Solar Activity-Themed Resources

Resources for Teachers

Pre-Service Teacher Ed & Intro Astronomy

Lecture Tutorial: Measuring the Velocity of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)
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Use this student worksheet, images of today's sun, and historical sunspot data to estimate the period and frequency of sunspots, identify solar maxima for sunspot activity, and make predictions about future solar activity. 

Curious to learn more about how concepts associated with coronal mass ejections can be integrated into physics? Check out the curated multimedia Digi Kit that is built around this lecture tutorial by clicking below:
CME Science

Lecture Tutorial: Measuring the Frequency and Period of Sunspots
Download as:  Word       PDF      Video File      Pre-Lecture

This data analysis activity requires students to analyze sunspots on NASA’s SOHO coronagraph images to make meaning of cyclical patterns using the terms period and frequency.

Curious to learn more about how concepts associated with sunspots can be integrated into physics? Check out the curated multimedia Digi Kit that is built around this lecture tutorial by clicking below:
Sunspot Science

Intro Physics

Lab: Energy in a Magnetic Field and Solar Flares
Download Tutorial:  Word       PDF      Pre-Lecture

This laboratory activity helps students consider the energy stored in the magnetic field produced by different configurations of magnets and apply their findings to explain the release of energy from solar flares.
 

Upper Division Physics & Astronomy

Lecture Tutorial: Auroral Currents
Download Tutorial:  Word      PDF      Pre-Lecture

Use this student worksheet and magnetic field data from Intermagnet to ask questions about inferring auroral currents.

Concept Questions: Auroral Currents
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Use this set of clicker-style questions to probe student understanding about auroral currents.

Lecture Tutorial: Tracking High-Energy Protons from Coronal Mass Ejections
Use this student worksheet and image data from NASA SOHO to estimate the moment of acceleration of relativistic particles.
Download Tutorial:  Word       PDF
Download Image Set:  Word       PDF