This teacher-directed demonstration provides a conceptual understanding of latent heat. Using the example of a chemical hand warmer, students learn about phase changes from liquid to solid and from solid to liquid and observe that one of these phase changes releases heat while the other requires heat to be added. These concepts are then reinforced in a demonstration which involves heating water and ... Full description.

This description of the El Nino pattern in the eastern Pacific is from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. In addition to text and diagrams, it provides three weather related activities for lab or classroom. Full description.

This site provides an overview of the earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect by briefly exploring the atmospheres of nearby planets and discussing the greenhouse gases of our atmosphere. Information at this site helps students to understand that the greenhouse effect is what makes this planet suitable for life as we know it and that the earth's atmosphere contains trace gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide, ... Full description.

This information is designed to belie the misconception that the capacity of air to hold water vapor is temperature dependent and that air can become saturated with water vapor. The temperature of a cloud droplet or ice crystal will be nearly the same as that of the air, so people imagine that somehow the air was to blame. But, if the other gases of the air were removed, leaving everything else the ... Full description.

The Antarctic ice sheet changes in size over the course of a year. When it is summer in the southern hemisphere, the ice sheet decreases in size. As the ice sheet melts, it releases fresh water into the ocean. In the southern winter (our summer), the ice refreezes, drawing fresh water out of the surrounding ocean, leaving the salt behind. These seasonal changes in the ice sheet are examined in this ... Full description.

NOAA's Paleoclimatology Program is working with scientists from around the world to study past climate in hopes of achieving a better understanding of the Earth's present and future climate. This site was developed to help educate, inform and highlight the importance of paleoclimate research; as well as to show how paleoclimate research relates to global warming and other important issues of climate ... Full description.

This activity explores understanding the greenhouse effect through a lab experiment. The effect on the atmosphere is included too. Full description.

In this lesson, students define and classify the various ways in which numbers are used in forecasting and coping with the effects of a hurricane. This is followed up with an opportunity for research to compare and contrast these numbers as they apply to Hurricane Floyd and other recent hurricanes. There are also directions on how students can graph their findings. Full description.

The seasons on Earth are caused by the tilt of the Earth as it rotates on its axis and revolves around the Sun. Students will correlate surface radiation with mean surface temperature of several geographic regions. By observing the graphs of these parameters, students will construct an understanding of the reason for the seasons. Full description.

Researchers have identified approximately 140 individual impact craters on Earth. These craters probably represent only about 25 percent of those to be found. Assuming an equal rate of impact around the globe, many more craters remain to be discovered, particularly in remote land regions of our planet and in the oceans. This activity uses satellite images of several craters on the earth to study impact ... Full description.