When populations live in areas where natural resources are scarce, conserving them …
When populations live in areas where natural resources are scarce, conserving them becomes critical for survival. The case study presented in this lesson introduces students to a real drought that has been developing in the Colorado River basin for many years. The Colorado River is the major source of water for people in the driest part of the United States. More than 30 million people in 7 states depend on this river as the primary source of their water. In this lesson, students discover how changes in climate over the Colorado watershed are reducing the amount of fresh water available in the river. They also see how the population of the region that uses this water has grown, resulting in increasing demands on a dwindling resource.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students examine interactions and feedback between the cryosphere and atmosphere. In the …
Students examine interactions and feedback between the cryosphere and atmosphere. In the first part of this investigation, students do a hands-on activity to explore albedo and how sea ice helps regulate global temperatures.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students graph the relationship between air pressure and wind speed in 2005's …
Students graph the relationship between air pressure and wind speed in 2005's Hurricane Katrina and for the entire 2005 hurricane season. From their analyses, they come up with an estimate of the minimum air pressure that is likely to result in hurricane-force winds of 65 knots or higher.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students have been examining Earth as a system of interacting parts, initially …
Students have been examining Earth as a system of interacting parts, initially from the local perspective but more recently from the regional and global perspectives. In order to fully understand the Earth as a system and how its components interact with each other, students need to consider change over time. On relatively short times scales, these changes are related to the fact that the solar energy that drives the Earth system passes through an atmosphere that varies across space and time before reaching a spinning sphere. Across longer seasonal and annual time scales, these changes are more specifically related to the differential heating that results from the tilt of Earth's axis and Earth's orbit around the sun. At this longer-term global scale, it may be easier to see the repeating patterns of change across space and time and to infer how changes in one sphere may be linked to changes in others.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This activity allows student to investigate how hurricanes transfer heat by conducting …
This activity allows student to investigate how hurricanes transfer heat by conducting hands-on experiments.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
In this lab, students apply the concepts of earlier lessons to their …
In this lab, students apply the concepts of earlier lessons to their own community. They begin by exploring economic, environmental, and social impacts of drought. Students then prepare for and stage a mock community meeting to draw up plans to face an upcoming drought.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Human-induced nutrient loading of the world's oceans has been linked to increased …
Human-induced nutrient loading of the world's oceans has been linked to increased and prolonged algae blooms, sometimes with potentially deadly consequences. In this investigation, students will create their own algal blooms, analyze satellite images of chlorophyll concentrations in the Sea of Cort��s, and learn about two alarming consequences of excessive algae growth-—dead zones and harmful algae blooms (HABs).
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
In this activity students explore how to reduce vulnerability to drought risk …
In this activity students explore how to reduce vulnerability to drought risk through mitigation strategies. Students investigate one or more of four technology-based mitigation strategies by reading articles or viewing short podcasts and completing hands-on activities. Students make a presentation or poster to communicate their findings to the class.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students explore issues related to the rapid intensification of hurricanes. They become …
Students explore issues related to the rapid intensification of hurricanes. They become familiar with the concepts of heat energy and the specific heat of water and interact with animations of sea surface temperature images to identify the Gulf Stream and the Loop Current. Students use NOAA View and Google Earth, free data-image tools, to explore visualizations of heat content in the Gulf of Mexico just before Hurricane Katrina. The examine a plotted path of Katrina as an overlay on these visualizations and observe changes in the heat content of Gulf waters as the hurricane passed over it.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students search for images and video that illustrate the dangers that hurricanes …
Students search for images and video that illustrate the dangers that hurricanes pose to property and life. They consult Morbidity and Mortality Reports to find the common causes of death attributed to hurricanes and to discover the challenges to counting deaths attributed to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Students explore hazards from storm surge, high winds, and inland floding and outline a plan that would prepare them to survive a hurricane.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Outcome is the hands-on time with the various fossil specimens which will …
Outcome is the hands-on time with the various fossil specimens which will help them be able to identify similar fossils in the future.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
"Earth's Energy Budget and the Greenhouse Effect" is a lab activity in …
"Earth's Energy Budget and the Greenhouse Effect" is a lab activity in which students use computers and scientific applications software to access, display, describe, analyze, and interpret global, climate-related data sets related to the earth's energy budget and the greenhouse effect.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This lab introduces students and other interested users to the Neotoma Paleoecology …
This lab introduces students and other interested users to the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and Neotoma Explorer. Neotoma DB is a public-access and community-supported repository of paleoecological data, mostly from the late Quaternary. These data are widely used by scientists to study species responses to past climate change.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Diseccionar una bolita de búho para aprender más sobre lo que comen. …
Diseccionar una bolita de búho para aprender más sobre lo que comen. Actividad de Bolsa de STEM Semanal. Agentes de Colorado Americorp en los condados de Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer y Weld. Trabajo apoyado por la Corporación para el Servicio Nacional y Comunitario bajo el número de subvención 18AFHCO0010008 de Americorps. Las opiniones o puntos de vista expresados en esta lección pertenecen a los autores y no representan necesariamente la posición oficial o una posición respaldada por la Corporación o el programa Americorps.
In this physical geography lab, students examine the relationship between solar altitude, …
In this physical geography lab, students examine the relationship between solar altitude, solar declination, and temperature regimes. Using data collected in the field, mathematical relationships, and temperature records available on the Internet, students compare the insolation and climate in their location to that of other locations.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This activity utilizes a sandbox analog model which is used to create …
This activity utilizes a sandbox analog model which is used to create normal faults and a foreland propagating fold and thrust belt. For the normal fault portion of the activity, students investigate the progression of normal fault generation and accumulation of offset. During the thrust fault portion of the activity, students evaluate (1) the initiation angles of thrust faults, (2) compare that to the final angles to understand how fault angles rotate with progressive thrust propagation, and (3) they visualize how the critical slope angle is involved in the initiation of younger thrust faults. In addition, they conceptualize methods utilized to evaluate the magnitude of fault offset, and vertical and horizontal shortening. This activity is motivated by and utilizes a sandbox model from: Dell Castello, M., and Cooke, M., 2008, Watch faults grow before your very eyes in a deformational sandbox: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 56, p. 324-333. Tips for the activity: I place a sheet of sandpaper under the sand on one side of the compression experiment to test the outcomes with varying basal friction. For the extension portion, I attach separate metal sheets to the stationary wall and the moving wall, under the sand. These sheets are joined by elastic fabric. To save money, mix non-toxic paint powder into basic sand to get colored sand.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
A short laboratory exercise, conducted by students, is used to illustrate the …
A short laboratory exercise, conducted by students, is used to illustrate the multiple factors that contribute to rocks' varied responses to deformation. Analogue materials (play-doh, notebook springs, butter, silly putty, plastic bags, etc.) are used to illustrate many of the controlling factors such as lithology, stress, temperature, confining pressure, strain rate, preexisting weaknesses, and accumulated strain. The analogue experiments are presented in conjunction with parallel data from deformation experiments and field studies. The tandem presentation of analogue experiment and real data requires the students to obtain a natural "feel" for rheologic parameters and more exhaustively analyze the important conclusions obtained from field and deformation experiment data.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
Students are confronted with a variety of bivalves and questions about the …
Students are confronted with a variety of bivalves and questions about the meaning of shell form for each. Some specimens will be accompanied by pictures providing background material. This is an interactive exercise, with the instructor providing assistance with hints and helpful questions. Answers are provided on the powerpoint slides. Instructors will have somewhat different specimens than are employed here and may not be able to duplicate all parts of the exercise.
At the start of the activity, the instructor will explain that studies of functional morphology, leading to reconstruction of life habits, is essential to paleoecological research and to interpretation of the biological significance of evolutionary trends. An example of each is to be provided.
Students will explain the logic by which, with or without the aid of the instructor, they have arrived at their conclusions, .
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
The goal of this lab session is to introduce you to the …
The goal of this lab session is to introduce you to the spindle stage and its possible uses in an undergraduate mineralogy lab. A spindle stage is a one-axis rotation device that mounts on a polarizing microscope and is used to aid in the measurement of optical properties of single crystals. At the undergraduate level, it can be used to identify minerals and to demonstrate the relationships among grain shape, retardation, and interference figures. A natural extension of these uses is undergraduate research on the optical properties of minerals.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
This is a lab activity in which small groups of students work …
This is a lab activity in which small groups of students work with maps, rocks, photographs of volcanic deposits, and textual data to construct a hazard map and a risk communication plan for a specific volcano. Each group is assigned a "volcano scenario," which is based on real volcanoes.
(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.
