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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: How Volcanic Activity Fit Into Systems of Earth [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article explaining the history of our scientific understanding of volcanic activity, ending with questions for students about scientific methods and historical contexts.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Just How Old Is Earth? [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to determine the Earth's age, particularly using naturally occurring radioactivity. It notes that scientific disciplines frequently overlap in the work they do. Questions are...
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Understanding Earth's Age [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing early efforts, beginning with Aristotle, to determine the Earth's age, and the influence of current culture on the acceptability of new and radical scientific theories. Questions are posed throughout about the nature...
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Development of a Mechanism for Continental Drift [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of scientific theories about continental drift, and the major researchers involved in this work.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Ice Ages, an Alien Idea [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the scientific evolution of theories about the ice ages and glaciation. The international efforts of scientists are noted, as well as the influence of societal mores on how long it would generally take for new ideas to...
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Pendulum Motion, Time, and Shape of Earth [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article outlining the scientific history behind the evolution of theories about measuring time based on the movement of a pendulum, and about how gravity would impact a pendulum's movement depending on one's proximity to the Earth's...
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Detection of Black Holes [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article outlining the scientific history behind the discovery of black holes. The writer discusses how scientific theories guide scientists in creating explanations for natural phenomena.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Story of Cosmic Microwave Background [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of the scientific research that led to the discovery of cosmic background radiation, which, according to the Big Bang Theory, is linked to the origin of the universe.
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Activity
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: The Discovery of Neptune [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The scientific history behind the discovery of the planet Neptune.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: The Story of Dark Matter [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The scientific history behind the discovery of dark matter. Questions are posed throughout about how theories are developed to provide possible explanations of natural phenomena.
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Handout
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Just How Big Is the Universe? [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains the history of the scientific debate and research on the topic of the size of the universe. The writer discusses the relevance of debate in the evolution of scientific theories.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Development of the Periodic Table [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of the development of the periodic table of elements, particularly the work of Dmitrii Ivanovich Mendeleev.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Charles Darwin [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed biography of Charles Darwin highlighting the events that shaped him as a scientist. Questions are posed throughout about the nature of scientific research.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Alfred Russel Wallace [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed biography of Alfred Russel Wallace, known especially for his theoretical work on evolution, which was published prior to Charles Darwin's own theory. Questions are posed throughout about the nature of scientific research.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: The Work of Gregor Mendel [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed biography of Gregor Johann Mendel, famous for his foundational work in the field of genetics. Questions are posed throughout about the nature of scientific research.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Search for Life's Origins [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing research done by scientists in their quest to understand the origins of life. Questions are posed throughout about the nature of scientific research.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Piecing Together the Structure of Dna [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Outlines the history of the scientific efforts that went into the discovery and mapping of the structure of DNA, spanning one hundred forty years.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Pendulum Motion [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of the pendulum and its importance both in timekeeping, and in how timekeeping was used to solve other problems, such as determining longitude on a map.
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Article
Story Behind the Science

Story Behind the Science: Realization of Global Warming [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article describing the history of how scientists developed their current understanding of global warming. It discusses why it is difficult for some people to accept that human beings have caused the Earth to warm, without controlled...