Scientists have studied the physical properties of clouds and have developed instruments onboard satellites to characterize the types of clouds they see below. Some satellites have instruments that allow them to measure rainfall as well. For this lesson, students will hypothesize what types of clouds they believe will create the most precipitation (rainfall) over Nashville, TN. Students use the Live ... Full description.

This activity consists of two parts in which students investigate heat transfer by radiation and by conduction. In the first part, students design and conduct an experiment to test the effect of color on an object's ability to radiate energy (heat). In the second part, they investigate the transfer of energy from a hotter object to a cooler one, in this case, containers of hot and cold water. In both ... Full description.

In this activity, students will be reminded that when sunlight strikes the Earth's surface, energy is absorbed and the surface material is heated. But although the same amount of sunlight strikes different materials at a given location, they heat up at different rates. Students will use models to demonstrate conduction, convection, and radiation and to gain an understanding about what happens to create ... Full description.

In this activity, students will explore how energy is distributed at the surface of the earth in both space and time. Using data sets collected from Black Rock Forest, an instrumented education and research forest near West Point, New York, they will investigate variations in hourly solar energy influx and daily average solar radiation. They will make observations from the data, interpret it, and ... Full description.

The Stefan-Boltzmann Law is a fundamental law of physics. In this lesson, students will use this law and the near-ground air temperature to compute the hourly irradiance emitted by the surface of Earth. Then comparisons will be made with actual observations of this variable, called upwelling terrestrial radiation. Full description.

In this activity students design and execute an experiment through which they will learn the distinctions between density, buoyancy, and volume. Students are asked to imagine a staysail schooner loaded with mid-ocean ridge basalt as it floats in a swimming pool in Woods Hole. They must determine what will happen to the water level if all the basalt is dumped over the side into the pool. Posing an ... Full description.

This lesson provides an overview of basic atomic structure and the concept of radioactive decay. Topics include the particles that make up an atom, binding forces, and the concept of isotopes. There is also discussion of decay methods and half-life versus activity. The lesson includes an activity in which students use online applets to investigate the half-life and activity of selected isotopes and ... Full description.

This experiment helps students understand that ultraviolet (UV) radiation is present in natural outdoor light and that the intensity of the light varies with season and time of day. After completing this activity, students will be able to demonstrate that UV radiation can be blocked or filtered by various substances. The page contains detailed background material, learning goals, alignment to national ... 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.