Online Student Book

 

Unit A: Studying Soils Scientifically

Activity 2

Transparency 2.1, Farmland in the United States
In the first printing of the whole course, this transparency did not show any data dots. Subsequent printings have been corrected.

 

Unit B: Rocks and Minerals

Activity 16

Most of the samples provided in the kit do not show double refraction as indicated in the results (Teacher’s Guide table page B-39). They are translucent samples instead of transparent, making them too opaque to show the property of double refraction.

 

Unit D: Plate Tectonics

Activity 42

Video Segment 1 - Plate Tectonics: The Scientist Behind the Theory
This video segment chronicles the Alfred Wegener’s development of the theory of continental drift and is from the WGBH Teacher's Domain website. It is recommended that you have the latest version of QuickTime installed to properly view this video.

Video Segment 2 - Plate Tectonics Further Evidence
Using evidence from Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, this video on the WGBH Teacher's Domain website details the evidence that supported the theory of plate tectonics. It is recommended that you have the latest version of QuickTime installed to properly view this video.

 

Unit E: Weather and Atmosphere

Activity 64

Teacher's Guide page E-157: For the table, “Sample of Mean Atmospheric Values,” you may note that the percent of gases in the atmosphere does not equal 100% when each layer is added. This is because the numbers have been rounded to the nearest tenth.

Activity 68

New Student Sheet 68.1, “My Wind Data”

Activity 70

Student Book page E-99: The third sentence should be changed to read: “The city itself is approximately 610 m (2000 ft) above sea level.”

 

Unit G: Exploring the Solar System

Activities 88, 90, 96, and 97 (references to Pluto)

On August 24, 2006, at the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic, the scientific community revised its definition of a planet. As a result there are only eight official planets in the solar system, Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet.

Three categories of objects in our solar system are now defined:

  • Planets: The eight worlds from Mercury to Neptune.
  • Dwarf Planets: Pluto and any other round object that has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite. This includes UB313, officially named Eris in September of 2006. Currently there are dozens of objects that fit into this category.
  • Small Solar System Bodies: All other objects orbiting the Sun. Reference

In the Student Book, the following pages include references to Pluto in tables: G-25, G-26, G-29, G-56.

In the Teacher's Guide, the following references to Pluto should be noted: G-57, G-58, G-60.

Activity 93

Instructions on Making 3D Charts
This document outlines how to make a 3D chart in Microsoft Excel.

Updated Materials for Download

Click on the following links to download updated student and teacher materials.