p. 4 Planet
Earth
The
Living Earth
At this Web site you can see satellite images of Earth as well as
views of Mars and the stars. Click on interactive Earth, then on living
Earth and brilliant Earth images to see an image of Earth. You can zoom
in and out on this image to see details of the ocean floor and pan across
a sea of glowing city lights. Look for the continental shelf along the
coasts of the continents. Can you see the continental slope?
Earth
Visit this Web site by Students for the Exploration and Development
of Space (SEDS), University of Arizona Chapter at the Lunar and Planetary
Laboratory for basic information on Earth, the third planet from the
Sun. Click on other languages to find the names of the planets, including
Earth, in languages such as Portuguese, Polish, and Uzbek. Why is there
not one word for planet Earth? What language is most commonly used by
scientists when discussing the planets and stars?
Earth
From Space
See
the astronaut’s views of their home planet at this site by the NASA Space Shuttle
Earth Observations Photography Database. Search the site to see hurricanes and
weather patterns, specific habitats, and Earth-human interactions. Click on
geographic regions, then on Canary Islands to see a caldera, the center of the
La Palma Island.
p. 8 Earth’s
Four Major Systems
Earth’s
Atmosphere and Surface
At this World Book site you can learn more about the atmosphere
and hydrosphere on Earth. Click on inside the Earth to find out about
the lithosphere as well. Click on Earth: the Living Planet, then scroll
down and test your knowledge about Earth by taking the quiz. Did you
know as much about Earth as you thought you did?
The
Earth’s Crust and Lithosphere
At this
University of Michigan site you can find out more about Earth’s lithosphere.
Do other planets experience plate tectonics as Earth does? What is the evidence
for your answer?
Earth’s
Hydrosphere
Visit
this site by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution
to find out more about Earth’s hydrosphere. Find out how much of Earth’s surface
is covered by ice. Is more ice forming or melting at present worldwide?
Earth’s
Spheres
At this
site you can enter the NASA Classroom of the Future (COTF), a joint project
by NASA and the Wheeling Jesuit University. Scroll down and click on the biosphere,
then on biomes, to find out more about the biomes that make up Earth’s biosphere.
How is a tropical rain forest different from a tropical savannah?
p. 13 SI
International
System of Units (SI)
You
can find out everything you want to know about SI at this site by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Reference on Constants, Units,
and Uncertainity. The site includes definitions of the base units, their historical
context, and unit conversions. Click on international aspects of SI to find
out where and when this measurement system was first adopted.
SI
Base Units
This is the Web site for the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures
(BIPM), the French agency equivalent to the U.S. NIST. Click on history
of the SI to find out the very first event that began an international
system of weights and measures. What element were these original weights
and measures made of?
p. 22 CT
Scans in Paleontology
Use
of CT Scans in Paleontology
This Web site by the University of Texas at Austin, Department of
Geological Sciences High Resolution X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) Facility
includes information on how CT technology works as well as images made
with the technology. Click on image folio, then on paleontology, then
on birds and their dinosaur relatives. Scroll down and click on various
animals to see 3D reconstructions of their skulls. Compare the skulls
of a common bird and a pterosaur.
Rock
Club: Willo, the Dinosaur with a Heart
At this
site by the Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society, you can learn more
about Willo, the dinosaur with a four-chambered heart and a single aorta. Why
is having a single aorta an important distinction between this animal and other
reptiles that have four-chambered hearts?
