This Why Files article covers solar electricity as a renewable energy resource. Solar cells, or photovoltaics (PV's) have been around for quite some time, but their use in harnessing energy has not been widely used until recently. This article discusses PV's, their usefulness, how they were invented, how PV's have recently been used by cities, what it could cost to switch to solar, and other solar ... Full description.

This resource explores winter weather and frozen precipitation. The page on precipitation points out that snow and rain are both water and explains how the different forms of frozen precipitation (snow, sleet, freezing rain) occur. There is a page on cirrus clouds that explains their characterstics and how they may affect climate by reflecting solar radiation or reducing outgoing infrared energy from ... Full description.

In this activity, students investigate how different surfaces absorb heat and apply their experience with the surfaces to interpret real-world situations. From this information, they come to understand that the physical characteristics of a surface have a powerful effect on the way that surface absorbs and releases heat from the sun and that radiation of heat occurs without the involvement of a physical ... Full description.

This site is a joint effort of NOAA Research and the College of Education at the University of South Alabama. The goal of the site is to provide middle school science students and teachers with research and investigation experiences using on-line resources. In this unit students look at the science of weather forecasting as a science by exploring cloud, temperatures, and air pressure data and information. ... Full description.

This activity will offer students an introduction to chemiluminescence and bioluminescence, an opportunity to observe the effect of temperature on reaction, and an activity that integrates art and science. Students explore how the temperature of the chemicals that combine affects a chemiluminescent reaction. They will also learn that since solar radiation does not reach the ocean depths, the bottom ... Full description.

In this scenario, students assume the roles of employees working for a fishing company who must convince investors that their use of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data gives them a significant advantage over competitors. As they perform the activities provided, they will learn the role of Earth's winds in driving oceanic currents, affecting climate, and affecting distribution ... Full description.

In this lesson students discover that measurements from space can tell us the temperature of the ocean, both on an annual average and as measured on any given date. For the annual average the highest ocean temperatures are near the equator, and drop as one moves either northward or southward from the equator. Students will graph each temperature value as a function of latitude and write a linear equation ... Full description.

In this module students will discover how rainfall rates are measured, how the intensity and distribution is determined, and what methods are used to study and predict precipitation events. They will analyze data and interpret information in order to make predictions and utilize satellite data to determine the intensity and distribution of rainfall to improve the safety of air travel. Students will ... Full description.

This lesson plan is part of the DiscoverySchool.com lesson plan library for grades 6-8. It focuses on tsunamis and the destruction they can cause. Students design experiments to view the two types of tsunamis (fjord and ocean) and view the different wave patterns associated with each. Included are objectives, materials, procedures, discussion questions, evaluation ideas, and vocabulary. There are ... Full description.

This activity will help students in their understanding of the complexities of snowpack formation and using this data to make predictions about how particular slopes might behave. The kind of snow, the incline of the slope, and the terrain all play a role in when and where avalanches will occur. In this activity, students layer foodstuffs to mimic the strong and weak layers within a snowpack and then ... Full description.