
Curated OER
Internet Quest: Weatherman Walt-Why the Sky is Blue
Students analyze atmosphere and light. In this earth science lesson, students are introduced to an investigation about why the sky is blue. Students complete a WebQuest to answer the question.
Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Why does it get so hot inside of our cars in the summertime? The greenhouse effect! Lab groups experiment to see what happens to an ice cube enclosed in a jar and placed in sunlight as compared to an ice cube outside of the jar. They...
Curated OER
Effects of Ozone Depletion
Explore the causes of ozone depletion and the effect on plankton, algae, plants, amphibians, and humans. Learn how the Montreal Protocol has possibly helped reverse the decline of the ozone layer. Warning: photos of skin and eye...
Curated OER
Introduction to Ozone Reading Activity
Simple, but suitable, this lesson gives mini-meteorologists a glimpse at ozone in the atmosphere. By reading an article, they find that ozone in the stratosphere is vital to life, but ozone in the troposphere is problematic. A reading...
Curated OER
Relative Positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun Over Time
Teacher pages for four different activities and three assessments are provided in this resource. Topics deal with how the sun's position and Earth's atmosphere affect the amount of solar energy reaching Earth's surface. The concepts and...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Star Light, Star Bright
Star light, star bright, first star I see ... wait a minute, where did the star go? Scholars complete a simulation that measures the brightness of a distant star as another object passes in front of it. Learners move the passing...
Curated OER
The Moon's Atmosphere
In this moon's atmosphere learning exercise, students read about the tenuous lunar atmosphere and solve 4 problems. They find the density of helium particles, they find the grams of given atoms in the moon's atmosphere and they find the...
Curated OER
The Changing Atmosphere of Pluto
In this atmosphere of Pluto worksheet, students use an equation for the orbit of Pluto to determine the semi-major axis, the semi-minor axis, the ellipticity of the orbit, the aphelion and the perihelion. They also determine the...
Colorado State University
Why Is the Sky Purple?
The color of the sky depends on the time of day. Young scholars experiment with scattering different wavelengths of light to recreate the color of the sky. They observe both the longer blue wavelengths and the shorter red and orange...