A great deal of space exploration is performed by autonomous craft. They have mapped remote planets and even landed to send surface data back to Earth. Satellites have changed the world of communication, earth observation and, through global positioning systems, everyday navigation. This collection, with...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Identify that we live on the surface of the Earth which is a sphere

• Describe how the Earth spins on its axis and explain what a day is

• Describe how...

In this Crest Award accredited project, students monitor levels of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and rainfall acidity in the school grounds.  Suggested investigations include:

•  Investigate various methods of measuring acidities between pH4 and pH7, to decide which method is most accurate.
• Compare...

These resources link to elements of the geography, while supporting aspects of science, maths and computing. Using early astronaut photographs, and more recent satellite images, they provide opportunities to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using each method for remote sensing. The main activity is based...

In this activity, students examine changes to forests in cross-border regions of Africa and Borneo using Google Earth Pro to help identify features shown in satellite images and make measurements. The context allows students to explore the factors which put pressure on forested areas, and what is being done to...

In this activity developed by the Institute of Physics, students use iron and sand to model the composition of the Earth and estimate what fraction of the Earth is occupied by its iron core. After completing this activity, students should be able to: *Measure mass and volume. *Calculate density from mass and volume...

This Science upd8 activity draws on Titan which is the biggest of Saturn's moons.

There are two student activities; one involves labelling a diagram to tell students on Earth about the nature of Titan.

The other asks students to take the role of Titanian space explorers and use data to compare the...

These activity sheets give students the opportunity to look in greater depth at the similarities and differences between Mars and Earth. The activities focus on the basic chemistry and geology of Mars in comparison to Earth, asking students to apply their existing knowledge or use research aids. This resource, as...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, challenges students to explain the phases of the Moon by linking the movement of the Moon around the Earth with our perspective from Earth of light and shadow on the Moon.

The two files are identical, apart from the curriculum links stated in the teachers...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how tracking insects can help scientists forecast summer storms and floods, and the role one of Europe's key satellite missions played in the recent floods in Queensland, Australia.

The huge...

Comets are considered to be time capsules containing information about the conditions of the early Solar System. In order to understand what comets are, where they come from, and their influence on the evolution of Earth, it is necessary to find out what material they contain. This teacher demonstration and student...

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 children take on the role of Earth observation scientists submitting a request for an image they would like for their research. This gives them the opportunity to consider the possibilities of pictures taken from orbit (and the limitations) and to write scientifically for a specific audience. It...