Ready-made assignment · Earth science
Earth science chart assignment
Six charts from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Energy Information Administration on temperature, rain, earthquakes and where electricity comes from.
Share it with your class
Post this link in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle. Students see every chart below with its questions, source and date; they don't need an account.
Chart 1 of 6 · Climate
How much has the US warmed since 1895?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
The contiguous US averaged 54.6°F in 2025. The warmest year since records began in 1895 was 2024, at 55.5°F. Through 2025, the dashed trend line, the straight line that best fits every year, rose about 0.18°F a decade, or 2.3°F since 1895, and warming had sped up to about 0.5°F a decade since 1970. Alaska and Hawaii aren't included.
How to read this chart
Each point is one year's average temperature across the lower 48 states, in degrees Fahrenheit. The axis doesn't start at zero, so a small rise looks steep: read the numbers on the axis, not the height of the line. The dashed line is the trend, the straight line that best fits every year; single years bounce above and below it.
Questions to discuss
- Find the warmest and coolest years on the chart. How many degrees apart are they?
- Why might one year be much cooler than the year before, even while the trend line keeps rising?
- The axis doesn't start at zero here, but bar charts always do. Why is that fair for temperatures but not for bars?
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 2 of 6 · Climate
Which US states have warmed the most?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In the 10 years through 2025, Alaska was among the states that warmed most, averaging 3.3°F warmer than in 1901–2000, while Oklahoma was among those that warmed least, 1.6°F; the contiguous US warmed 2.2°F. Alaska's records start in 1925, so its baseline is 1925–2000. Hawaii's start in 1991, so it isn't included.
Questions to discuss
- Which states have warmed the most, and which the least?
- Is your state above or below the middle of the ranking?
- Why might warming be uneven across a country as big as the U.S.?
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 3 of 6 · Climate
Is the US getting wetter or drier?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
The contiguous US got 29.3 inches of rain and melted snow in 2025; the 1901–2000 average is 29.9 inches. Through 2025, the dashed trend line, the straight line that best fits every year, rose about 0.17 inches a decade, some 2 inches (7%) since 1895, with little change since 1970. Single years swing far more, from 24.9 inches in 1910 to 34.9 in 1973.
Questions to discuss
- Find the wettest and driest years on the chart. How far apart are they in inches?
- Does the dashed trend line rise, fall or stay flat? How sure can we be when single years bounce so much?
- Rain and melted snow are counted together. Why does that make sense for measuring water?
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 4 of 6 · Earthquakes
How much rarer is each step up in earthquake magnitude?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In 2025 the world recorded 6,428 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 to 4.9, 1,983 of magnitude 5, 129 of magnitude 6, 15 of magnitude 7 and 1 of magnitude 8 or more. Each step up in magnitude is roughly ten times rarer, and releases about 32 times more energy. Countless smaller quakes go unrecorded worldwide, so the chart starts at 4.5.
How to read this chart
Each bar counts the earthquakes recorded worldwide in one year within a range of magnitudes. The bars start at zero. Each whole step up in magnitude releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 7 quake is far more than one step stronger than a 6.
Questions to discuss
- Roughly how many times more common is each band than the one above it?
- The biggest bars are hard to compare with the smallest ones on this scale. What other way could you show these numbers?
- The chart starts at magnitude 4.5. Why might smaller earthquakes around the world go uncounted?
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) (Public domain (U.S. government work); source U.S. Geological Survey) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 5 of 6 · Earthquakes
Which U.S. states have the most earthquakes?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
Alaska had 26,857 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in the 10 years through 2025, 6.6 times California's 4,059. Hawaii (3,374) and Oklahoma (1,244) come next. Each quake counts for the state USGS names in its location, including quakes just offshore, such as Oregon's.
Questions to discuss
- Which state had the most earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more?
- Where are the top states on a map? What do you know about plate boundaries there?
- Oklahoma isn't on a plate boundary. Look up why it had so many earthquakes. What did people do that caused them?
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) (Public domain (U.S. government work); source U.S. Geological Survey) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersChart 6 of 6 · Energy
Where does US electricity come from?
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.
In 2025 natural gas made 40.8% of US electricity, followed by nuclear (17.7%) and coal (16.6%). Wind made 10.5% and solar 6.7%. Solar counts only utility-scale plants, not rooftop panels, and the 2025 figures are preliminary.
How to read this chart
Each bar is one energy source's share of all the electricity made in the U.S. in a year, so the bars add up to about 100%. The bars start at zero, so a bar twice as long means twice the share. Solar counts only large power plants, not panels on rooftops.
Questions to discuss
- Which source makes the most electricity? About how many times more than the smallest bar?
- Which of these sources burn fuel and which don't? What share of electricity comes from each group?
- Why might a chart of this kind look different in your state than for the whole country?
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review (Table 7.2a) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025
Open the chart and its numbersA chart for class, every Monday
One fresh chart of public data, three questions to discuss and a link that opens it as a class assignment, in your inbox each Monday. Free, no account. See this week's.