Create a Graph is a service of the National Center for Education Statistics. The site contains easy to understand explanations of four different charts and graphs and a data input section for each graph. Graphs include area graph, bar graph, line graph and pie chart. Students can use homework problems, things they have a special interest in, or use some of the numbers they find elsewhere to create ... Full description.

In this activity, students measure the circumference of a wheel using four different methods. The first method is similar to the method used by the Greek philosopher, Eratosthenes, who made an excellent estimate of the circumference of the Earth around 330 B.C. by assuming that the Earth is a sphere and that the sun's rays are parallel when they reach the Earth. In a second method, students measure ... Full description.

In this activity, students will examine temperature data obtained from the cooperative observing network, determine its accuracy, and investigate the impact of data reporting interval on the climate record. Each student will analyze hourly air temperature data for a 24-hour period (prepared by the teacher), calculate mean daily temperature by using maximum ad minimum temperature only and again by ... Full description.

In this activity, students investigate the effects of automobile pollution on plant growth by making measurements on two populations of leaves, one from within 10 meters of a busy road and a population of the same species situated more than 20 meters away. They will choose a method for measuring the leaves, create a table for their data, and test their hypotheses by performing a t-test. Full description.

This activity introduces students to the basic laws of radiation that apply to the sun-Earth-atmosphere system, the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and Wien's Displacement Law. In the first part of the activity , they will use these laws to calculate the average irradiance of the sun and its total emitted power, as well as the wavelength of peak emission of sunlight and the earth's irradiance at a ground temperatue ... Full description.

In this intermediate Excel activity, students import US Historical Climate Network mean temperature data into Excel from a station of their choice. They are then guided through the activity on how to use Excel for statistical calculations, graphing, and linear trend estimates. The activity assumes some familiarity with Excel. On this Starting Point page, users can access information about the exercise's ... Full description.