Atmospheric scientists investigating the possibility that human influences are changing the Earth's climate confront a significant problem - how do we actually detect climate change? As they participate in this classroom activity, students will develop the understanding that long-term climate averages are the result of significant annual climate variability and that random climate variability makes ... Full description.

Climate is generally defined as average weather over a long period of time. A place or region's climate is determined by both natural and human-induced factors. Students can read an overview of Earth's climate and participate in activities which explain the following concepts: distinctions between weather and climate, variability of daily weather measurements compared to long-term climate data, how ... Full description.

This document describes how geologic time is approached in discussions of geologic topics. The uses of relative time and absolute time are compared, and a geologic time scale is provided to represent both concepts. References are provided. Full description.