This presentation is meant to be used in conjunction with the lesson "Discovering Information About Mars." In this lesson, students gain background knowledge about environmental factors on Mars through taking notes while viewing a content presentation. To culminate, they clarify the challenges of living on Mars by generating a list of potential environmental problems.

This online lesson provides information about the solar system and the planets that make it up.

As science extension activities, this book of problems introduces students to mapping the shape of the Milky Way galaxy, and how to identify the various kinds of galaxies in our universe. Students also learn about the shapes and sizes of other galaxies in our universe as they learn how to classify them. The math problems cover basic scientific notation skills and how they apply to working with astronomically large numbers. It also provides exercises in plotting points on a Cartesian plane to map the various features of our Milky Way.

Students conduct research to determine whether plate tectonics is operating at any other location in the solar system.

Students compare ways of investigating weather on Earth and on other planets in our solar system. They use a video to discuss which different types of weather information might help us understand what the environments are like on each planet. Then students compare and contrast weather conditions for planets in our solar system.

In this series of activities, students explore the features of Mars and Earth, perform experiments to determine how these features form, and discuss what the features suggest about the history of Mars.

In this series of activities, students explore the volcanoes of Mars in comparison with Earth, learn what they tell us about what is happening inside Mars, and review its history.

Students will make comparisons to facilitate understanding about the similarities and differences between soil properties on Earth and Mars.

This is a lesson about planetary atmospheres. Learners will interpret real spectral graphs from missions to determine what some of Earth, Venus, and Mars’ atmosphere is composed of and then mathematically compare the amount of the greenhouse gas, CO2, on the planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in order to determine which has the most. Students brainstorm to figure out what things, along with greenhouse gases, can affect a planet’s temperature. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.

Students determine what some of Earth, Venus, and Mars"™ atmosphere is composed of and then mathematically compare the amount of the greenhouse gas, CO2, on the planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in order to determine which has the most. Students brainstorm to figure out what things, along with greenhouse gases, can affect a planet"™s temperature.

Sample Learning Goals
Describe the relationship between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station, including orbits and positions
Describe the size and distance between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station
Explain how gravity controls the motion of our solar system
Identify the variables that affect the strength of gravity
Predict how motion would change if gravity was stronger or weaker

In this activity, students use differently weighted cola cans to reflect the force of gravity on other planets (and the moon).

Students graph the temperature of water as it reaches a boil and discover the existence of the transition plateau.

In this lesson on cosmic rays, students will explain two examples of a cosmic ray detector. Includes information about student preconceptions and a demonstration that requires a geiger counter and optional access to a small radioactive source that emits energetic helium nuclei (alpha particles), e.g., the mineral the mineral autunite, which contains uranium. This is activity two of four from The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER).

This is a set of three, one-page problems about the size and area of solar panels used to generate power. Learners will will use integer arithmetic to tally the number of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon atoms in a molecule and determine the number of methane atoms that can result. Options are presented so that students may learn about how NASA is using signs of methane gas to search for life on other planets, such as Mars, through a NASA press release or about how astrobiologists who are looking for life beyond Earth are using spectroscopy to identify methane plumes on Mars by viewing a NASA eClips video [7 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.

In this activity, students consider evidence for life on other planets, including those outside of our solar system by examining data.

Students imagine they are Titanian scientists planning a mission to search for life on planet Earth. Students research the instruments carried aboard Cassini-Huygens and then work as a group to determine what questions the Titanian scientists would want their mission to answer.

Students analyze actual data and images to assess whether there is liquid water on Mars.

In this lesson, students discover how we learn about stars and the atmospheres of exoplanets by examining the light in greater detail. Students will match up the spectra of stars and planets with their atmospheric ingredients. In particular, what ingredients are we looking for in planets that may harbor life?

In this lesson, students are each given one of 14 examples of extremophiles - organisms found in some of the toughest conditions on Earth. They sort themselves into groups according to the various preferences of their organisms. Finally, they discover that all known life on Earth requires liquid water to survive and grow.