Teaching Module: Climate Change Mathematics by NASA

A teaching module by NASA makes the use of basic mathematics, algebra, geometry, trigonometric functions and statistics to understand earth science and climate change. This teaching module consists of a range of topics, for different grade levels, and relates them to mathematical modelling. The topic covered are as stated below:

1. Fractions and Chemistry
2. Counting Atoms in a Molecule
3. Parts per Hundred
4. Parts per Thousand
5. Kelvin Temperatures and Very Cold Things
6. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? 
7. Ancient Eclipses and the Length of Day 
8. Earth’s Polar Wander – The Chandler Wobble 
9. Identifying Materials by their Reflectivity 
10. Reflectivity Fingerprints
11. Graphical Reflectivity Measurements 
12. Electricity – Watts and Kilowatts
13. Energy in the Home
14. Energy Consumption in an Empty House! 
15. Annual Electricity Consumption in a Home
16. Carbon Dioxide Production at Home
17. US Electrical Energy Consumption
18. World Electricity Consumption and Carbon Dioxide 
19. Earth’s Atmosphere
20. Carbon Dioxide Production and Sequestration
21. Carbon Dioxide Increases
22. Modeling the Keeling Curve with Excel
23. Carbon Dioxide – Where does it all go?
24. A Simple Model for Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide 
25. Carbon Dioxide Increases During the Last 2000 Years
26. Carbon Dioxide Changes During the Last 400,000 Years 
27. Solar Insolation Changes and the Sunspot Cycle
28. The Solar Constant Since 1600
29. Scientists Track the Rising Tide
30. A Satellite View of Downtown Las Vegas
31. Exploring Washington DC from Space! 
32. Paris – In a Different Light
33. Glacier Retreat
34. Estimating Biomass Loss From a Large Fire 
35. Earth – A Matter of Gravity!
36. Magnetic Earth and the Lithosphere 
37. Studying Ocean Plankton From Space 
38. NASA Satellite Sees Carbon Dioxide 
39. Carbon Production in the US – 2002 
40. Earth’s Carbon Metabolism – Revealed
41. The International Space Station and Atmospheric Drag 
42. Satellite Drag and the Hubble Space Telescope 
43. Earth’s Rotation Changes and the Length of the Day 
44. The Global Warming Debate and the Arctic Ice Cap 
45. The Great Gulf Oil Catastrophe of 2010
46. Recent Events: A Perspective on Carbon Dioxide

Use this tool to help students find answers to:

1. What is ‘reflectivity’? Graph the measurements of commonly mentioned materials as per their reflectivity index.
2. What is ‘Keeling Curve’? What does it say about carbon dioxide concentrations over time?
3. How is carbon dioxide concentration calculated using satellite imagery?

About the Tool

Tool Name	Earth Math Educator Guide
Discipline	Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Environmental Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline	Algebra, Data Analysis, Probability, Trigonometry, Fractions and Decimals, Energy Consumption, Visualization, Graphs, Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Keeling Curve, Carbon Sequestration, Glacier Retreat
Climate Topic	Introduction to Climate Change; Climate Variability Record; Planetary Climate
Type of tool	Teaching Module
Grade Level	Middle School, Highschool
Location	Global
Language	English
Translation
Developed by	NASA
Hosted at	NANA STEM Engagement Website
Link	Link
Access	Online/ Offline
Computer Skills	Basic