This resource from the European Space Agency climate change resource pack provides information gathered from the electromagnetic spectrum which is used to monitor and measure changes in the Earth’s climate system. Resources focus upon how satellite instruments orbiting the Earth detect data from the visible light,...

These resources from the European Space Agency climate change initiative education resource pack allow students to learn about how data can be collected by sensors and how the orbit of satellites affect the details that can be obtained - Taking the Pulse of the Planet. 

The first activity is text...

These resources were developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme in collaboration with five universities involved in initial teacher education, as part of a Key Stage 3 National Strategy project. Originally produced as a CD-ROM, the materials aimed to provide suggestions and activities for teaching about...

This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, looks at Hubble’s law, whereby students use real data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to plot a graph from which they can obtain the Hubble constant. Students then look at the possible sources of error in their data and use this to calculate the uncertainty in...

A Year Ten module from the Salters’ double award science course. The first section of the module introduces the formation, composition and structure of the atmosphere. The Sun is our main source of energy. Students consider why sunlight is more intense near the equator...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students investigate how temperature changes with distance from a heat source and relate this to planetary temperatures. After completing this activity, students should be able to:

*Understand that the temperature of a planet depends on its distance...

The movement of tectonic plates against each other can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and most active volcanoes on the Earth are located along the edge of these plates. Volcanoes can also occur far away from plate boundaries, although this is less common.

These volcanoes are maintained by hotspots...

This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces students to ways of combining errors (uncertainties) from two independent measured quantities. Using the equation for Doppler shift, the error in the rotational velocity and time period are calculated....

In this activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, students are introduced to the rotating Earth and the concept of longitude. They will carry out simple arithmetic that relates the 24 hour clock with the Earth’s rotation. The questions in the activity require an understanding of angle: one hour being equal to...

Students will begin by comparing the range of temperatures on the Earth, Mars and the Moon, using the student worksheet ‘Temperature: from one extreme to another!’ They will have to plot the temperature over a ten-day period from 4 September to 13 September, as measured by three different craft that landed on the...

In this activity, developed by the Institute of Physics, students use a lamp and polystyrene balls to model how astronomers detect exoplanets using the transit method. After completing this activity, students should: *Understand that the transit of a planet in front of its star temporarily reduces the star’s...

In this SATIS Revisited resource students consider the conflict between the increasing use of energy and the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels in order to lessen carbon dioxide emissions and tackle climate change.

The aim of this unit is to introduce the idea that the discussion of controversial issues...

These resources from the European Space Agency climate change initiative education resource pack allow students to learn about the carbon cycle and the key to controlling climate change by managing it and using it to identify how to reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. How carbon moves through the carbon...

In this first unit from the Geology: Structure of the Earth series, produced by Northumberland County Council, students investigate the main structural features of the Earth such as ocean basins and continents. The unit aims to help students develop their discussion, listening, speaking, explaining and...

In this unit from the Geology: Structure of the Earth series, produced by Northumberland County Council, students discover more about the Earth's internal structure. In a series of tasks, students investigate the true shape of the Earth, gravity and how geologists use it, movements of the Earth and what happens...