A learning activity for the "Do You Know That Clouds Have Names?" book in the Elementary GLOBE series. Students will explore the difference between the three types of contrails, make observations of contrails outside, and record their observations. Fifteen minutes later they will make follow-up observations to see how the contrails they observed have changed. The purpose of the activity is to help students identify contrails and learn to distinguish between the three types of contrails and to understand that contrails are human-made and some contrails become clouds in the sky. Students will be able to (1) identify the three types of contrails; (2) understand that contrails are created by jet airplanes; and (3) understand that some contrails become clouds.

This series of activities helps develop students' understanding of basic concepts such as reversible and nonreversible reactions and factors that affect equilibria.

This article aligns the concepts of Essential Principle 2 of the Climate Sciences to the K-5 content standards of the National Science Education Standards. The author also identifies common misconceptions about heat and the greenhouse gases effect and offers resources for assessing students' understanding of interactions among components of the Earth system. This article continues the examination of the climate sciences and climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured.

In this lab activity, students will investigate some of the key factors that influence the rate of a reaction (particle size, temperature, concentration, catalysts).

In this activity, students work in groups to create a presentation that illustrates the meaning of the statement "To make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe." Students pick an element that can be found in apple pie and trace its evolutionary history back to the birth of the universe itself. They also share their vision of the environment in which that element may find itself 5 or so billion years from now after the Earth is long gone. Presentations are intended to demonstrate student understanding of the origins and life cycle of matter, so this activity is appropriate as a conclusion to a unit. This activity is part of the "What is Your Cosmic Connection to the Elements" information and activity booklet. The booklet includes teacher notes, grading guide and student handouts.

This is a lesson about visual spectra. Learners will explore different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors. 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.

This expository article, written for students in grades 4-5, explains why ice floats and how this is essential to life on earth. Modified versions are available for younger students.

This article provides links to lessons and units about birds, bird characteristics, and penguins. Ideas for literacy integration are included, and all lessons are aligned to national standards.

In this activity, students measure the amount of carbon dioxide in a carbonated drink. They will work in teams of at least two to extract, collect, and measure gas (volume) from a can or bottle of cola. Students can also compare the volume of gas to the mass loss and determine the molarity of the CO2 in the cola.

In this lab activity, students will measure the temperature of a sample of a substance every 30 seconds as it undergoes changes of state. They will then graph the data for both the heating and cooling curve.

In this lab activity, students will use calorimetry to calculate the amount of heat absorbed or released during a simple reaction. Sample data is provided if students are not able to perform the actual experiment. A link to a virtual experiment is also provided.

This site features Flash and Windows Media animations that illustrate various aspects of geologic history. They depict fossil cast formation, the Big Bang and earth through geologic time, the significance of isotopic dating techniques, and views of dinosaurs. These resources are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities.

This ChemMatters article provides a brief background on smog, then examines the causes of it, efforts to reduce it, and methods used to measure it. ChemMatters is an educational magazine for high school students.

This site is intended as a brief introduction to some of the common x-ray diffraction techniques used in materials characterization. It is designed for people who are novices in this field but are interested in using the techniques in their research. Topics include x-ray generation and properties, lattice planes and Bragg's Law, powder and thin film diffraction, texture measurement and pole figures, residual stress measurements, small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), and x-ray crystallography.

This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, examines physical science concepts, such as heat, conductors, and insulation, and applies this knowledge to the animals and people in the Arctic and Antarctica.

The purpose of this resource is to develop a classification system for a set of objects and learn about hierarchical classification systems. Any set of objects, such as insects or rocks, may be used as well.

Concepts underlying the first of the Essential Principles of the Climate Sciences are aligned with topics typically taught in the elementary grades. This article identifies lessons that will help elementary students develop an understanding of how Sun's light warms Earth and how variations in daylight hours are associated with seasonal change. This article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.

This simulation provides practice in building Lewis Dot Structures from atoms and ionic compounds from the component ions.

In this short demo/activity, a balloon with baking soda in it is stretched over the mouth of a flask or bottle containing vinegar. The balloon is tipped so that the baking soda falls into the vinegar, and the reaction creates carbon dioxide, which inflates the balloon. The activity is part of the children's book, The Air We Breathe.

This is a lesson about determining planetary composition. Learners will use a reflectometer to determine which minerals are present (from a set of knowns) in a sample of Mars soil simulant. Requires the use of ALTA II spectrometers (which may be borrowed from the Lunar and Planetary Institute or purchased online) and Mars soil simulant. 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.