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National Chemistry Week: Resources

October 19–25, 2003

Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond!

Composition of the Atmosphere: Electronic Resources

This is a collection of electronic resources (websites, software, etc.) covering the Earth’s atmosphere. A separate collection of Print Resources is also available.

Key: E = Elementary (K–5), I = Intermediate (6–8), HS = High School (9–12), C = College, G = General Public

The Amateur Scientist: The Complete 20th Century Collection (CD-ROM). Scientific American. NY: Scientific American Books, 2001. ISBN 0-9703476-0-X. (I, HS)

This CD-ROM brings the best of Scientific American’s popular feature to these students.
Source: NSTA recommends

Atmosphere: Breathing Room. from Miami Museum of Science and the Science Learning Network. (I)

Take a breath! You’ve got a piece of the atmosphere in your lungs. We breathe about 20 times a minute. Our lives and the lives of most living things depend on the atmosphere that encircles the earth. Part of EcoLinks, the goals of this web site are to add to the body of inquiry science education resources available on the web, provide a forum for issues and ideas related to environmental education and environmental science, and communicate ideas, activities, and research in such a way that this information is accessible to students in grades four through eight. There are four spheres in EcoLinks (biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere); each has links to classroom activities, web sites, and special highlights.

The Atmosphere — A Delicate Situation. from Rice University. (I)

The lessons at this website were prepared to introduce students to the fundamental principles of the earth’s atmosphere: history, composition, and structure. Included is information and links to allow for exploration and expansion of current knowledge as well as activities to develop performance skills. These lessons were developed for 5th–8th grade students but can be easily adapted to fit other age groups.

BrainPOP. from BrainPOP, Inc. (E, I, HS)

BrainPOP is the leading producer of educational animated movies forK–12. Science movies include the atmosphere, weather, Mars plus many other topics. Webby Award Official Nominee 2003.

Chemistry Now — Chemistry of the Atmosphere. (PDF) from Royal Society of Chemistry. (HS)

This booklet looks at the way that the earth’s present atmosphere may have evolved from possible earlier atmospheres. Some of the available evidence for different scenarios that may have caused our atmosphere as we know it today is presented and critically discussed. One of a series of booklets — Chemistry Now — is designed to present modern aspects of chemistry in a way that is accessible to school students and directly usable by teachers.

Destination Earth: For Kids Only. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (E, I)

Earth Science isn’t just for grownups anymore! See how we make Earth science fun for kids of all ages. Covering people, land, air, water, and natural hazards, kids can play games, send a postcard, or check out the hot links. Teacher guides are also available.

The Earth’s Atmosphere. from Enchanted Learning. (E, I)

This page is part of the Enchanted Learning Website. Enchanted Learning produces children’s education web sites and games that are designed to capture the imagination while maximizing creativity, learning, and enjoyment.

Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment. from Manchester Metropolitan University. (HS, C, G)

This encyclopedia is a one-stop source of information on a range of atmospheric issues, including air quality, acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion.

Frank Potter’s Science Gems — Earth Science II. Frank Potter and Jim Martindale. (E, I, HS, C, G)

Contains links to earth science websites. Web pages are grouped by subject and by age group within each subject. Subjects covered include: Atmosphere & Weather, Land & Geology, Oceans & Dynamics; Water & its Effects, and Resources.

General Science Lessons on the Atmosphere, Ocean, Weather and Climate, and Climate Change. from U.S. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program. (I)

Two lessons, Climate Change and Sea Level, were first printed as part of the Curriculum Modules for the Pacific Schools. Most materials are aimed at the middle school grade level. The lessons typically include background information, the objective, materials needed, important points to understand, preparation steps, and procedures. Be sure to check out the Cool Sites.

Interactive Atmosphere Simulator. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (E, I, HS)

This interactive simulation on the web lets you study how the properties of the atmosphere change with altitude. It uses mathematical models of the standard atmosphere of the Earth and Mars. From The Guided Tours of the BGA (Beginners Guide to Aeronautics).

LEARN: Atmospheric Science Explorers — Cycles of the Earth and Atmosphere: A Web Site for Teachers. from University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. (I)

This web site began in 1991 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help fill the critical need of science teacher professional development. NSF funded two versions of LEARN. The fundamental goal of both LEARN programs was to increase middle school science teacher knowledge of and interest in the atmospheric sciences. The three modules included background information, hands-on activities using simple materials, and authentic assessment tools. The modules were not designed to replace existing curricula or textbooks. Rather, they were intended to enhance earth and physical science programs by incorporating atmospheric science concepts. These modules were created by teachers for teachers.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Scientific Visualization Studio. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (E, I, HS, C, G)

The SVS has produced 2125 visualizations, totaling 109858 seconds. All of them are available on this site. The Site Map page allows you to browse visualizations by keywords, by instruments and datasets, and by animation series.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995. from Nobel e-Museum. (I, HS, C, G)

The 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone. While younger readers may not know all of the words, the graphics used to describe their research will be of interest.

Oxygen Symposium (PDF) (G)

The Birth of Oxygen: Untangling the Web. (PDF) Alan J. Rocke, presented at the Oxygen Symposium, Madison, WI, 29 March 2003. (G)

Who actually discovered oxygen? This apparently simple question is a surprisingly tricky one to answer.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. from Smithsonian Institution. (E, I, HS, C, G)

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It is also a vital center for research into the history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight. Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Museum has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the “Spirit of St. Louis,” Apollo 11 command module, and a Lunar rock sample that visitors can touch.

Educational Services | Online Learning. (E, I, G)

Science activities you can do at home:

Is Air Really There?. (E, I)

Without air, balloons, birds and airplanes couldn’t fly. But since you can’t taste, see, or often even feel air, how can you prove to yourself that it’s really there? Maybe you’re convinced that air is stuff, but does it have weight? If so, how much?

Free Fall. (E, I)

Our heroes are in a dilemma. They’ve been kidnapped and locked in identical rooms and left with only a radio and three science experiments. One of the rooms is falling down an enormous mine shaft, while the other is in deep space. Their captors have promised to release them if they can tell which is which. Try their three experiments — will your findings help them?

Web Sites. (E, I, HS, G)

Educational Links. (E, I, HS, G)

Today From Space: The Earth’s Atmosphere: Near Real-Time Research Imagery. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (G)

Real-time geostationary satellite data is updated every 30 minutes.

United Nations Environment Programme: UNEP Activities in Atmosphere. from the United Nations. (HS, C, G)

List of links to websites of various UN programs dealing with environmental issues.

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (G)

EPA’s mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment (air, water, land). Sections on this web site include: newsroom, browse by EPA topic, laws/regulations/dockets, where you live, educational sources, information sources, programs, business opportunities, and jobs.

Visible Earth: A Searchable Directory of Images, Visualizations, and Animations of the Earth. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (G)

Provides a consistently updated, central point of access to the superset of NASA’s Earth science-related images, animations, and data visualizations. These images are considered to be public domain and, as such, are freely available to the interested public-at-large, the media, scientists, and educators for re-use and/or re-publication. Credit and caption information is already provided in the metadata for all the materials within the Visible Earth. At the very minimum, credit must be given to NASA for use of these materials.

The Why? Files: Science Behind the News. from the University of Wisconsin. (I, HS)

Science touches our lives in countless ways yet people often think science is relevant only to a white-coated, lab-dwelling elite. This site portrays science as a critical human endeavor conducted by ordinary people, using news and current events as springboards to explore science, health, environment and technology.

Windows to the Universe. from University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. (E, I, HS)

This Earth and space science website contains thousands of pages of science content that students can browse. Site also contains Kids’ Space and Teacher Resource section with activities posted that can be done in the classroom.

The WorldWatcher Project. from Northwestern University. (I, HS, C)

This project is dedicated to the improvement of Earth and environmental science education through the use of data visualization and analysis tools to support inquiry-based pedagogy. Through an integrated program of research and development, this Project is advancing our understanding of learning in the Earth and environmental sciences, design of curriculum and educational software, and teacher professional development. Equally important, this project is creating useful and useable products for students and teachers at levels ranging from middle school through college.

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Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society