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Listed under:  Science  >  Scientific inquiry  >  Observations (Data)
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Modelling the Seasons

This resource provides a scaffold for students to undertake a simple experiment. Students use a world globe and a heat lamp to investigate how the tilt of the Earth’s axis causes the seasons.

Interactive

Indigenous weather knowledge

An interactive map of traditional weather and climate knowledge that has been developed and passed down through countless generations by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The site provides descriptions of the sixteen seasonal calendars used by First Nations peoples across Australia.

Online

Protecting dugongs

The Western Australian Marine Science Institution has been collecting data about dugongs off the coast of the Kimberley in Northern WA. We have been provided with the raw data from its sightings trips. In this project students will learn how dugong sightings are conducted, and develop the data-science skills needed to make ...

Video

How do solar panels work?

The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That’s 10,000 times more power than the planet’s population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines how solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy. This TedEd animation (4:58 ...

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Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

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Catalyst: Snapshots of top Australian scientists

Australia has produced many of the world's top scientists. Watch this clip to discover who some of them are. Explore the scientific discoveries that made them famous, and how they changed our understanding of the world.

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Catalyst: Supercapacitors: new battery technology

Discover how nanotechnology is contributing to the creation of new, improved batteries that may soon be used in all our mobile phones and portable music devices - even in cars and trams. Catalyst's Tanya Ha looks at how traditional batteries produce electricity and how their efficiency may be increased by tiny devices known ...

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Ramping it up, Egyptian pyramid style

How did the ancient Egyptians move and lift huge stones during construction of the pyramids? Secondary student Angus Atkinson designed an experiment to find out how the lives of pyramid workers could have been made easier. See how as you watch this video, which he entered in the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize.

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The physics of invisibility cloaks

Could an invisibility cloak actually work? Prashanth and Maria from MIT explore this idea and demonstrate the cool ways that light bounces, bends and mixes. How do the wings of the Morpho Butterfly give clues about how an invisibility cloak could work? How would light need to be channelled in order for something to seem invisible?

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Different paper plane designs

How many different paper plane designs are there? Lots! Watch as Dylan Parker, paper plane expert, demonstrates some of his favourites. Notice the way the different shapes and features of the planes cause them to move through the air in different ways. Which one do you like the most? Why not have a go at making something similar?

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Working towards a renewable energy future

Listen to electrical engineering student Kulsoom Hussain describe her dream career. What are some of the challenges she says she'll face in trying to achieve her goals? What can you find out about the energy sources used in Australia? How much renewable energy is used to power our country?

Online

Daily extremes

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides tables of data for the top ten temperature and rainfall records around Australia on the day, month, season or year selected. Highest and lowest maximum and minimum temperatures, as well as the highest rainfall totals, are displayed and ranked. The tables ...

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Ngan'gi seasons calendar

This is a seasonal calendar developed by the Ngan’gi people of the Northern Territory in collaboboration with CSIRO. The resource contains an introduction, a richly illustrated calendar and related links. The introduction includes information about the people’s wish to document traditional knowledge of their Daly River ...

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Water found on the moon

Scientists have confirmed the presence of water on the moon. Rather than occurring in rivers or lakes, water is found sparsely mixed amongst rocks. It's suggested the water came from comets, or the combination of incoming protons with oxygen. Jonathan Nally described the latest experiments where spacecraft will be sent ...

Interactive

Science talk 2007: Adam Cawley

An interview with Adam Cawley, a chemist and scientist from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, who is an expert in drug testing in sport. Adam talks to a teacher from Killara High School about working as a chemist, and the challenges in drug testing.

Video

Mirrors Simulation (sk-Intel)

Students explore the reflection of light by plane mirrors and operate a simple periscope using ray diagrams.

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Royal Botanic Gardens

This seven and a half minute video segment from Catalyst emphasises the importance of collections in science. The Royal Botanic Gardens is the oldest scientific research organisation in Australia. The history of the gardens is outlined up to its current status as the home to almost 9,000 different species of plants. Paul ...

Online

Australian climate variability and change - trend maps

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides trend maps for a number of climate variables including mean, maximum and minimum temperature, total rainfall, sea surface temperature, density of highs and lows, cloud cover and pan evaporation for Australia and for each state and the Northern Territory. ...

Online

Rainfall and temperature records

This resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides tables of data for the highest rainfall events, and the highest and lowest temperatures for each state and the Northern Territory since 1910. As well as detailed data within each state and the Northern Territory, national data compares the average figures ...

Online

Climate data online

This rich resource is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page that provides data for rainfall, temperature, weather and climate and solar exposure recorded by weather stations around Australia. The user can access observations and statistics by entering a weather station number, or by using text or an interactive map to ...