Activity
Cycles of Other Stars
In this activity, students will plot actual data obtained
by astronomers which indicate how bright the so-called Calcium H and K
lines are.
AM
Radio Ionosphere Station
Students will construct an Ionosphere Monitor by using
an AM radio to track solar storms and other changes in ionosphere reflectivity.
Are
Sunspots Really on the Sun?
Sixth through ninth grade students measure sunspot speeds
and shapes across the solar disk to determine whether the spots are on
the Sun or are planets revolving around it (Galileo's dilemma). Includes
pointer to hands-on demonstration of concepts.
Aurora
Borealis: All Charged Up!
Students learn how ions conduct electricity and relate
this to the aurora.
BLACKOUT!
An Event-Based Science Program
BLACKOUT! offers four activities dealing with the magnetosphere
and solar storms (also listed separately on this page)
centered
around some historic solar storms and actual data.
Building
a Spectroscope
Students in grades 7-12 can build and use a spectroscope
as an insrument to study the chemical properties of reflected or emitted
light.
Calculating
the Solar Constant
Students in grades 9-12 using this activity will explain
how the inverse square law effects the amount of solar radiation that reaches
the earth, calculate the solar constant, calculate the percentage of solar
radiation output reaching the earth, calculate and compare variations in
the solar constant from aphelion to perihelion positions in the earthsí
orbit.
Comparison
Activities
An entertaining, visually-based quiz to give students
in grades 4-9 an intuitive feel for how big our star is.
Convection
(Astro Cappella)
During this activity, students will examine convection
in a bowl of soup. The connection is also made to convection in our atmosphere,
and convection in the Sun.
Convection
(SOHO)
Students in grades 9-12 can produce a visual convection
current in the classroom and compare it to the images taken of convection
cells in the Sun.
Cooperative
Satellite Learning Project
CSLP is a business/government/education partnership,
where students at the particpating high schools learn about all aspects
of how NASA satellite systems work.
Coronal
Mass Ejections and Sunspots
This investigation will have students in grades 5-8 analyze
and compare data obtained from archival sunspot and coronal mass ejection
(CME) databases to determine if there is a correlation between the occurrence
of these two events.
Count
and Chart Sunspots
From Stanford's Solar Center, this lesson covers solar
cycles
through use of solar magnetograms and sunspot graphing.
Does
the Sun Spin?
Detailed, colorful, and user-friendly, this page guides
the
interested through a study of solar rotation through
sunspot
measurement, then compares results with Galileo's.
The Effect
of the Solar Wind on the Geomagnetic Field
Students in grades 9-12 monitor changes in the earth's
magnetic field and relate these changes to solar events such as flares
using a magnetometer.
Electricity
and Magnetism
To emphasize electric currents' relationship with magnetism,
use
this lesson plan involving a dry cell battery, some paper
clips,
a magnet, and just a few other materials.
The
Electromagnetic Spectrum
This plan uses simple materials -- the Sun, diffraction
grating,
and thermometers -- to illustrate the idea of the electromagnetic
spectrum. With questions.
Gas
and Magnetic Field Pressure
This activity challenges students to make the pressure
in two sides of a closed cylinder equal to each other to show that magnetic
fields produce pressure.
Global
Warming
Grade Levels 10-12: To what extent does the Sun's variability
contribute to global warming? Students are given guidelines and places
to start for independent research projects on the causes and effects of
global warming.
A Hands-On and Web-Based Space Weather Experiment
This page, which is designed for teachers of the upper
grades, contains an experiment that should be run for a semester.
It combines the construction and use of simple instruments with data
that can be accessed via the world wide web. There are a variety of
"individual" experiments that can be run.
The
Hidden Picture
For grades 4-8, finding details in solar images: students
examine a poster (or image) of solar granulation and use their imagination
to find patterns. Some students work in teams, others alone, and their
results are compared. Students are asked to relate what they've observed
to Earth-based experiences.
How
Big Is the Sun?
An outdoor activity making a scale model of the earth
and sun.
INSPIRE
(Interactive NASA Space Physics Ionospheric Research Experiment)
A non-profit educational project that brings the excitement
of observing natural and manmade radio waves to high school students.
Interview
Mr. Sol
Students in grades 4-6 do some research on the Sun then,
in pairs, generate an "interview" with The Star to determine how he (she?)
works
KNOCKOUT!
The January 1997 solar storm
With plotting and interpretation exercises, forecasting,
and data
retrieval, KNOCKOUT! allows students to learn about the
solar
storm of January 1997.
Learning Cycle
Lesson Plan- Sunspots
Students using this activity will look at a timeplot
and calculate mean value to determine the sunspot cycle.
The
Magnetosphere and Us
The information on this page allows students to calculate
approximate times for radiation and flares from the Sun
to
reach the Earth.
Making
A Sundial
A kit for making a sundial for elementary school kids.
Measure
the Motion of a Coronal Mass Ejection
Real data from SOHO's LASCO instrument allows students
using
this lesson to calculate both velocity and acceleration
of
a coronal mass ejction with basic subtraction and division.
Measuring
the Motion of a CME Using NIH Image
Students in grades 9-12 measure the motion of a CME using
NIH image in this activity.
Measuring
Solar Activity
Students learn to recognize common structures in the
images, patterns in five years' worth of images by making graphs, patterns
in 250 years' worth of data, comparing to graphs of Part Two, make predictions
about the future, recognize spatial relationships by comparing simultaneous
images made in different wavelengths, and make testable predictions about
the observable Sun.
Radio
Wave Reflection from the Ionosphere
In this exercise, the student will select the density
of electrons in the ionosphere, and by adjusting the frequency of a ground-based
radio transmitter, find the critical freqnency where the ionosphere ceases
to reflect these radio waves back to the ground.
Radio
Waves and the Ionosphere
Students will calculate the ending percentage of radio
wave strength at the receiving station.
Seeing
in Different Wavelengths (.pdf)
This activity examines objects through a filter set of
colored and specialized filters and illustrates how science uses different
wavelengths to selectively study features of the Sun.
The
Singing Sun
Students from grades 4-12 listen to sound waves generated
from acoustical waves on the Sun. An animated video is provided to visualize
the acoustic wave generation (by large scale solar granulation). A hands-on
activity is suggested for younger students. For the older kids, there is
introductory information about helioseismology.
Soda Bottle
Magnetometer (NOAA, .pdf)
In this activity, students monitor changes in the earthís
magnetic field and relate these changes to solar events such as
flares.
Soda
Bottle Magnetometer (POETRY)
The students will create a magnetometer to monitor changes
in the Earth's magnetic field for signs of magnetic storms.
Solar
Activity and Coronal Mass Ejections
Students will construct a graph to compare the sunspot
cycle with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).
Solar Eclipse
Students build a camera to safely observe the sun and
solar eclipses.
Solar
Granulation and Sunspot Quizzes
A self-guided quiz for sixth through eighth graders designed
to intrigue students about the process of solar granulation.
Solar
Irradiance and Solar Activity Cycles
This activity for grades 9-12 helps students learn about
the solar cycle and its relationship to solar irradiance.
Solar
Minimum/Solar Maximum Exercise
Students use a spreadsheet program to look at the number
of sunspots observed on days in 1986 and 1989.
Solar
Wind Simulator
Students will experiment with various ejection longitudes
and speeds to find those that lead to the plasma impacting the Earth.
Solar
Wind Velocity
Students in grades 9-12 can interpret SOHO/CELIAS solar
wind velocity graphs and EIT solar images in this activity.
Solarscapes
The Solarscapes curriculum supplement for the middle
school level provides an overview of solar phenomena, and then focuses
on the most prominent feature of the Sun -- sunspots.
The
Sun on Earth
Suggested questions and topics for 4-12 grade research
on ways the Sun affects our Earth. Touches on auroras, rainbows, sun pillars,
the green flash, sun pillars, etc. Gives pointers for more detailed information.
Primarily designed for individual exploration.
Sun-Centered
Physics
A set of lesson plans on position, velocity, and acceleration;
centripetal force and the law of universal gravitation; the center of mass
of the solar system; and an introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum.
Sunspot
Activity and Ocean Temperatures
Students will analyze and compare two graphs to determine
if there is a correlation between solar activity and ocean temperature.
Sunspot
Activity on Other Stars
Students will analyze and compare stellar activity graphs
to determine how similar or different they are to the solar sunspot cycle.
The
Sunspot Cycle
The student will create a list and construct a graph
of the number of sunspots using both technology and paper. The student
will explore patterns in the data and locate the maximum and the minimum.
Sunspots
and Solar Activity
A part of the BLACKOUT! pages from POETRY, this page
outlines the basics of sunspot plotting and solar rotation.
This activity will show the cyclical nature of sunspots
and their relationship to phenomena in the magnetosphere and on earth.
Sunspots
and Solar Storms
This lesson plan allows students to explore the solar
cycle by
counting sunspots and finding patterns in plots of sunspot
numbers, then forecasting the strength of the next cycle.
Studying
the Radio Spectrum in the Classroom
A compilation of six radio-related classroom exercises,
this
POETRY site begins with background information on the
radio
spectrum.
Tracking
Satellites Using the Internet
Students studying physics use Internet resources to determine
the orbital period of satellites. Using Newton's Universal Law of Gravity,
students then calculate satellite orbital velocities and altitudes.
Using
NIH Image to Measure the Size of Sunspots
Students in grades 5-8 can use NIH image in this activity
to measure the size of sunspots and compare them to the sizes of familiar
things.
