Curated OER
Pen Light Lab
Students study what makes Earth warm and explore how different locations on the planetreceive different amounts of solar energy based on the intensity of the sun's rays. They calculate light intensities and compare the
amounts of light...
Curated OER
Cosmic Rays and Solar Cells
In this cosmic rays and solar cells instructional activity, students read about how cosmic rays damage the electrical output of solar cells over time on satellites. Students use a graph of the solar power output compared to the year for...
Curated OER
How Fast Does the Sun Spin?
In this rotation of celestial bodies worksheet, students determine the speed of the sun's rotation and they determine the number of days it takes the sun to rotate once at the equator. They identify the geometric factor that causes...
Radford University
Georgia Peaches and California Dreamin’
Plant the fruits of trigonometry. Pairs work through the process of finding the best place to plant fruit trees on a piece of property. The scholars must take into consideration the location of the property and the solar zenith angle. To...
Curated OER
How Big Is That Star?
Aspiring astronomers study stars. They compare stars and explain the relationship between radius, mass, and diameter. By creating a star simulation, they discover how a binary star system's orbit can cause changes in the observed...
Curated OER
Invisible Rays
Students explore physical science by completing a lab assignment. In this sunlight instructional activity, students define a list of scientific vocabulary terms and complete fill in the blank questions. Students conduct a photographic...
Curated OER
Fermi Observatory Measures the Lumps in Space
In this gamma-ray worksheet, students read about the Fermi Gamma-ray Observatory and how it measures the invisible lumps in space. Students solve 3 problems using an equation to determine the time that gamma-rays travel in space and the...
Curated OER
A Bird's Eye Look at the Sun-Earth System
In this Sun-Earth system worksheet, students fill in blanks with the proper terms from a given list to complete a summary of the relationship between the Sun and the Earth. A major topic includes how solar storms effect the Earth and the...
Curated OER
New Angle on Forest Ecology
Students measure and calculate the angle of the sun. They compare the leaf types on the north and south to compare the effects of the sun on the type of vegetation. They complete the activities inside the classroom or on a trip to a...
Curated OER
What's The Idea?
Sixth graders explore line segments, rays, parallel, perpendicular and intersecting lines. The teacher discusses, with the class, real life items that represent each geometric idea studied. They use cotton balls, strings and popsicle...
Curated OER
Hinode Sees Mysterious Solar Micro-Flares
In this solar micro-flares worksheet, students read about the X-ray bright spots that the Hinode satellite's X-ray Telescope detected on the sun's surface. Students determine the scale of the image, the dimensions of the smallest bright...
Curated OER
Time Intervals
For this time intervals worksheet, students solve 8 problems where they determine the time gamma-ray bursts last, the time black hole micro-flares are emitted, the time coronal mass ejections travel and the days between lunar phases of...
Curated OER
Chandra Studies and Expanding Supernova Shell
In this supernova instructional activity, students read about the expanding supernova shell that was discovered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Students solve two problems including finding the scale of the given images and determining...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tilt of Earth's Axis and the Four Seasons
Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit about...
Curated OER
Catching Rays
Students investigate solar collectors. In this energy lesson, students create and demonstrate solar collectors. They will use measurement, data collecting, and analyze their findings to determine the best orientations for their solar...
Curated OER
Here Comes the Sun
Third graders watch a video on the solar system and examine the role of the sun. As a class, they complete a KWL chart and make different color temperature pockets to use during their experiment. In groups, they make predictions about...
Curated OER
Collecting the Rays
Students investigate the affect shape has on the ability of a solar panel to collect sunlight. In this collecting sunlight using a solar panel lesson plan, students determine which solar panel shape collects the most sunlight. Students...
Curated OER
Variables and Expressions from Around the Cosmos
In this variables and expressions worksheet, students solve 7 problems using different mathematical formulae to find the length of Earth's day in the future, the distance to the galaxy Andromeda, the temperature of a gas cloud emitting...
Curated OER
Systems of Equations in Space Science
In this system of equations worksheet, students solve 2 problems by creating a system of equations for each problem in order to determine the average intensity of flares from the sun and the average power from a satellite transponder.
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
Solar Activity
In this solar activity worksheet, students complete a puzzle given a word bank with matching numbers. The numbers correlate to the answers to basic math problems that use the order of operations. Students use their mathematical answers...
Curated OER
Math: A Geometric Neighborhood
Students, as a final project, draw a picture of their ideal neighborhood on a sunny day. In addition to the sun, their drawings include homes, trees, streets, and selected objects. Each object in their drawing has a written description...
Curated OER
You, Me and UV
Students explore the validity of claims of UV protection. Students research UV rays and the cancer danger presented by these rays. Working in groups, they perform tests on sunglass and sunscreen products to determine if their claim of UV...
Illustrative Mathematics
Eratosthenes and the Circumference of the Earth
The class gets to practice being a mathematician in ancient Greece, performing geometric application problems in the way of Eratosthenes. After following the steps of the great mathematicians, they then compare the (surprisingly...