Math-Sci-Guy

Just like in the many disaster movies, this laboratory activity will allow students to investigate the effects of an asteroid hitting the earth. Students will drop plastic beads onto a tray of sand, causing impact craters from two different heights. They will measure the widths and depths of these craters, then answer questions that discuss their findings and relate it to the solar system, historical events, and possible real-life effects.

This is a simple, interdisciplinary worksheet for science or math students. It walks students through the steps of figuring out how many times bigger the sun is compared to the earth (by diameter, and then by volume). The first page of the document is the worksheet; the second page is the answer key. Primarily written for an Earth Science or Astronomy class, but can be useful in a Math class, too. The math involves substituting numbers into an equation and simplifying (cubing, multiplication,

Students graph distances to various galaxies vs their speeds, and infer a direct relationship between the two. Skills Practiced: graphing, reviewing the main graph types, applying math concepts to real life

In this laboratory activity, students will use a loop of string and two tacks to draw one circle and four different ellipses. They will then measure the focal distance and major axis of each of these, and use this data to calculate the eccentricity of each ellipse (and the circle). The analysis questions lead students to discover the overall patterns and apply the knowledge learned in this activity to planetary orbits. Note: Parts of the lab refer to the ESRT. This is New York State's Earth

In this laboratory activity, students will use foam spheres and a lamp to recreate the Earth's moon's phases. They will then draw a diagram depicting/summarizing their results. The analysis questions lead students to think about the Earth-Moon-Sun system from various perspectives, including at precise times (eclipses), and relate this back to cyclic changes. All images are created as shapes in MS Word, so their quality does not degrade when printed.