In this activity, students face an engineering challenge based on real-world applications. They are tasked with developing a tool they can use to measure the amount of rain that falls each day. Students will find out why freshwater is important,... (View More) learn about the water cycle, and the need to have a standard form of calibration for measurement tools. They will learn that keeping track of precipitation is important, and learn a little bit about how NASA's GPM satellite measures precipitation from space. This lesson uses the 5-E instructional model. (View Less)

This lesson was developed to give participants an understanding of Earth's water cycle. In this one-hour long activity, students participate in a webquest to learn about the water cycle, and then build a mini-model of the water cycle to observe how... (View More) water moves through Earth's four systems. The activity uses the 5E instructional model and is part of the "Survivor Earth" series of one-hour lessons. (View Less)

In this activity, participants learn about the hydrosphere by making observations and taking measurements. They will go outside and use scientific equipment to investigate temperature, pH and transparency of a body of water. They will use this... (View More) qualitative and quantitative data to understand why it is important to know about the condition of freshwater sources in many places in the natural environment and how these places are connected in the water cycle. Data collection is based on protocols from The GLOBE Program. This activity uses the 5E instructional model and is part of the "Survivor Earth" series of one-hour lessons. (View Less)

Use this interactive model to test how energy used in your home connects to carbon. This is part of Unit 3 of Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You.

In this interactive, manipulate the future sources and sinks of carbon to estimate the atmospheric CO2 levels and global temperatures in the future. This is part of Unit 3 of Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You.

Using global data sets with monthly resolution, you will adjust variables in this empirical climate model to test the degree to which natural and human influences can account for observed global temperatures from 1979-2010. This is part of Unit 3 of... (View More) Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You. (View Less)

This interactive model lets you manipulate and work to balance the biologic (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration) and human processes that replicate the observed CO2 record from Mauna Loa. This is part of Unit 2 of Interactives and Models: Carbon Now.

In this interactive, use NASA satellite data to test and compare rate-limiting factors for productivity in several regions of the world's oceans. This is part of Unit 2 of Interactives and Models: Carbon Now.

Scientists use various types of records to understand the rates of change in Earth's past climates, and the climate connections in the Earth system. Use this interactive to compare climate data from around Earth, and investigate whether they... (View More) indicate the same patterns of past climate change. This is part of Unit 1 of Interactives and Models: Carbon & Climate in the Past. (View Less)

In this interactive, use results from a GCM to test how a spike in atmospheric CO2 levels could affect average global temperature, average sea ice cover, and atmospheric water vapor. This is part of Unit 1 of Interactives and Models: Carbon &... (View More) Climate in the Past. (View Less)