Educator Guides
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The Age of Dinosaurs May Have Ended in Springtime
In this guide, students will answer claim, evidence and reasoning questions about how scientists used the bones of ancient fish to determine during what season an asteroid wiped out nonavian dinosaurs. They will then explore the physical properties of human bones and how bones offer evidence to support scientific claims. -
Earth May Be Hiding Thousands of Tree Species
In this guide, students will learn about scientists’ efforts to estimate how many tree species Earth has, analyze a related data visualization and discuss the implications the research has for conservation. -
- Educator Guide:Educator Guide
- Topic:Science & Society
- Category:Data Analysis
- Category:Research & Design
Look to the Outliers
In this guide, students will learn about outliers and why some social scientists study them in an effort to improve people’s lives. -
Meteorite’s Organics Aren’t Signs of Life
In this guide, students will learn about the origin of organic material found inside a meteorite from Mars and discuss how new evidence can be used to reevaluate scientific claims. -
Mental Gymnastics
In this guide, students will learn about psychological tools that are helping elite athletes in competitions and everyday life, analyze data visualizations and discuss how the psychological tools might be applied to students' own lives. -
Wildfires May Boost Urban Ozone Levels
In this guide, students will explore chemical interactions within wildfire smoke and how urban air pollution can influence the reactions. -
Camera Captures Physics in a Snap
In this guide, students will learn about an experiment inspired by the movie Avengers: Infinity War that investigates the role of friction in a successful finger snap. Students will then apply their scientific knowledge to assess scientific accuracy in movies and other media. -
Whales Eat More Than We Thought
In this guide, students will learn how scientists estimated the food intake of certain whale species and discuss nutrient cycling and conservation of matter within ecosystems. -
Why Baby Ducks Swim in a Line
In this guide, students will learn how scientists figured out why baby ducks save energy when swimming in a certain formation and discuss drag force using real-world examples. -
Marie Antoinette’s Letters Are Uncensored by X-rays
In this guide, students will learn how scientists used chemistry to unravel a historical mystery and discuss the uses and limitations of spectroscopy. -
The Origami Satellite
In this guide, students will learn about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and discuss how scientific advances have shaped the telescope’s mission. -
- Educator Guide:Educator Guide
- Topic:Science & Society
- Category:Research & Design
- Category:Coronavirus
When Fans Are Away, Home Teams Lose Their Sway
In this guide, students will learn about scientific research into bias in sporting events that was made possible by the coronavirus pandemic. Then, students will define and discuss the role of questions in the scientific method before brainstorming a scientific question of their own.