Students will engage in a “Zoom In Inquiry” learning routine to understand the symbols on a world map that shows population-weighted concentrations of PM_2.5. They will reflect on how their perception of the image changed as they saw more of the image.

By matching pie charts with dates between 2002 and 2020, students will predict how air quality has changed over the past two decades. They will then use color-coded Air Quality Index signatures to assess the accuracy of their predictions.

Watch NASA videos about aerosols and volcanic ash.

This lesson is taken from NASA's Phytopia: Discovery of the Marine Ecosystem written in partnership with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Students will explore the relationship between Nitrogen Dioxide and Precipitation in Earth's atmosphere. They will explore the data provided, make a claim, and complete a slide guided by a rubric.

Students identify patterns in chlorophyll concentration data to formulate their explanations of phytoplankton distribution. 

Students will identify and describe the relationship between watersheds and phytoplankton distribution. 

Explore the biosphere and why it is important.

A model analyst develops models to help visualize, observe, and predict complicated data. Model analysis is the process of taking large amounts of data and separate it into a structure that makes it intelligible to the binary process of computers. An analyst also manages the flow of information between different user groups through the use of relational databases.

Meet Dr. Jessica Meir, a NASA Research Scientist & Astronaut, by reading an interview with Forbes Magazine describing how she got her start as a marine biologist.