In this lesson, students will learn that there are limits to what the eye can see and that a magnifying glass can help extend those limits. Students may have been exposed to optical technology such as glasses, magnifying lenses, or even periscopes, microscopes, and telescopes. This lesson aims to channel the inventive energy of students to increase their awareness and purposeful use of tools. They ... Full description.

These aerial photography and satellite images show in detail that in an era of great technological advancement, when Earth-orbiting vehicles show continents without political boundaries, war still stalks the planet. The site is divided into four parts. Each part is introduced by a short video followed by a thumbnail photograph and text. The slide show is started by clicking on the thumbnail. Full description.

This classroom activity, which centers on documenting the exact location of a meteorite in Antarctica, introduces students to the technology of Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The printable five-page handout includes a series of inquiry-based questions to get students thinking about the challenges of marking exact positions in an area where the landscape is continually changing. Illustrated activity ... Full description.

This activity has students investigate Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. All directions are included in a printable two-page handout. Students begin by completing an in-depth, interactive tutorial about GPS technology. They then read more about its uses. Students end their research by answering a series of questions, which helps them draw conclusions about how GPS improves upon previous ... Full description.

This interactive tutorial simulates the scanning of a sample under the microscope at a fixed magnification. The sample can be translated back and forth while observing a small portion in the viewfield. To operate the tutorial, students first select a sample from the pull-down menu with a choice of ten images (chemicals, crystals, and other materials). Next, they adjust the sample focus, illumination ... Full description.

This tutorial is designed to give students a good basic understanding of the principles behind GPS (Global Positioning System) without too much technical detail. It explains what GPS is, how it works, differential GPS, and putting GPS to work. Applications cited include location, navigation, tracking, mapping, and timing. It is recommended that users follow the tutorial in the order that it is presented, ... Full description.

This site presents information about the Global Positioning System (GPS), including basic information, images, and plentiful in-depth technical information about GPS. Topics covered include U.S. Department of Defense Satellite Navigation System, GPS Positioning Services Specified in the Federal Radionavigation Plan, GPS Satellite Signals, GPS Data, Position and Time from GPS, GPS Error Sources, Geometric ... Full description.

This website was developed for undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory earth or atmospheric science course. It is designed to supplement lecture and textbooks. Its goal is to make you a better consumer of weather information by providing dynamic graphics, animations, and science content about remote sensing, visible and infrared satellite imagery, and hurricanes. As part of the module, ... Full description.

This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) site simultaneously searches one or more of NASA's online image and photo collections. Each search returns thumbnail sized images, textual descriptions, image numbers, links to higher resolution images, links to more information, and links to the NASA Center that stores each image. Subjects covered include aeronautics, planets, the Sun, current ... Full description.

This site serves as a gateway to three sections devoted to learning about tides and water levels: an online tutorial, an list of links to tidal resources, and formal lesson plans. The tutorial is an overview of the complex systems that govern the movement of tides and water levels. It is content rich, is presented in easy-to-understand language, and includes many illustrative and interactive graphics ... Full description.