This group activity engages students in the calculation of absorption spectra. It is appropriate for any course covering the baseline mathematical concepts of atomic spectra, including chemistry, physics, astronomy, and related courses.
Using shell model diagram to relate absorption to emission. Derives relationship between emitted photon and energy levels, the Balmer-Rydberg equation. Created by Jay.
In this activity, students use the absorption spectra of greenhouse gases to explore the nature of the greenhouse effect.
This is an exciting time for the energy industry—energy revolutions are underway and things are changing quickly. Fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and biomass have dominated the energy landscape for centuries and are the leading contributors to global climate change, hazardous environmental impacts, and human health issues. However, global energy production is now shifting to clean sources, like energy efficiency and renewables, that release little to no greenhouse gases and have fewer environmental impacts. This shift is critical to reaching net zero* goals and limiting the increase in global average temperatures, as well as improving air quality and reducing the human health effects of energy.
Acceleration (a) is the change in velocity (Δv) over the change in time (Δt), represented by the equation a = Δv/Δt. This allows you to measure how fast velocity changes in meters per second squared (m/s^2). Acceleration is also a vector quantity, so it includes both magnitude and direction. Created by Sal Khan.
Using students' step length to understand the relationship between distance, speed and acceleration. Includes graphing of data and interpretation of graphs.
What is the acceleration due to gravity at the space station. Created by Sal Khan.
Students make a wheel and axle out of cardboard and a wooden dowel. It is rooled along a ramp made of parallel meter sticks, and the acceleration can be made small enough to make accurate measurements and calculations.
Students work as physicists to understand centripetal acceleration concepts. They also learn about a good robot design and the accelerometer sensor. They also learn about the relationship between centripetal acceleration and centripetal force governed by the radius between the motor and accelerometer and the amount of mass at the end of the robot's arm. Students graph and analyze data collected from an accelerometer, and learn to design robots with proper weight distribution across the robot for their robotic arms. Upon using a data logging program, they view their own data collected during the activity. By activity end , students understand how a change in radius or mass can affect the data obtained from the accelerometer through the plots generated from the data logging program. More specifically, students learn about the accuracy and precision of the accelerometer measurements from numerous trials.
This is a treasure hunt game that simulates various disabilities and gives a sense of how frustrating non-accessible content can be for people with disabilities. Suitable for a general audience, no programming experience necessary.
An editable copy is also given, along with ideas about how to make it more accessible.
This is a computer-based activity in which students retrieve data from websites maintained by the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Weather Service (NWS), and then use that data to test different hypotheses regarding streamflow and precipitation. Students import data from web sites into a spreadsheet program where they can construct scatter plots and perform simple statistical tests. The activity has two components, the first focusing on relations between streamflow and drainage basin characteristics (drainage area, slope, precipitation), the second focusing on trends in annual precipitation at two locations in the USA: Burlington, VT, and Boulder, CO. As part of the second component, students conduct a statistical test to determine if the long-term trends in precipitation are significant.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This segment from Swift: Eyes through Time traces the history military officers and engineers discovering a strange phenomenon in the sky that astronomers now know are gamma-ray bursts.
The simulation Sal mentions in the video can be found directly following this video in the lesson.
This module examines the nature and variability of subduction margins through examination of data sets that document subduction zone inputs, deformation, and resulting morphology in different settings.
In this lab exercise, students practice correctly using measurement tools, recording data, calculating density, using significant figures, and exploring the concepts of accuracy and precision.
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students estimate travel times and costs of a driving/camping trip to visit national parks in Colorado.
This unit of investigation is introduced using the anchoring phenomenon of a rocket launch. Students investigate the concepts of what is fuel, why some materials react and others do not, the role energy plays in the rearrangement of atoms, and where does the energy to do this come from and finally what makes the rocket lift off if fire itself is not causing this.
In this activity, students explore the effect of chemical erosion on statues and monuments. They use chalk to see what happens when limestone is placed in liquids with different pH values. They also learn several things that engineers are doing to reduce the effects of acid rain.
Last week, Hank talked about how stuff mixes together in solutions. Today, and for the next few weeks, he will talk about the actual reactions happening in those solutions - atoms reorganizing themselves to create whole new substances in the processes that make our world the one we know and love. This week, we focus on acids and bases and their proton-exchanging ways.
Chapters:
Chemistry Can Cause Death
Acids and Bases are Complicated
Conjugate Bases
Conjugate Acids
Acid-Base Stoichiometry
Review
How do strong and weak acids differ? Use lab tools on your computer to find out! Dip the paper or the probe into solution to measure the pH, or put in the electrodes to measure the conductivity. Then see how concentration and strength affect pH. Can a weak acid solution have the same pH as a strong acid solution?