This movie shows a total eclipse of the Sun which occurred in 1994. It is accompanied by a link to a written description of the Sun's physical characteristics.
In this 5.5 minute video Dr James Grime (Cambridge University, UK) explains why mathematicians don't classify the number 1 as a prime. He includes historical background and an explanation of the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic.
This web page provides links to resources aligned to the CCSS that guide and support first grade mathematics teaching and learning. Tasks developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) and Problems of the Month, (POM home page is cataloged separately) developed by the Noyce Foundation are included. The activities were designed to measure students' ability to solve non-routine problems, explain and justify their solutions, and promote high level thinking skills. Resources are listed for specific grade 1 standards and are also organized by progression for an alternate search route.
This file includes the lab manual write-up for the Au nanosphere and nanorod photoabsorption and scattering Lab experiment for the 2nd year Experimental Contemporary Physics Lab Course. In addition, several handouts are provided along with some additional information for instructors. This work was supported in part by by NSF Awards: ECCS #0701703, DMR #0707740 & DMR #1105121. The experiment can readily be upgraded to an advanced lab by giving more responsibility to the students for lab setup (give them an optical breadboard and parts) and by asking for more in-depth analysis and questions which require more knowledge and experimental skills to answer.
This problem with multiple solutions offers an opportunity for students to practice simple addition and subtraction, work with number sentences (equations), and develop systematic work habits. Given cards containing the addition, subtraction and equal signs along with the digits 2, 4, 6, and 8. solvers are challenged to find as many ways as possible to arrange some or all seven cards to create true statements. The Teachers' Notes page offers suggestions for implementation, discussion questions, ideas for extension and support, printable cards (pdf) and a link to an interactive Flash applet.
This number challenge is an opportunity to reinforce mental arithmetic and order of operations while developing systematic work habits. Students are asked to use the numbers 4, 6, 6, and 8 (exactly once each) and the four basic operations to find as many ways as they can to represent the number 24. There are over 60 different ways! The Teachers' Notes page includes suggestions for implementation, discussion questions, ideas for support, and a link to a related article, Opening Out. (cataloged separately).
This Java applet game promotes mental math and strategic thinking skills using a card from Suntex's 24 Game. The player is presented with four numbers (1-9) on a card. The goal is to manipulate each of the four numbers only once so that the end result is 24. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and/or parentheses maybe used and the player must be able to enter the expression using the online calculator.
In this 7-minute video astronomer Dr Meghan Gray explains the relationship of the Earth's rotation and its revolution around the Sun, resulting in the need to add an extra day to our calendar every four years. She describes additional adjustments required to keep our calendar aligned with the Earth's movements. Dr Gray explains the Julian date and its usefulness.
This web page provides links to resources aligned to the CCSS that guide and support second grade mathematics teaching and learning. Tasks developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS), Problems of the Month, (POM home page is cataloged separately) and videos of public lessons and number talks developed by the Noyce Foundation are included. The tasks were designed to measure students’ ability to solve non-routine problems, explain and justify their solutions, and promote high level thinking skills. They include the scoring rubric, student responses, and discussion of student understanding and misconceptions. Resources are listed for specific grade 2 standards and are also organized by progression for an alternate search route.
The 3-D Hydrogen Atom Probability Densitites model simulates the probability density of the first few (n = 1, 2, and 3, and associated l and m values) energy eigenstates for the Hydrogen atom (the Coulomb potential). The main window shows the energy level diagram for the solutions to the Coulomb potential in three dimensions. States may be selected either by using the dropdown menu item or by using the energy level diagram and clicking a dark green level, with specific n, l, and m values) which will turn bright green and change the state shown in the 3d visualization window. The probability is shown with a 3d cloud, with higher probability shown as a darker sphere. The simulation uses either simple 3D or Java 3D (if installed) to render the view the probability densities. If Java 3D is not installed, the simulation defaults to simple 3D using Java. The 3-D Hydrogen Atom Probability Densitites model was created using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the ejs_qm_hydrogen3d.jar file will run the program if Java is installed.
This web page provides links to resources aligned to the CCSS that guide and support third grade mathematics teaching and learning. Tasks developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) and Problems of the Month, (POM home page is cataloged separately) developed by the Noyce Foundation are included. The tasks were designed to measure students’ ability to solve non-routine problems, explain and justify their solutions, and promote high level thinking skills. They include the scoring rubric, student responses, and discussion of student understanding and misconceptions. Resources are listed for specific grade 3 standards and are also organized by progression for an alternate search route.
This flexible, interactive Flash applet allows students to explore number patterns and to develop number sense and fluency with addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The student or teacher enters a starting number and a step increment. Both values may be up to 4 digits and either positive or negative. The user then mentally carries out the sequence and enters the resulting 10th and 11th terms. The first 9 terms are color-coded in groups of 3 and may be shown or hidden one group at a time. Users have the option of hiding or showing the starting number and/or the increment.
This web page provides links to resources aligned to the CCSS that guide and support fourth grade mathematics teaching and learning. Tasks developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) for the Noyce Foundation, Problems of the Month, (POM home page is cataloged separately) and videos of public lessons and number talks developed by the Noyce Foundation are also included. The performance tasks were originally designed to measure students' ability to solve non-routine problems and then to explain and justify their solutions. The task scoring rubric, student responses, and discussion of student understanding and misconceptions are provided to improve instruction. Resources are listed for specific grade 4 standards and are also organized by progression for an alternate search route.
This page hosts a collection of geometric tasks in pdf format that are aligned to the CCSS standards 4.G1 through 4.G3. It also has links to supplementary literature and learning materials.
This web page provides links to resources aligned to the CCSS that guide and support fifth grade mathematics teaching and learning. Tasks developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS), Problems of the Month, (POM home page is cataloged separately) and videos of public lessons and number talks developed by the Noyce Foundation are included. The tasks were designed to measure students' ability to solve non-routine problems, explain and justify their solutions, and promote high level thinking skills. They include the scoring rubric, student responses, and discussion of student understanding and misconceptions. Resources are listed for specific grade 5 standards and are also organized by progression for an alternate search route.
When a pair of scientists first introduced cold nuclear fusion in 1989 as a source of almost limitless energy, the scientific community quickly discredited the experiments. In some venues, these experiments are case studies in faulty scientific investigation. But now a respected scientist at SRI International is doing extensive research on the same process -- with promising results. This 12-minute investigative report by CBS 60 Minutes explores the renewed interest in cold fusion and its implications for society. This resource is available for free online viewing. A four-page text synopsis is also provided. It could be especially useful as a springboard for a lesson on the importance of objectivity in scientific experimentation.
This tutorial explains some of the techniques developed by astronomers to determine the distances of objects we see in the sky. Links to additional information are embedded in the text.
This site presents graphic plots of solar wind and magnetic field data from the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft.
The COSEE network promotes a better understanding of the key role the ocean plays in global environmental cycles and processes. COSEE activities highlight the contributions ocean-science researchers make to scientific knowledge in these important areas. Each COSEE represents one or more ocean science research institution, an informal science education organization, and at least one affiliate organization representing the formal education community.
This video segment adapted from First Light explains why the highest peak in the Pacific, Mauna Kea, is an ideal site for astronomical observations. Featured are new telescope technologies that allow astronomers to explore the universe in more depth.
In this activity, learners investigate how different materials repel or absorb water. Learners use spray bottles to explore how everyday items like sponges, cardboard, feathers, etc. respond to water differently. This activity also introduces learners to the scientific method as learners make predictions about which materials will absorb or repel water.
This website provides instructions on how to find and download images directly from the WISE archive. Anyone with an internet connection now has free access to high-resolution infrared images from the WISE mission. These instructions explain how to get the images you want, without using complex terminology and options that may be difficult for the layperson to navigate.
In this lab exercise, students practice correctly using measurement tools, recording data, calculating density, using significant figures, and exploring the concepts of accuracy and precision.
In this activity, students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also learn several things that engineers are doing to reduce the effects of acid rain.
Acid-Base titration applet that plots pH changes as student adds acid or base. Gives choice of indicators (only two right now). Compares plots for titration of traditional solution and a buffered solution (several choices for comparison). Can alter starting concentrations.
This activity is acid-base titration lab where students determine the percent of calcium carbonate in an eggshell.
In this field-based exercise, students were given a tour of an abandoned mine site and asked to utilize a set of field measurements to describe the spatial details of metal transport. This drew on previous experience with field measurements and prompted them to work together to solve an observed chemical evolution of a contaminated brook. The exercise is an excellent example for students to bring together acid-base chemistry, redox chemistry, and thermodynamic concepts together to describe a reasonably complex system. The field component was completed in a full day, but we will be expanding this next fall for a 2 day exercise (weekend). The exercise was coupled with subsequent labs to complete analysis of the water samples and accomplish speciation calculations using PHREEQCI.
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Intended Audience: This activity was used for an introductory Geochemistry class, which contained students from sophomore level to master's students. We took the trip in mid-October, about as late as possible in Vermont, after they had gained some previous field experience and lab work in addition to an in introduction to these principles in class.
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Cluster of questions on acid rain deposition.
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The Acid Strong Base Titrations model show how to estimate the concentration of the acid in a given sample. If one follows the titration by a visual indicator, the neutralization is detected through a sudden change of that indicator color. This model shows the titration curve as a strong monofunctional base (sodium hydroxide, for example), is added to an aqueous solution of a monoprotic acid. The Acid Strong Base Titrations model was developed using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the jar file will run the program if Java is installed. You can modify this simulation if you have EJS installed by right-clicking within the map and selecting "Open Ejs Model" from the pop-up menu item.
Students research the acidification of freshwater streams and lakes, identify at least one of the sources, and determine how their daily activities contribute to the problem.
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This module provides an intrioduction to acid and base chemistry. The Arrhenius and Bronsted-Lowry concepts of acids and bases are discussed as well as the pH scale and neutralization reactions.
In this video segment, the ZOOM cast demonstrates how to use cabbage juice to find out if a solution is an acid or a base.
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two cast members demonstrate what happens when vinegar is added to baking soda inside a container. The resulting chemical reaction produces enough carbon dioxide to launch their paper rocket skyward.
Recommended for: Grades K-5
A car propelled by the reaction between lemon juice and baking soda has more in common with rockets and jet aircraft than one might think. In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, two cast members demonstrate the power of rocket-propelled vehicles and how to exploit the force produced by the carbon dioxide gas. Grades 3-8.
It would seem that bottles of lemon juice and rockets have only their basic shape in common. However, as two cast members from ZOOM demonstrate in this adapted video segment, when baking soda is added to the mix, a plastic bottle can act very much like a real rocket. Grades 3-8.
About 150 common acronyms in organic chemistry are listed along with their full names and structures.
The Adaptive Use Bridge Project website is a repository for work being conducted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in which historic iron bridges are rehabilitated, documented, and analyzed. The purpose of the project is to preserve the civil engineering heritage of New England and to develop instructional material for use in undergraduate civil engineering curricula. Upon completion of this long-term project, a protocol for adaptive pedestrian use of historic bridges will be created.
This site presents information about the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft and its mission, science goals, history, and background. The mission summary includes a brief description of the energetic particles from the sun and from interstellar and galactic sources that are the objectives of the ACE mission. Links to additional information are also supplied.
This case study considers the problems that would arise if one were to cross over into a mirror-image environment. The case looks into the lock-and-key theory of enzyme action. This material would be most useful in biology, organic chemistry or biochemistry courses. The case study and teaching notes may be downloaded in PDF format. The site also includes a section for instructor feedback where general comments may be read and contributed.