Why is the Earth Still Hot Inside?
Aaron Keller
Inquiry lab in which students study the rate of heat transfer as a function of size. Larger objects lose heat more slowly than smaller objects because their surface area relative to their volume is smaller. Relevant to the study of planetary formation, comparative planetology, basic thermodynamics, scientific inquiry, error checking, and the consequences of scaling.

Using Your Marbles: Making Energy Work for You
Alisa Hilfinger
potential energy, kinetic energy, work

Know Your Neighbors--researching the planets
Kathie Kelly, Northeastern University
Utilizing online and traditional resources students will collect data on planets and moons in our solar system. Working collaboratively students will generate a spreadsheet of the data. After verifying one ...

Heat on the Move
Laura Schofield, Northeastern University
To introduce students to the concept that heat transfer via convection is more efficient then heat transfer via conduction.

Creating the Solar System – step by step
Karen Curtin
The goal of this lesson is to encourage the clarification and understanding of the processes involved in the creation of our solar system. The lesson is part of a larger unit of astronomy which addresses the MA ...

Cracked, Bumpy and Beautiful: Earth's Surface
Lisa Alexander
Using a variety or resources, students will plot the locations of mountain ranges,volcanoes and major earthquakes on a class map. Students will then hypothesize what may be creating concentrated areas of these ...

Mass of an Orbiting Planet
Jennifer Baney
This Activity will utilize a common centripetal force apparatus (pictured below) to model planetary motion around a star. Students will evaluate the apparatus as a model for a star and orbiting planet system. ...

Primary Succession: How will an ecosystem form on a new volcanic island?
Wendy Hanlon
Primary succession describes the stages of development of an ecosystem in an area where none had previously existed. In modern time this happens relatively quickly compared to the billions of years necessary for ...

Making a Tsunami
Andrew DiGiovanni
An activity in which students make a model of part of an ocean on Earth with continents in it, and then simulate a tsunami. This will allow them to investigate how the different seismic events (depending on plate boundaries) cause tsunamis, and the impacts on life.

Fluid Viscosity
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Laboratory activity to introduce students to measuring fluid viscosity. Key words: Viscosity, fluid, Stokes, rheology, graduated cylinder.