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This is an activity about the Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Learners will engage with a hands-on activity and an online interactive to understand the terms signal and noise as they relate to spacecraft communication; quantify noise using a given dataset;... (View More) and calculate the signal-to-noise ratio. The activity also includes a pencil-and-paper component that addresses relevant topics, such as proportions and ratios. Includes teacher background information, student data sheets, answer guide, extensions and adaptions. (View Less)
This lesson provides a way for students to determine the relationship between the distance from a light source and its brightness. Once students discover the relationship, they can begin to understand how astronomers use this knowledge to determine... (View More) the distances to stars and far away galaxies. (View Less)
In this activity about spectroscopy, learners build a spectroscope, learn about graphing spectra, and then identify elements in gas tubes using their spectra. The activity concludes as learners graph the spectra of different materials. Essential... (View More) materials required for this activity include spectrum light tubes, the power source for spectrum light tubes, and diffraction grating material. (View Less)
This is an activity about the relation between day length and temperature. In one team, learners will create and analyze a graph of hours of sunlight versus month of the year for a number of latitudes. In another team, learners will graph... (View More) temperature versus month for the same latitudes. The teams then compare data and draw conclusions from their analyses. (View Less)
In this hands-on activity, learners will build a solar cooker by lining a box with reflective material and adding a translucent cover. The cooker can be used to make food products. This activity recommends use of empty (clean) pizza boxes. This... (View More) activity requires a sunny outdoor location for an extended period of time. (View Less)
Students are introduced to the basic properties, behavior and detection of black holes through a brief discussion of common conceptions and misconceptions of these exciting objects. They "act out" a way black holes might be detected through their... (View More) interaction with other objects. In this activity, girls represent binary star systems in pairs, walking slowly around one another in a darkened room with each pair holding loops of wire to simulate the gravitational interaction. Most of the students are wearing glow-in-the-dark headbands to simulate stars, some are without headbands to represent black holes, and a small set of the black holes have flashlights to simulate X-ray emission. This activity is part of a series that has been designed specifically for use with Girl Scouts, but the activities can be used in other settings. Most of the materials are inexpensive or easily found. It is recommended that a leader with astronomy knowledge lead the activities, or at least be available to answer questions, whenever possible. (View Less)
Learners will relate the concept of density to the density of dust in space. They will use mission data from the Student Dust Counter (SDC) data viewer to determine the density of dust grains in a volume of space in order to answer questions... (View More) concerning the distribution of dust in the solar system. They will discover that space is much more sparsely populated with dust than they may have thought. Students discuss their findings with the class. Note: Updated links to the Student Dust Counter Data Viewer and website are provided under Related & Supplemental Resources (right). (View Less)
Learners will construct a pinhole camera and, using the projected image of the Sun, calculate its diameter. After calculating the diameter of the Sun, learners will create a classroom sized scale model of the Sun and Earth. This activity requires... (View More) use of a sunny outdoor location to be able to use the pinhole cameras. (View Less)
This is an activity about depicting the relative strength of magnetic fields using field line density. Learners will use the magnetic field line drawing of six magnetic poles created in a previous activity and identify the areas of strong, weak, and... (View More) medium magnetic intensity using the density of magnetic field lines. This is the fifth activity in the Magnetic Math booklet; this booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website. How to Draw Magnetic Fields - II in the Magnetic Math booklet must be completed prior to this activity. (View Less)
This is an activity about depicting magnetic fields. Learners will observe two provided drawings of magnetic field line patterns for bar magnets in simple orientations of like and unlike polarities and carefully draw the field lines for both... (View More) orientations. This is the third activity in the Magnetic Math booklet; this booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website. (View Less)