Measuring the Circumference of the Earth

URL: http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/noonday/

dlese.org

This on-line project is part of the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE) program which has developed internet activities for the elementary, middle, and high school level student. In the course of the project, students learn about Eratosthenes and his experiment, do a similar experiment by collaborating with other schools, and analyze and reflect on the collected data to determine the accuracy of their measurements and what they learned. The project provides instructions, activities, reference materials, on-line help, and a teacher area.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)	Astronomy, Earth science, Geology, Geoscience, Mathematics, Physical sciences, Science, Space Science, Space sciences, Technology
Grade level	Middle School, High School
Resource type	Instructional Material
Resource format	text, text/html
Rights	Copyright 1999, 2001 Stevens Institute of Technology Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education, All Rights Reserved. The Trustees of Stevens Institute of Technology, Copyright Owner, provides the information on this server to anyone, but retains copyright on all text and graphic images.

Found in collection(s)

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Title	DLESE Community Collection
Link	http://www.dlese.org/
Description	The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) mission is to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of teaching and learning about the Earth System, by developing, managing, and providing access to high-quality educational resources and supporting services through a community-based, distributed digital library. Intended users include students, educators and citizens of all ages, in both formal and informal learning environments. The collection favors resources that convey linkages and connections; the general with the specific, theory with evidence, global with local, and that demonstrate the application of science to solving real world problems. This includes providing access to Earth data sets and imagery, and the tools and interfaces that enable their effective use. DLESE resources are community-contributed, by individuals, organizations, and formal collection efforts.
	Full description and distribution of resources

Content contained within the resource

A CIESE Collaborative Project Login Project Information Home Overview Schedule Lessons Tools Register Submit Data View Data Discussion Current Participants Resources Reference Material Student Gallery Project Leader Other CIESE Projects The Noon Day Project The Project is open for the Fall 2011 Run!! Please register from the Tools along the left. Measuring the Circumference of the Earth The Goal of the Noon Day Project is to have students measure the circumference of the earth using a method that was first used by Eratosthenes over 2000 years ago. Students at various sites around the world will measure shadows cast by a meter stick and compare their results. From this data students will be able to calculate the circumference of the earth.            The Eratosthenes Experiment Watch as Carl Sagan describes some of the background surrounding Eratosthenes' experiment, which is the basis for this project. This project was developed and is managed by the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE), which is located at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. © Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved The Center for Innovation in Science and Engineering Stevens Institute of Technology Reference Material Student Gallery Project Leader Other CIESE Projects Register Submit Data View Data Discussion Current Participants Home Overview Schedule Lessons