This is an online geologic mapping activity designed to mimic the experience …
This is an online geologic mapping activity designed to mimic the experience of conducting a geologic mapping project over several days in a field area. Students download a physical topographic basemap and then plot structural data and interpret rock units and their placement on the map based on a collection of gigapan photos. Finally, students answer a series of questions based on the map pattern and some U-Pb analytical data to determine the chronology of deformation. The exercise requires students to integrate various fields of geology to piece together the geologic history of this hypothetical region, loosely based on the North American Cordillera.
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Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/Geology of National Parks Collection. Students create a histogram …
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum/Geology of National Parks Collection. Students create a histogram to examine the time between geyser eruptions of Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park.
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Using ordinary household materials, student “biomedical engineering” teams design prototype models that …
Using ordinary household materials, student “biomedical engineering” teams design prototype models that demonstrate semipermeability under the hypothetical scenario that they are creating a teaching tool for medical students. Working within material constraints, each model consists of two layers of a medium separated by material acting as the membrane. The competing groups must each demonstrate how water (or another substance) passes through the first layer of the medium, through the membrane, and into the second layer of the medium. After a few test/evaluate/redesign cycles, teams present their best prototypes to the rest of the class. Then student teams collaborate as a class to create one optimal design that reflects what they learned from the group design successes and failures. A pre/post-quiz, worksheet and rubric are provided.
This activity is a set of student-centered exercises that enable students to …
This activity is a set of student-centered exercises that enable students to learn about the individual stories of Goldman environmental prize winners, the activism and organizing that grounds their work, and the underlying political and social contexts from which their struggles emerge. The lesson inspires critical reflection about justice, power, and democracy in green politics, and encourages ways to make personal connections to activism and environmental work.
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In this exercise, we analyze the trends in the CO2 record monitored …
In this exercise, we analyze the trends in the CO2 record monitored at Mauna Loa, (the 'Keeling Curve'). This is an exercise in data handling, interpolation, trend estimation and extrapolation.
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Through two lessons and five activities, students explore the structure and function …
Through two lessons and five activities, students explore the structure and function of cell membranes. Specific transport functions, including active and passive transport, are presented. In the legacy cycle tradition, students are motivated with a Grand Challenge question. As they study the ingress and egress of particles through membranes, students learn about quantum dots and biotechnology through the concept of intracellular engineering.
This activity has students bodily move as propagating seismic waves. They record …
This activity has students bodily move as propagating seismic waves. They record their travel time along a string of measured length to compute average wave velocities. They then enact an earthquake, and use the time lag between wave arrival times and their computed speeds to determine the position of the epicenter.
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Utilizing online and traditional resources students will collect data on planets and …
Utilizing online and traditional resources students will collect data on planets and moons in our solar system. Working collaboratively students will generate a spreadsheet of the data. After verifying one another's information, they will then use the spreadsheet to try and determine ways in which the Earth is unique amongst the objects in our solar system, including, but not limited to, the reasons behind Earth's ability to support life.
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An assignment teaching students about Kohler curves that enhances their quantitative skills. …
An assignment teaching students about Kohler curves that enhances their quantitative skills.
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Each student randomly picks a card with a geologic event (written description …
Each student randomly picks a card with a geologic event (written description and an image) on it. A timeline has 11 events, not including the formation of the Earth and today. Students attach their event where they think it should go on a 45.5' timeline (in the hallway) made out of paper adding tape and mark the location on the timeline. They return to the classroom and receive a list of age dates for each event. Each group figures out the scale (1 foot = 100 million years) and then moves their events to the correct locations. Students are asked how the position of the events changed, and answer other questions that reinforce the difference between human timescales and geologic timescales.
The powerpoint file below contains a template for making geologic event labels for the index cards. Instructors can tailor the geologic event list to fit their course.
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The purpose of this exercise is to integrate modeling with field data. …
The purpose of this exercise is to integrate modeling with field data. The activity includes links to a "virtual field trip" of maps and photographs. Data from a creek is included in the field trip and students use an Excel spreadsheet model to analyze the data.
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In this introductory lab, students are introduced to the different components that …
In this introductory lab, students are introduced to the different components that make up the cryosphere and watch a NASA animation showing an example of how global land and sea ice coverage can change over the course of a single year. In the second part of the lab, students learn about some of the ways that changes in the cryosphere are already impacting human life.
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In this introductory activity, students view and interpret a satellite visualization movie …
In this introductory activity, students view and interpret a satellite visualization movie of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season that shows a composite of Atlantic Basin satellite imagery and sea surface temperatures overlaid with hurricane paths and names. Through close examination of this movie, students develop a generalized understanding of the multiple systems and process that influence hurricane life cycles. A whole class discussion of the movie after the viewing will elicit questions that form the basis of later investigations in the Investigating Hurricanes unit.
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Students begin this investigation by watching several short videos and reading a …
Students begin this investigation by watching several short videos and reading a NOAA article to learn about some some of the ways that declining fish populations have come to be, what fishing management and sustainable catches mean, and how the U.S. established fisheries to monitor fishing. In Part B, students examine graphs and read data maps to explore how the increase in the global number of fishing vessels and the ability for fishing to take place over more of the global ocean by more people than ever before led to a decline in the numbers of fish available. The investigation concludes with students reading the data from the UN's FAO to learn about how fish are used after they're caught - both for food and non-food uses.
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Students are introduced to four major components of the Earth system: the …
Students are introduced to four major components of the Earth system: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and pedosphere. They start to apply this knowledge as they visit the local study site to identify elements of these four spheres and infer connections among them. The investigation concludes with students making predictions about ways that a change in the characteristics of one component of their study site might affect the characteristics of other components.
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Using data on the world's water distribution, students calculate the percentage of …
Using data on the world's water distribution, students calculate the percentage of water that is available to humans and examine graphics that illustrate the distribution. Students develop a sense of where the world's water is located and how it moves through the Earth system.
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In this activity, students examine hydra, a fresh-water relative of coral, under …
In this activity, students examine hydra, a fresh-water relative of coral, under a microscope to observe feeding behavior and identify stinging cells that are characteristic of corals. They also learn more about the individual animals that make up coral reefs and construct simple models of coral polyp anatomy and feeding behavior.
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Students begin this investigation with an introduction to the types of fishing …
Students begin this investigation with an introduction to the types of fishing gear and how its use has changed over time. Students learn about irresponsible fishing practices and methods that can be used to make fishing more sustainable. They then watch a short video produced by PBS FlipSide Science, which outlines some tips for becoming a more responsible seafood consumer. The investigation culminates with students conducting an independent group research project exploring the availability of sustainable seafood in their community.
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Students annotate a photograph of their local study site and then develop …
Students annotate a photograph of their local study site and then develop a more abstract diagram of the site that highlights the flow of energy and matter among the four components of the Earth system. The investigation concludes with students sharing their diagrams and creating a single class diagram to represent their study site.
After completing this investigation, students will be able to:
- analyze a photograph of their local study site with respect to Earth systems; - annotate interconnections among components of the Earth system on a photograph; - translate their analysis of their study site into a diagram of energy and matter flow among components of the Earth system; and - interpret and evaluate diagrams of their local study site.
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