This model demonstrates convection currents and uses water, food coloring, a cup of very hot water and a votive candle as heat sources. Movie clips of demonstration setup and convection in action are provided. This activity is supported by a... (View More) textbook chapter, What Heats the Earth's Interior?, part of the unit, Energy Flow, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

Sea floor spreading is demonstrated using a model consisting of two classroom desks and an 8-foot strip of paper. Changes in polarity are indicated using a felt marker. The investigation supports material presented in chapter 3, "What Heats the... (View More) Earth's Interior?" in the textbook Energy flow, part of the Global System Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

In this demonstration, a plastic soft drink bottle is used to demonstrate properties of gases and liquids with respect to temperature and pressure. Calculations using the formula for the Ideal Gas Law are included. The resource is from PUMAS -... (View More) Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications. (View Less)

In this activity, students compute the strengths of the gravitational forces exerted on the Moon by the Sun and by the Earth, and demonstrate the actual shape of the Moon's orbit around the Sun. The lesson begins with students' assumptions about the... (View More) motions of the Moon about the Earth and the Earth about the Sun, and then test their understanding using an experimental apparatus made from a cardboard or plywood disk and rope. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications. (View Less)

In this demonstration, an apple is used to help students visualize the relative amounts of land and water resources on the planet, and highlights the vulnerability of these resources we share. The apple is sectioned proportionately according to... (View More) different categories of resources and land use. Questions are provided to guide a discussion. This activity is supported by a textbook chapter, One Global Ocean, part of the unit, Losing Biodiversity, in Global Systems Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact. (View Less)

Atmospheric scientists use computer models to forecast the position of a moving volcanic cloud, and remote sensing can identify its components, including gases and aerosols. This resource provides ideas for classroom investigation of these topics,... (View More) and directions for a demonstration of light scattering by aerosols. The lesson ideas are from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications. (View Less)