Cemetery Geology
This field exercise determines the susceptibility of different rocks to weathering, and, using the dates on the tombstones, estimates some weathering rates. Placing the field lab in context for use, this site describes the learning goals, teaching notes and materials, assessment recommendations, and provides links to other resources and references.
Peer Review
This page is a portal to an in-depth exploration of integrating student peer review into introductory-level geoscience classes. It includes an introduction to the concept of peer review, reasons and methods for its use, examples of electronic peer review in a geoscience context, and extensive references. This page is part of the larger Starting Point collection.
Describe and Interpret Images: Folded Strata
This Starting Point exercise asks students to describe and interpret an image of folded strata at Dent De Morcles. There are several questions students must address with respect to the image. This Starting Point website includes suggestions for using this technique, as well as teaching notes, learning goals, and extensive additional resource links and references.
Presidential Transition
For nearly half a century, Paul Nitze was one of the chief architects of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Nitze assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs. In this video segment, Nitze describes key issues confronting the incoming Kennedy administration. This transition period focused on the goals of the country's nuclear-strategic policy; how to approach crises in every region, from the Middle East to Vietnam; and whether t
Radio Inside
A young man finds himself in a love triangle involving his brother and his brother's girlfriend, so he turns to Jesus, by calling him on a pay phone. An experimental narrative, 'Radio Inside' explores the struggle between faith and flesh, where black-and-white imagery is contrasted with the protagonist's own thoughts presented in the form of music from various radio channels, from gospel to rock and roll. Contemporary in its style and preoccupations, 'Radio Inside' expresses a particular kind of
Interstellar Real Estate – Defining the Habitable Zone
What makes Earth the perfect home for life as we know it? Students in this activity explore the orbital characteristics a planetary home needs to support Earth-like life forms.
Designer Genes for a Designer World
In this series of guided inquiry activities, students explore how organisms adapt to their environments through changes in their genetic codes. The learner will: create make-believe creatures and environments that have specific characteristics; rate the success of each creature in a randomly assigned environment by examining which of the creature's characteristics help, hinder, or have no effect on the creature's success in each environment; write the genetic code for their creatures from a lis
EngineSim and RangeGames Downloads
EngineSim was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in an effort to foster hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science and math. EngineSim is a simulator that models the design and testing of jet engines. The program works in two modes: Design Mode or Tunnel Test Mode. In the Design Mode, you can change design variables including the flight conditions, the engine size, the inlet performance, the turbo machinery compressor and turbine performance, the combustors or burner performance, or th
Soil Science and Technology Home Page
This site looks at soil fertility, nitrogen in soil, soil chemistry, soils as electrical systems, soils as filters, soil physics and particle sizes (silt, sand, and clay), microorganisms in soil, nutrients that plants need, soil morphology, judging soil by feel, structures and shapes of soil, and soil profile images from Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and other states. Learn how soil is formed and how long it takes to create an inch of soil.
Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center
This site explores the universe through interactive activities and learning resources such as the question and answer service, Ask a Physicist. Students can also learn astrophysics basics, or find out the history of cosmic ray studies beginning with the Mesopotamian and Egyptian astronomers mapping the heavens, and more.
FoilSim: Basic Aerodynamics Software
This is an interactive simulation software that determines the airflow around various shapes of airfoils.
Drilling for the Ocean's Secrets
This NASA site (for kids) features the career of oceanographer Will Sager, who narrates how the Ocean Drilling Program is involved in drilling and interpreting rocks and sediments from the ocean floor. Color images are also included.
Redes Inalámbricas en los Países en Desarrollo (Segunda edición en español)
The book is intended to be a comprehensive resource for technologists in the developing world, providing the information that they need to build real networks. By bringing this knowledge to the outer edges of the Internet, we hope to help jumpstart the construction of vital network infrastructure. Besides the topics included in the first edition, covering from basic radio physics and network design to equipment and troubleshooting, the second edition includes a new chapter dedicated to Voice ove
Learning the Open Source Way
"Learning the Open Source Way" is a toolkit aimed at assisting others who want to create or adapt their educational courses using the principles found in FLOSS communities. It is aimed at providing information about learning in an open source manner.
The toolkit is created in an open source production way using a 12 week open access session, called summer university. This summer university runs from July 2007 on and will be conducted as a joint event bringing in as a “special guest” the Ubu
Crystallography 101
This tutorial on crystallography is broken down into equipment set-up, x-ray diffraction basics, symmetry and space groups, structure factors and phase problems, phasing techniques, model building, and real space correlation plots. Diagrams and interactive topics accompany the text, along with an interactive applet on Bragg's Law.
Observe River Erosion Creating Waterfalls and Chasms
This animation illustrates the processes involved in waterfall formation. Related features such as chasms and plunge pools, as well as headward erosion and migration are also portrayed. Users can stop, play, fast forward and rewind the animation at any time. This visualization is one of several animations in a series developed as a component of Exploring Earth, a website that supports the textbook Earth Science.
Mass Wasting/Landslide Animations
This site features Flash animations, MPEG simulations, and Real Media video clips that illustrate subsurface processes and consequences of mass wasting and landslide movement. Visualizations of slumps, flows, falls, and translational and rotational slides show bedrock failure and displacement and subsequent building damage and scarp, flowage zone, and toe formation. These resources portray a variety of modeled and real environments and are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching ac
Earthquake Animations
This site features earthquake related Flash animations and real video footage. The visualizations illustrate how seismographs work, p and s waves, earthquake foci versus epicenters, tsunami formation, as well as an earthquake video recorded by security cameras. These resources portray a variety of environments and are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities.
Impact of the Seasons on Earth Systems
This site features Flash animations that illustrate how seasons impact various Earth systems, including surface temperature, latent heat flux, air temperature, net radiation, precipitation, runoff, and soil moisture. These resources are suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities.
Latitude and Longitude Animation
This site features a Flash animation that illustrates how to grid the earth with the latitude (parallel) and longitude (meridian) coordinate system. This resource is suitable for use in lectures, labs, or other teaching activities.
