UNIT 9 ASSIGNMENTS
  1. Read the textbook assignments, list questions you have about the reading, and ask them during class time.

    NOTE: go to the following to see the viewgraph on
    Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere.
    There is also a listing of composition of different types of objects in our solar system, such as the Sun, Jupiter, and Rocky Planets.

  2. For an interesting discussion of the contribution of methane gas to global warming, go to the following website:  (short & easy)
    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020212.html

    Over the past 30 years, the Sun's irradiance has varied +- 1 part in 1367, or +- 0.07%:  this is not responsible for the global climate change observed during the last century.
    http://www.pmodwrc.ch/pmod.php?topic=tsi/composite/SolarConstant

  3. The best layman's explanation I've seen for the appearance of the ozone hole over the Antarctic is at the following University of Cambridge website:  http://www.atm.ch.cam.ac.uk/tour/

  4. See the following links for the mounting circumstantial evidence for the causes of the "great dying" 250 million years ago, when most ocean- and land-based species disappeared.
    http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/28jan_extinction.htm
    http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/17/1095394005432.html?oneclick=true

  5. http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/atlas/index.html
    Extremely comprehensive, well-organized site about all aspects of Mars exploration.   Good links to other sites also.

  6. For Mars aficionados, here's an article from the NY Times about getting to Mars.   Before you sign up for a trip to Mars, you might want to look into this research, which is investigating the effects of cosmic radiation on brain neurons and living tissue in general.  The dose to Skylab 4 astronauts mentioned in the article is higher than the allowed annual dose for nuclear plant workers.  Also, the mean lethal dose (one-time exposure) is about 600 rem - 50% of people with that one-time dose will die, rapidly and extremely miserably.

  7. Magnetism: 
    For a good introduction to the concept of magnetic fields, go to the following website - it contains good sketches as well as clear descriptions.
    http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Spotlight/Magnetic/

  8. Here is a link to and article on the reported claim that finding DNA in dinosaur bones proves that the dinosaur remains could not be at least 65 million years old, as claimed by scientists using age-dating methods.  The second of the two references carefully examines the peer-reviewed articles of the reputed discoverer and compares those findings with the interpretation of a well-known creationist.
    http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dinosaur/blood.html

  9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_temperature_record
    This is an interesting page describing what we know (from several linked methods) about the long-term history of Earth's temperature.

  10. unit 9 discussion questions.  

  11. unit 9 homework