PUMAS Examples
The PUMAS examples are aimed primarily at helping pre-college teachers enrich their presentation of topics in math and science.
- You may find a number of examples that relate to your area of interest, perhaps written in different styles, and possibly taking different approaches to the material. There may also be comments/lesson plans filed with some of the examples, written by previous users.
- Use these examples as a resource -- Select, adapt, recontextualize, and present the material to your students in a way that you judge will best meet your students' needs, abilities, and interests.
- You may have ideas related to a particular example that might be helpful to subsequent users. There is an opportunity, on the "Display an Example" page associated with that example, for you to submit your comments/lesson plans.
- PUMAS examples are citable references. If you use material from PUMAS examples in other work, please cite them appropriately, e.g.: Chambers, L.H., "How Now, Pythagoras?", 07_10_98_1, The PUMAS Collection, http://pumas.nasa.gov, 1998.
Sort by Field
This is a good way to start, or to find examples added after a certain date. Click links below to get the list of all the PUMAS Examples, arranged by that field.
Examples by Date Accepted (most recent examples first)
by Title | by Grade Level | by Keyword | by Benchmark | by Author
- 2018-05-31 - Proving the Pythagorean Theorem
- 2017-07-05 - How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors
- 2017-04-18 - An Example of the Value of Information
- 2016-09-13 - Battle Strategies in the Bismarck Sea
- 2016-03-31 - Confidence in Medical Tests
- 2015-11-20 - Measuring the Earth
- 2015-11-20 - What makes cities hot? An urban heat island activity
- 2015-03-24 - Finding All Solutions to a Puzzle
- 2013-08-16 - How Big Is the Earth?
- 2011-12-15 - Estimating Planar Areas Using Analogue Methods
- 2011-05-04 - Why Is There a Tidal Bulge Opposite the Moon?
- 2010-07-25 - Mapping Your State and Community
- 2009-09-05 - Thermo and Fluid Dynamics of a Homemade Lava Lamp
- 2009-07-29 - Domino Multiple Game
- 2008-06-30 - Why is Summer Hot?
- 2008-03-17 - Sand or Rock? Finding Out from 1,000 km
- 2008-02-15 - Water Bottles, Root Beer, and Air
- 2008-01-30 - Teaching Atomic Structure Using Cooperative Learning
- 2007-11-13 - Earth Turns? Prove It!
- 2007-06-24 - Teaching Radicals in Less than Five Minutes
- 2007-05-02 - Corrupted Politicians
- 2006-07-14 - Dollar$ or Cent$?
- 2006-06-19 - Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope
- 2006-06-16 - Seeing Interference Fringes
- 2005-10-24 - Color and Spectrum
- 2005-10-21 - The Moon Orbits the Sun?!?!
- 2005-08-25 - When a Ruler Is Too Short
- 2004-11-23 - Volcanoes and Urban Planning
- 2004-06-07 - The Cause of the Earth's Seasons
- 2004-06-07 - The Cause of the Phases of the Moon
- 2004-06-07 - Modeling the Motions of the Earth, Moon and Sun
- 2004-01-30 - Square Root of 2: Irrational, Yes! Impractical, No!
- 2003-11-26 - Geometry to the Rescue: A Story in Pictures
- 2003-11-10 - Scavenger Hunt: Simulating Natural Selection
- 2003-09-04 - Algebra Magic - Create Your Own Number Puzzles
- 2003-05-25 - The Rubber Band Problem
- 2003-03-26 - Isoperimetric Geometry
- 2003-02-16 - The Mathematical Implications of Lying
- 2003-01-21 - Logarithms: Taking the Curve Out
- 2003-01-09 - Volcanic Clouds and the Atmosphere
- 2002-12-20 - Contouring and Topo Maps
- 2002-12-20 - Cross Section and Slope
- 2002-11-29 - The Fall of the Ruler
- 2002-11-29 - Right Place, Wrong Time
- 2002-05-14 - Launch Speed
- 2002-01-18 - What is Wind Chill?
- 2001-06-18 - Metric Wins!
- 2001-04-02 - Why Don't Clouds Fall Out of the Sky?
- 2000-12-15 - Square Roots Using a Carpenter's Square
- 2000-11-09 - Now You See It, Now You Don't
- 2000-03-21 - Probability and Traffic Signals
- 2000-02-27 - Dream Job
- 2000-01-06 - Matching Birthdays
- 1999-10-28 - Determining the Altitude of Iridium Flares
- 1999-10-07 - Who Hits Harder: The Nordic Skier or Aerial Jumper?
- 1999-08-08 - Learning from Slide Rules
- 1999-07-17 - Two Answers are Better than One
- 1999-07-12 - Learning to Think Globally
- 1999-05-05 - Coastal Threat: A Story In Unit Conversions
- 1999-04-12 - Grandpa's Social Security
- 1999-04-08 - Could a World of Swimmers Raise Sea Level?
- 1999-03-11 - Rotational Motion and Rocket Launches
- 1999-02-08 - Preventing Hypothermia
- 1999-02-05 - Hypothermia in the Little House
- 1999-01-04 - Particle Man and the Photon
- 1998-08-31 - How Now, Pythagoras?
- 1998-06-13 - Modulus in Real Life
- 1998-05-19 - Snowmelt and Floods
- 1998-03-12 - Automatic Windshield Wipers
- 1997-10-30 - Just What is a Logarithm, Anyway?
- 1997-10-30 - Length of the Day
- 1997-10-28 - Dr. Smith vs. The Lawyer
- 1997-10-10 - Making Months
- 1997-09-05 - How Many Days Are in a Year?
- 1997-06-10 - Mixing and Stirring
- 1997-05-09 - Ice Sheets and Sea Level Rise
- 1997-05-05 - Spoon Mirror
- 1997-03-17 - How Thick is the Atmosphere?
- 1997-02-28 - How Far Can You See?
- 1997-02-11 - There's Air in There!
- 1996-12-26 - The Shadow of the Dog