ChemMatters: Special Issue on NASA's EOS Aura Mission (Oct. 2003)

Abstract

This is the third in a series of four ChemMatters issues devoted to NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura mission and it focuses on the chemistry of the mission. ChemMatters is designed and published for teachers to use as a supplement to their first year high school chemistry course, and as a resource for other high school science teachers. Article titles are: Whose Air Is It Anyway (global circulation of the atmosphere), Alien Atmospheres (atmospheres of other planets), Clouds (how clouds form, and cloud research), Life in a Greenhouse (how the greenhouse effect works and how people study it), Chemistry in the Sunlight (about formation of the ozone we breathe), Beefing Up Atmospheric Models (how modeling helps us understand the atmosphere), and Nobel Prize Winner: Sherwood Rowland (interview). The issue also includes a challenge asking students to determine which activities on a list would be possible on a planet with no atmosphere; and an activity, Cloud in a Bottle. A 62-page teacher's guide accompanies the issue and provides additional information on articles, follow-up hands-on activities, classroom demonstrations, and additional resources. Educational levels: High school