This activity describes the technique of preparing "GIS-ready" data and shows how to map that data and conduct basic analyses using a geographic information system (GIS). First, you will download and format near real-time and historical earthquake data from the USGS. Using latitude and longitude fields, you will then plot these data in a GIS. Next, you will analyze patterns by querying records and ... Full description.

The purpose of this resource is to learn about latitude and longitude while developing math skills. Students begin by asking the simple question: 'Where Am I?' Then they learn about the magnetic Earth and the use of compasses and angles. Students also learn about the difference between relative and absolute locations. Throughout this activity, students practice using a variety of math skills. Full description.

This site uses Virtual Reality field trips in the Alvin submarine to the East Pacific Rise to explore hydrothermal vents. The education activites focus on 4 activities: Exploration, Observing (actual video from the seafloor), Mapping, and Collecting a Water Sample. Teaching materials for each of the explorations have been provided, each with two levels of assessment (basic and advanced). Full description.

This resource includes a classroom activity, background information and a set of temperature and surface pressure data from the Pathfinder Lander. Students analyze data on temperature and pressure graphs from the first 30 days of the Pathfinder Mission to determine whether water could have existed under these conditions. A set of 15 images is also available, which can be reproduced on a photocopier ... Full description.

As part of this classroom activity, students will record and graph temperature data to learn about the search for water on Mars. Using models of frozen and ice-free "soils" constructed from readily available materials (a list is provided), they will examine (by periodically measuring temperature and graphing the results) how the ice content of the Martian soil affects the rate at which a warm probe ... Full description.

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program monitors wet atmospheric deposition (chemical constituents deposited from the atmosphere via rain, sleet and snow) at over 220 National Trends Network sites throughout the United States. This site contains a long-term, high-quality database of atmospheric deposition for research support in the areas of acid rain, air quality, water quality, agricultural ... Full description.

This Internet-based collaborative project will allow students to share information about water usage with other students from around the country and the world. Based on data collected by their household members and their classmates, students will determine the average amount of water used by one person in a day. They will compare this to the average amount of water used per person per day in other ... Full description.

This lesson uses NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. An an outcome of the lesson, the student will be able to explain how Earth's major air circulations affect global weather patterns and relate local weather patterns to climate as well as identify different climate regions. Students will also describe conditions for cloud formation along ... Full description.

This easy but effective lesson uses NASA CERES satellite percent coverage surface data along with a world map and asks students to locate landmasses and bodies of water at Earth's Equator. Students will map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates. Using the microset of satellite data included with the lesson to investigate surface characteristics, students will apply percentage to determine ... Full description.

This activity explores the potential impact of climate variability and change on one of Earth's increasingly vulnerable resources, forests. Although the activity is designed to tap specific skills and knowledge through scientific inquiry, its broader intent is to stimulate thought about the long-term impacts of a warmer planet. The scenario invites students to examine higher level issues of climate ... Full description.