This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 8th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 8th Grade Science.

This is a resource that explains the rationale behind the multiple time zone divisions in the United States. Learners will work through a problem set to practice calculating the time in one time zone, given the time in another time zone. This is activity 9 from the educator guide, Exploring Magnetism: Magnetic Mysteries of the Aurora.

In this hands-on activity, students learn about the different realms of the Universe and explore their sizes and relative scales. They will be guided through a process that uncovers the immense sizes of the Sun, Solar System, Solar Neighborhood, Milky Way, Local Group, Supercluster, and the observable Universe. The full version of this activity involves students doing simple math computations, however it can also be done without the math. There are some inexpensive materials involved, as well as a powerpoint presentation. It is intended for grades 8-12, but can be adapted down for lower grade levels.

The images and information in the slide show presentation are designed to give learners a better understanding of how ancient cultures observed and interpreted the apparent motions of the Sun in the sky, as well as modern studies of the Sun using telescopes and spacecraft. It was originally designed to accompany a previous NASA-funded educational program, entitled The Sun in Time.

This is a booklet containing 96 mathematics problems involving skills relating to algebra, fractions, graph analysis, geometry, measurement, scale, calculus, and other topics. Learners will use mathematics to explore NASA science and space exploration content relating to space weather, the study of the Sun and its interactions with Earth. Each problem or problem set is introduced with a brief paragraph about the underlying science, written in a simplified, non-technical jargon where possible. Problems are often presented as a multi-step or multi-part activities, and there are problem sets for learners in grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. This booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website.

This site features a lecture by Dr. Stephen Nelson from Tulane University that explores a systematic way to define crystallographic angles. The lecture discusses crystallographic angles and gives an introduction to the use of stereographic projections for depicting the angular relationships between crystal faces. Scientific illustrations clarify the text.

This set of lecture notes covers several topics relating to the earth's interior. Seismic waves and the earth's internal structure are discussed. Several mechanisms for the origin of magma are offered. These lecture notes are in outline form with definitions and instructive diagrams. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

This is an online set of information about astronomical alignments of ancient structures and buildings. Learners will read background information about the alignments to the Sun in such structures as the Great Pyramid, Chichen Itza, and others. Next, the site contains 10 short problem sets that involve a variety of math skills, including determining the scale of a photo, measuring and drawing angles, plotting data on a graph, and creating an equation to match a set of data. Each set of problems is contained on one page and all of the sets utilize real-world problems relating to astronomical alignments of ancient structures. Each problem set is flexible and can be used on its own, together with other sets, or together with related lessons and materials selected by the educator. This was originally included as a folder insert for the 2010 Sun-Earth Day.

This site from Tulane University consists of a lecture by Dr. Stephen Nelson on tectosilicate, oxide and carbonate minerals. The site features a table and description of the minerals in each group, including the nine types of SiO2, the different feldspars, and the calcite group. Optical and physical properties are explained, as well as the environment in which each mineral crystallizes.

These lecture notes discuss equilibrium crystallization in two component systems. Isotherms and boundary curves are introduced in this section. Other topics discussed include congruently melting intermediate compounds, incongruently melting compounds, and binary solid solution in ternary systems. Annotated phase diagrams are included throughout the text. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

These lecture notes provide an introductory lesson in thermodynamics to help students better understand the relationships depicted on phase diagrams. The first and third laws of thermodynamics and Gibb's Free Energy are discussed. Solid-solid reactions are covered in the context of the Sillimanite-Kyanite-Andalusite P-T graph. Devolatization reactions, reaction boundaries, and reaction rates are also covered in the notes. The notes contain many graphs relating pressure, temperature, and Gibb's Free energy. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

Henry Winkler is a well-known American actor and has appeared in multiple tv shows, but he is also an accomplished author and motivational speaker. He delivered a general session presentation at the 2021 ASCD Annual Conference in which he shared some anecdotes from his past and provided many inspirational quotes to encourage educators to find greatness within our students. 

Essential Question: What are some of the challenges researcher face when conducting biomedical studies? Scholars will be able to discuss how transgenic organisms are impacting lifesaving and life-improving breakthroughs in health care science as they relate to GMOs.

This is a collection of mathematical problems about transits in the solar system. Learners can work problems created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data.

These lecture notes discuss the use of three component systems in metamorphic petrology. Common triangular plots used in metamorphic rocks are presented with annotated ternary diagrams. The presentation includes four criteria for reducing the number of components in a system to a workable number. There is also discussion of the issue of lost information when reducing the number of components in a system. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

This site is a lecture by Dr. Stephen Nelson from Tulane University that discusses the various nonstandard forms of crystal growth that are characteristic to some minerals. Topics include twinning (contact and penetration, polysynthetic and cyclical), the origins of twinning, and twin laws in the triclinic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, hexagonal, and isometric systems. Various types of polymorphism in many minerals are discussed as well as polytypism, metamict minerals, mineraloids, and pseudomorphism. Examples of each mechanism in common minerals are given.

This site contains lecture notes that are part of a petrology class taught at Tulane University. This section includes a discussion of systems, phases, components, the phase rule, two component eutectic systems, incongruent melting, rocks of varying composition and fractional crystallization, solid solution and exsolution. The lecture notes contain text, definitions and annotated phase diagrams. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

This set of lecture notes introduces metamorphic grade and type (contact, regional, cataclastic, hydrothermal, burial, shock), and classification of metamorphic rocks. Further topics include texture, protolith, bulk chemical composition, and metamorphic facies. The notes contain definitions and a small number of instructional illustrations. This resource is part of the Teaching Petrology collection. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/index.html

This is an activity about vectors and velocity. It outlines the addition and subtraction of vectors, and introduces the application of trigonometry to describing vectors. The resource is designed to support student analysis of THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) Magnetometer line-plot data. Learners will complete worksheets consisting of problem sets that allow them to work with vector data in magnetic fields. This is activity 15 from Exploring Magnetism: Earth's Magnetic Personality.