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Remote Sensing
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Purpose
To identify a historical example of how advances in science depend on advances in technology and vice versa.
Context
In Polymers and People, the first of this two-part lesson series, students learned how the development and use of plastic is a result of the dynamic relationship between scientific and technological advances. In this lesson, students will focuses on the history of remote sensing which, when tied to human history, has profoundly changed the way we view and understand our world. Students will read an online article that details the early uses of remote sensing, from Galileo in 1609 to the Mississippi River flooding of 1993. The article also shows how remote sensing technologies have advanced, from early telescopes to satellites, and what possibilities exist for future applications. Students will also participate in an activity that allows them to pretend they are part of a remote sensing satellite.
Planning Ahead
Materials needed: - Remote Sensing student sheet
- Red, Blue, and Green Acetate—10-15 sheets
- Red, Blue, and Green Pipe Cleaners—enough to distribute several to each student
Preparation:
Students will do the Be a Part of a Remote Sensing Satellite activity where they wear "glasses," which are simple pieces of colored acetate cut out to fit over students' eyes. The class is divided into three groups; one group will have red glasses, another blue glasses, and another green glasses.
Prior to the activity, you should make the glasses out of the colored acetate (one for each student) and spread out pipe cleaners that will be observed and picked up by the students.
- Cut out pieces of the acetate large enough to cover the students' eyes.
- Give each student a different color of the acetate to use as lenses in the "glasses"
- Spread out the pipe cleaners on a grassy area outside; they should not be hidden.
Motivation
Begin this lesson by asking students the following questions:- Have you ever heard of remote sensing?
- What is remote sensing?
- When do you think remote sensing technology developed?
- What are some reasons as to why people might have wanted to develop and advance remote sensing techniques?
Some students may have some ideas about this, but it doesn't matter at this point if their understanding of remote sensing is correct or complete. After students read the article and answer questions, they should then be able to define remote sensing and how it developed as a technology to enhance scientific understanding.Show students examples of remote sensing images. These can be found on pages 6, 7, and 8 of the NASA Observatorium's Remote Sensing in History website.
Development
Distribute copies of the student sheet Remote Sensing. Tell students that they will read a short online resource about remote sensing and answer questions on the worksheet. Students can do this activity as homework or in a school computer lab during class time.
Ask students: - How is remote sensing technology important to scientific understanding of the world?
- Why do you think scientific questions about the world lead to the development of technologies such as telescopes, hot air balloons, and satellites?
- How is remote sensing a good example of how technology and science work together to solve problems?
Point out to students that developing these types of technology required scientific understanding. For example, making a telescope required the understanding of optics—how we see and magnification techniques. Hot air ballooning depended upon the science of chemistry and behavior of gases in conditions of varying temperature and pressure. Developing satellites required immense knowledge of forces such as gravity, friction, and motion, as well as materials science (engineering the satellite, wiring, and construction). Thus, while each of these technologies contributed to our knowledge of remote sensing, the development of these technologies required research and experimentation in other fields of science. When students have completed the student sheet, they should share their answers with the whole class.
To better understand how a remote sensing satellite works, students can do an activity called Be a Part of a Remote Sensing Satellite, which is part of the NASA Observatorium Teacher's Guide to Remote Sensing in History. This activity helps students understand why sensors of different wavelengths can only see certain colors and why they can only produce certain colors on photos.
Tell students that they will do an activity in which they pretend to be the sensors of remote sensing satellites. The sensors, however, can only detect light of certain wavelengths. For example, one sensor may only be able to see blue things while another sensor may only be able to observe items in green. This contrasts with the way our eyes sense the environment, detecting visible light of all wavelengths. Tell students that infrared sensors only detect infrared wavelengths. These types of sensors are used, for example, to distinguish between rocks and minerals (important in gold and silver exploration). Plants reflect a great deal of infrared energy; this gives researchers an idea about the health of a plant.
Divide students into three equal groups: one group for red "glasses," one for blue, and one for green. Pass out the "glasses" before going outside. Be sure the students cover their eyes with the colored "glasses" before they near the area where the pipe cleaners are located. Tell students that they can only look through their colored "glasses" to find the pipe cleaners. When a student sees a pipe cleaner, he or she should pick it up. When the time limit (10-15 minutes) is reached, have students look to see what everyone picked up. (You could have students trade colors to see what happens when they look through different colored "glasses.")
After students have done this activity, discuss how it helps them understand why sensors of different wavelengths can only see certain colors and why they can only produce certain colors on photos.
Assessment
To assess student understanding of the concepts covered in this lesson, ask the following questions: - Technology is sometimes perceived as being "bad," leading to the development of tools that are destructive to humans and the Earth. How would you respond to such a statement?
- Why are tools important to the development of science?
- What are some important scientific questions facing the world today?
- How will technology help to solve these questions?
Extensions
The Beyond Discovery website has a list of articles on various topics that demonstrate how scientific understanding and technological development are interdependent. These articles provide examples of how science works as a process, building on advances in both scientific understanding and technology over time. Students can work in groups to read these articles and report to the class on how science and technology contribute to each other to solve important and basic problems facing human society.
Students can also research various tools important in remote sensing at NASA's Observatorium Education Resources.
One other lesson that can be used as follow-up to this activity is the Science NetLinks lesson Laser Saving Sight.
Created :10/20/2001
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