Curated OER
Exploring the Celestial Neighborhood
Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.
Chapman University
The Standard Model Poster
Chemistry classes will appreciate this color-coded, single-page reference sheet for The Standard Model of particle physics. It is divided into two main sections: elementary particles and compound particles, both with their antiparticles....
Curated OER
Clip the Face
Students discover the moon's phases and the rarity of eclipses. In this lunar lesson, students view a video titled Spin Around the Solar System: A Moon Dance, which demonstrates the key differences between a lunar and solar eclipse....
Curated OER
The Webb Space Telescope: Detecting Dwarf Planets
In this detecting dwarf planets worksheet, students read about the Webb Space Telescope that will be launched in 2014 to detect dwarf planets using an infrared telescope. Students solve 3 problems and create a graph for each using given...
Curated OER
A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature
Students examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature and investigate the seasonal changes of land and water temperature.
Curated OER
Sunlight Necklaces
Third graders review the placement and role of the sun in the solar system. Using beads, they create a necklace which they can use to identify the amount of sunlight is being illuminated. In groups, they record observations on the...
Curated OER
Lakes of Methane on Titan
In this methane lakes worksheet, students read about the false-color synthetic radar map taken by the Cassini spacecraft indicating methane lakes on Titan. Students solve 4 problems about the surface area of the lakes from the image, and...
Curated OER
Time That Period
Physical science starters play with a pendulum in order to experience periodicity. Detailed procedures and a worksheet are included for day one. For day two, learners will use a graphing calculator to help them plot orbit data from a...
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...
Curated OER
When a Ruler is Too Short
High schoolers measure distances using parallax. In this math lesson, students explain how this method helped astronomers with their studies of the solar system. They determine the length of their arm using parallax and compare it with...
Curated OER
Finding Extra-Solar Planets
Students plot and analyze NASA data to determine the period of an invisible planet orbiting a wobbling star. They explore the motion of a two-body system around a center of mass to better explain how extra-solar planets are discovered.
Curated OER
Kepler And His Laws
Students engage in an overview of the story of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, and of Kepler's laws. Each of Kepler's laws be studied separately in more detail in later lessons. They examine Kepler's 3rd law.
Curated OER
Universal Proportions: Earth and Moon
Students create scale models of Earth, the Moon, and the distances within the universe. Working in groups, they construct their models of Earth and the Moon on a scale of 50:1 and calculate how far apart to place their models. They...
Curated OER
Make a Sundial
Students explore space science by conducting a sun experiment in class. In this time telling lesson, students discuss how the sun sits in our sky at exact times each day and how astronomy is based on our perspective of the solar system....
Curated OER
Plant Systems
In this plant systems worksheet, students write true or false for the 10 sentences about plant systems. Students then label the parts of the plant.
Curated OER
Sunspots and the Sun's Rotation
In this sun worksheet, students use a Sunspotter to observe the rotation of the sun by identifying the presence of sunspots and watching them rotate over time. Students calculate how many days it takes to see the sunspots they observe in...
Teach Engineering
Maximum Power Point
Investigate the maximum power output of a photovoltaic panel with a lesson that introduces the class to the maximum power point. Individuals learn how to determine the maximum power point of a solar panel by using Ohm's law and the power...
Curated OER
A Look At Rocks
Students write letters to organizations, such as United States Geological Society, to find out more about rocks. Students write about a pretend time they found a magic pebble. Students calculate distances to travel to see various...
Curated OER
Volume Calculation Exercise
Middle schoolers work with scientific notation and rounding as they determine volume. In this volume lesson, pupils attempt to calculate the volume of the planet Jupiter. They use rounding to two significant digits and scientific...
Curated OER
The Voyage Scale
Students identify how models are powerful tools of exploration and that the sizes of the planets and distances between the planets in the Solar System span a large range. They make a sign for each planet they have created in the lesson...
Curated OER
Scientific Notation
Students explore the concept of expressing numbers in scientific notation. In this scientific notation lesson, students understand the importance of using scientific notation by finding real world examples where scientific notation is...
Curated OER
99.86% - Measuring Our Sun's Mass
Students determine just how large the sun is. In this solar system lesson, students follow the prescribed steps to draw a box that represents the size of the sun and its mass compared to the entire solar system.
Curated OER
Distance in Space
Sixth graders explore space science by measuring distances between planets. In this solar system lesson, 6th graders view a Bill Nye video and discover the conversion between the metric system and imperial measuring systems. Students...
Curated OER
Searching For Protoplanetary Disks
Learners download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system. They hypothesize about mysterious objects in NASA HST images.