Methane math
Updated! Carbon dioxide and methane are our two most prevalent human-contributed greenhouse gases. This holstein cow is one of many huge contributors to our methane production. &nb...
Math and Science
Genres
Grade
My teacher says this stream is parabolic. Is he correct?
Instead of asking students to just believe what you've said, why not ask them to verify your assertions? Students plot the points of the stream, perhaps map them with an equation generated b...
Big gulp
Do you or your students love sugary drinks? What if it were against the law to order a large sugary drink where you lived? On September 13th, 2012 the New York City Health Department ban...
Cicada swarmaggedon
Most of the life cycle of the Magicicada Septendecim is spent underground. Then at 17 year intervals, these cicadas emerge from the ground, climb deciduous trees, molt into a...
Cruising
There have been a lot of cruise ship mishaps and disasters this year. While these are in the news, let your students consider how these floating cities manage their resources and which of their need...
Snow Days
Here is a picture from a recent snowfall at my house. How Much Snow Did I Get?
Have students make an estimate. Ask them for a guess that is probably a little to...
Voyager on the edge
The two Voyager space probes are in the news recently as they approach the edge of our solar system. Scientist can tell that the Voyager's environments are changing. They are receiving m...
Happy 14th B'ak'tun!
Luckily, we’ve passed 12/21/2012 and the world is still here and we’ve made it into the start of the next Mayan calendar cycle ... the next B’ak’tun.
The ancient Mayans had an interesting...
Twinkies
Brian loves Twinkies and the news that Hostess is going out of business has upset him terribly. He needs his Twinkies. Twinkies last forever. Right? He's going ...
Curiosity landed on Mars
Keep your students up on what's happening in space while analyzing Curiosity the Mars Rover's speed, the speed of a radio transmission from Mars, and the deceleration involved in a "sky crane" lan...