Investigating dimensions of the solar system part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
This page authored by Leslie Kanat, Johnson State College; Francisco San Juan, Elizabeth City State University; Steven Schafersman, CyberComputing Scientific Services; Michael Stewart, University of Illinois—Urbana Champaign
Planetary data are used to investigate and evaluate the Nebular Hypothesis.

Calculation of the Magnitude of Lunar and Solar Tidal Forces on the Earth part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Randal Mandock, Clark Atlanta University; Randal Mandock, Clark Atlanta University
Project in which students calculate the magnitude of lunar and solar tidal forces on the earth. They calculate the solar tidal effect relative to the lunar tidal effect and the relative solar tidal effect for spring-tide conditions.

Laboratory Activity: The Sun and Climate part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Peter Selkin, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
In this physical geography lab, students examine the relationship between solar altitude, solar declination, and temperature regimes. Using data collected in the field, mathematical relationships, and temperature records available on the Internet, students compare the insolation and climate in their location to that of other locations.

GEOLogic: Terrestrial and Jovian Planets part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine
In this two-part example, students are given clues about properties about the terrestrial and Jovian planets respectively and asked to match up the planet with the correct equatorial radius, mean orbital velocity, and period of rotation.

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: The Distance Radio Waves Have Traveled part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question We have been broadcasting radio waves in all directions since the development of radio and television stations. How far could you be from the Earth and detect the faint signals of an early Star Trek ...

BotEC: Walking to the Center of the Earth part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Peter Kresan
Question: The earth's interior is composed of three main concentric zones: the crust, the mantle, and the core. The outermost layer, the crust, averages 40 km thick on the continents and is thinner (averaging ...

BotEC: The Magnitude of Geologic Time part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Peter Kresan
Question The oldest rock yet to be found on the earth is from Canada and is radiometrically dated at 3.8 billion years old. Various lines of evidence suggest that the earth is about 4.5 to 5 billion years old. A ...

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Size of Olympus Mons part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question A picture-perfect strato-volcano such as Fujiyama in Japan is what comes to mind when most people think of a volcano. Mt. Fuji is an imposing volcanic construct, rising from nearly sea level to a summit at ...

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Position and Dimensions of the Moon part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question Suppose you could scale the Earth down to the size of your head. At that scale, how big would the Moon be, and how far away would it be from your head?

Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Velocity of Asteroids part of Quantitative Skills:Activity Collection
Barb Tewksbury, Hamilton College
Question Asteroids zip through space at truly astounding velocities. Let's try to put that into perspective. It took the Apollo astronauts about 3 days to travel from the Earth to the Moon. a) If you could ...