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Algebra 2

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This is a book containing over 200 problems spanning over 70 specific topic areas covered in a typical Algebra II course. Learners can encounter a selection of application problems featuring astronomy, earth science and space exploration, often with more than one example in a specific category. Learners will use mathematics to explore science topics related to a wide variety of NASA science and space exploration endeavors. Each problem or problem set is introduced with a brief paragraph about the underlying science, written in a simplified, non-technical jargon where possible. Problems are often presented as a multi-step or multi-part activities. This book can be found on the Space Math@NASA website.

Material Type: Lesson

Fractals in Geometry: Fractal Cities, Now & Then (Version 2)

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This lesson was created by School Library Media Specialist, Pam Harland, and Math teachers Rebecca Hanna and Carissa Maskwa to model text-based inquiry in STEM. Over the course of the unit, students will explore a variety of texts and grow in their knowledge of fractals, city design, and ability to use informational text to support their inquiry and research.The unit was created in year two of the School Librarians Advancing STEM Learning (SLASL) project, led by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management (ISKME) in partnership with Granite State University, New Hampshire, and funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Material Type: Assessment, Unit of Study

Authors: Pam Harland, Carissa Maskwa, Rebecca Hanna

Angular Measure

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Students will learn about the Transit of Venus through reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video that describes several ways to observe transits. Then students will study angular measurement by learning about parallax and how astronomers use this geometric effect to determine the distance to Venus during a Transit of Venus. This activity is part of the Space Math multimedia modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.

Material Type: Lesson

Area and Perimeter of Rectangles with Cheezits

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This is a lesson for learning about area and perimeter of rectangles. This corresponds to "College and Career Ready" standard (3.MD.7a) -- Find the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths by tiling it, and show that the area is the same as would be found by multiplying the side lengths. (I was not able to find that standard here.)

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Susan Jones

A Brief Mathematical Guide to Earth Science and Climate Change

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This collection of activities is based on a weekly series of space science problems distributed to thousands of teachers during the 2009-2010 school year. They were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and physical science curriculum in grades 9 through 12. The problems were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. The problems were designed to be ‘one-pagers’ with a Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key as a second page. This compact form was deemed very popular by participating teachers.

Material Type: Lesson

The Coordinate Plane

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This is a set of three, one-page problems about how astronomers use coordinate systems. Learners will plot a constellation on a coordinate plane and/or plot the route of Mars Science Lab (MSL aka Curiosity) on the surface of Mars. Options are presented so that students may learn about the MSL mission through a NASA press release or about the coordinate plane by viewing a NASA eClips video [7 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.

Material Type: Lesson

Electromagnetic Math

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This book offers an introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum using examples of data from a variety of NASA missions and satellite technologies. The 84 problem sets included allow students to explore the concepts of waves, wavelength, frequency, and speed; the Doppler Shift; light; and the energy carried by photons in various bands of the spectrum. Extensive background information is provided which describes the nature of electromagnetic radiation.

Material Type: Lesson

Exploring the Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections

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This is an activity about the solar activity cycle. Learners will construct a graph to identify a pattern of the number of observed sunspots and the number of coronal mass ejections emitted by the Sun over a fifteen year time span. A graphing calculator is recommended, but not required, for this activity. This is the second activity in the Solar Storms and You: Exploring the Wind from the Sun educator guide.

Material Type: Lesson

Geometry and Angle Relationships

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This is a set of four, one-page problems about the distance craft travel on Mars. Learners will use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine distance between a series of hypothetical exploration sites within Gale Crater on Mars. Options are presented so that students may learn about the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission through a NASA press release or by viewing a NASA eClips video [6 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.

Material Type: Lesson

Graphs and Functions

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Students will learn about NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP), Earth's van Allen Radiation Belts, and space weather through reading a NASA press release and viewing a NASA eClips video segment. Then students will use simple linear functions to examine the scale of the radiation belts and the strength of Earth's magnetic field. This activity is part of the Space Math multimedia modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school textbooks. The modules cover specific math topics at multiple levels of difficulty with real-world data and use the 5E instructional sequence.

Material Type: Lesson

Magnetic Math

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This is a booklet containing 37 space science mathematical problems, several of which use authentic science data. The problems involve math skills such as unit conversions, geometry, trigonometry, algebra, graph analysis, vectors, scientific notation, and many others. Learners will use mathematics to explore science topics related to Earth's magnetic field, space weather, the Sun, and other related concepts. This booklet can be found on the Space Math@NASA website.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

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