In this lesson, students will learn about the water cycle and how energy from the sun and the force of gravity drive this cycle. The emphasis in this lesson will be on having students understand the processes that take place in moving water through... (View More) Earth’s system. (View Less)

This demonstration allows students to visualize inversion in a fluid, explain it in terms of density, and apply the concept to weather systems and convection. Materials required include four Ehrlenmeyer flasks, two thin glass plates, a heat source,... (View More) and food coloring. The investigation supports material presented in chapter 7, What Causes Thunderstorms and Tornadoes?, in the textbook Energy flow, part of Global System Science, 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)