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All Resources and Lesson Plans: Fundamental Theory

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Atoms: The Space Between This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey takes a look at the scale of the atom and the tremendous amount of space between the electrons and the nucleus. If all this empty space exists in matter, how can any substance be solid?	6-12	QuickTime Video
Birth of a Supernova, Type Ia In this interactive activity from NOVA Online, learn about a type of exploding star — a Type Ia supernova — that is so bright that astronomers can measure the distance to the galaxy in which it resides, and even learn which elements make up the star.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Birth of a Supernova, Type II In this interactive activity from NOVA Online, learn about a type of exploding star — a Type II supernova — that is so large it has a mass 10 times greater than the mass of our Sun.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Einstein: A Timeline of His Life This illustrated timeline from the NOVA Web site follows Albert Einstein's life, including 1905, his "Miracle Year," during which he developed his Special Theory of Relativity and the equation, E=mc².	6-12	HTML Document
Einstein: How Smart Was He? This essay from the NOVA Web site explores the impact Einstein made on physics and most everything we know about the cosmos.	6-12	HTML Document
Einstein's Innovative Thinking Students are introduced to two of Einstein's most famous theories -- special relativity and general relativity -- and what he was thinking when he developed them.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity What happens when you approach the speed of light? This video segment adapted from NOVA follows one of Albert Einstein's thought experiments and his quest to find the answer.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Einstein's Thoughts on the Ether Do light waves travel through the ether like waves on a lake travel through water? In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a young Albert Einstein grapples with this question while examining the speed of light.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Elements: Forged in Stars The story of how elements from lithium to uranium are created by stars is illustrated through animation and a hands-on periodic table in this video segment adapted from NOVA.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Frames of Reference Explore how different frames of reference affect your perception of motion in this interactive activity from the American Museum of Natural History.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Gravity and the Expanding Universe This video segment, adapted from NOVA, traces the evolving history of theories about gravity and a force that may oppose it, and the impact of both on our expanding universe.	6-12	QuickTime Video
History of the Universe This interactive timeline from the NOVA Web site recaps the theoretical origin and formation of the universe, and forecasts its eventual fate.	6-12	Shockwave Interactive
How Big Is the Universe? In this media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site, astronomer Brent Tully of the University of Hawaiʻi walks you through the latest scientific theories about the size of the universe.	6-12	HTML Document
Hubble's Expanding Universe This adapted video segment, using footage from NOVA and NASA, examines Edwin Hubble's work and how his findings laid the foundation for the Big Bang theory.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Light Particles Acting Like Waves: The Uncertainty Principle This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey uses a laser beam to demonstrate how light particles act like waves, illustrating Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Light Years This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science describes how astronomical distances can be measured in units of light-years, and how the finite speed of light allows astronomers to study how the universe looked long ago.	5-12	QuickTime Video
Motion and Relativity This video from the American Museum of Natural History illustrates how motion is described relative to a frame of reference, and how Einstein's special theory of relativity is needed to describe the motion of objects traveling near the speed of light.	9-12	QuickTime Video
The Origin of the Elements This video segment adapted from NOVA explains the origin of the elements and how scientists use unique element profiles to identify supernova types.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Pulsars: Jocelyn Bell In this video segment adapted from the NOVA, we meet Jocelyn Bell, a graduate student responsible for the discovery of pulsars.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Pulsars: Little Green Men The story behind Jocelyn Bell's role in the discovery of pulsars is told in this colorful, comic-book-style resource from A Science Odyssey Web site.	6-12	HTML Document
Quantum Mechanics Are electrons particles or waves? This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey looks at the intense debate surrounding the understanding of electron configuration.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Relativity and the Cosmos This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site introduces the basic concepts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and what we know about cosmology as a result.	6-12	HTML Document
Sagan on Time Travel Astronomer Carl Sagan discusses the possibility of time travel in this audio-enhanced interview from the NOVAWeb site.	9-12	HTML Document
Speed of Light: How Fast Is That? How fast is 300,000 kilometers per second? This text from the NOVA Web site offers a few real-world comparisons for the speed of light.	6-12	HTML Document
The Light Stuff This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site asks which items in your home can slow down the speed of light.	6-12	HTML Interactive
Speed of Light: Time Traveler This interactive game from the NOVA Web site explores what happens to time as a traveler approaches the speed of light.	6-12	Shockwave Interactive
Spin a Spiral Galaxy This interactive activity from NOVA Online lets you spin a spiral galaxy, including our own Milky Way. It demonstrates that what you can learn from visible light observations of a galaxy is largely determined by the angle from which you are observing it.	6-12	QuickTime Interactive
String Theory: A New Picture of Gravity This video segment from NOVA describes the general theory of relativity and the theory of electromagnetism.	6-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: A Sense of Scale This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site puts the infinitesimally small world of string theory into perspective.	6-12	Flash Interactive
String Theory: A Strange New World This video segment from NOVA chronicles Einstein's quest to unify the forces of electromagnetism and gravity.	6-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: A Theory of Everything? This video segment from NOVA introduces the basic ideas behind string theory and looks at the quest for unification.	9-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: A Theory of Everything Essay In this essay from the NOVA Web site, string theorist Brian Greene introduces the basic ideas behind string theory and how it might help us better understand the universe.	9-12	HTML Document
String Theory: Gravity - The Odd Man Out This video segment from NOVA describes the discovery in the 1930s of two forces in addition to electromagnetism: the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force.	9-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: Newton's Embarrassing Secret This video segment from NOVA chronicles Newton's theory of gravity and Einstein's discovery that contradicted it.	6-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: Science or Philosophy? This video segment from NOVA discusses the challenge of proving the scientific validity of string theory, in question because strings may be too small to ever be seen or detected, and therefore tested.	9-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: Strings to the Rescue This video segment from NOVA discusses the challenge of unifying the force of gravity and the forces described by quantum mechanics into a single theory of unification.	9-12	QuickTime Video
String Theory: The Quantum Café This video segment from NOVA relates the rise of subatomic physics in the 1920s and the development of the radical theory of quantum mechanics.	9-12	QuickTime Video
That's My Theory! Become a game show contestant in this online activity from A Science Odyssey and ask a series of questions to a panel of mystery scientists, using the answers to determine which scientist is Einstein.	9-12	HTML Interactive
Think Like Einstein This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site challenges you to think like Einstein and understand how time travel might be possible.	6-12	HTML Interactive
Tidal Curiosities This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site answers questions about irregularities in the tides.	6-12	HTML Document
Time and Relativity This video from the American Museum of Natural History illustrates Einstein's special theory of relativity and the relationship between time and the motion of objects, including the concept of time dilation.	9-12	QuickTime Video
What Is a Planet? This video segment, adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, presents the ongoing debate over the definition of a planet, including the status of Pluto.	3-12	QuickTime Video
WMAP: "Baby Picture" of the Universe View the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) image from NASA to see the first detailed map of the oldest light in the universe, from 379,000 years after the Big Bang, over 13 billion years ago. A second image offers a visual timeline to put the WMAP image in perspective.	9-12	JPEG Image