Extensions and Enrichment

Remote Sensing Your School

1. Place the lens of a video camera close to an outside wall surface of the school. Students should not watch you prepare. Video record the wall for 10 to 20 seconds and stop. Measure and record the separation distance between the lens and wall.

B.Move the video camera away from the wall a distance equal to twice the original distance and repeat the filming process.

C.Repeat the filming until the camera records a view of the school.

D.Show students the first segment of the video. Stop the video and provide the students with the distance between the lens and "mystery surface." Ask the students to record this distance and write a description of what they see on the TV screen. The key question for the students to answer is: What do you see? Ask the students to guess the name of the mystery surface. Continue by showing the next video segment The new key question for the students to answer is, "Now What Do You See?" Repeat this process for each of the segments.

E. Ask the students what is visible as distance between the wall and observer changes.

F. Divide the class into small groups of students and ask them to plan the production of a similar video. Ask students for ideas about different surfaces to video. Some suggestions: desktop, model car, sidewalk, article of clothing, floor, tree and blackboard. After video recording some suggested surfaces, show the video and have the class guess the initial surface and predict what will be seen in the next video.

2. View an Apollo image of the earth and have students describe the shape of the earth, color of space, identify colors found on Earth. http://lisar.larc.nasa.gov/LISAR/ABSTRACTS/EL-1996-00155.html

Have you used this investigation?
How did you extend this investigation? Share your enrichment ideas with other teachers! Email your suggestions to Sarah Bednarz.