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Evaluating natural hazards data to assess the risk to your California home

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Evaluating natural hazards data to assess the risk to your California home

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Students use a series of maps and natural hazard data to evaluate the risk to a building structure of their choice in the state of California. For each hazard, students rate the potential risk in two dimensions: (1) Probability - probability that a hazardous event "may" occur, and (2) Severity of Impact - the size of the impact in terms of cost and impact on human health.

(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.)

Subject:: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Biology; Earth and Space Science; Environmental Studies; Geology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 12/11/2021

Evaluating the lines of evidence for plate tectonics

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Evaluating the lines of evidence for plate tectonics

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In this in-class exercise, students compare several lines of evidence that support the ideas of continental drift and plate tectonics. Before the class meeting, each student is given a preparation assignment in which he/she studies one "continental drift" and one "ocean floor data" map. In class, students divide into teams of 3, with each team member having prepared different specialties. They discuss their respective maps and look for spatial patterns among the 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.)

Subject:: Biology; Earth and Space Science; Geology; Life Science; Oceanography
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 08/14/2019

Evaluation of watershed land-use changes and hydrologic impacts

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Evaluation of watershed land-use changes and hydrologic impacts

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This assignment is best presented in two lab periods to represent the "before" and "after" scenarios of land use and their impact on hydrology. It requires documentation in map and/or airphoto form of land use in a specific watershed at two times: historical and modern. Historical USGS topographic maps from the 19th century were used in this case, along with digital orthophotos for the modern-day scenario. Some means of quantifying subareas within the watershed is also needed, either using software (ArcGIS) or transparent overlays and boxcounting from a translucent grid would work.
For each of the sets of documentation: historical and modern, the students follow the USDA-NRCS TR55 empirical procedure to estimate event runoff depths and peak estimated discharge from the watershed. An area-weighted curve number (CN) is calculated based on tabulated categories of land use. Some judgment is involved in adapting the tabulated land use categories to the specific watershed used, and selecting an appropriate statistical average rainfall event to use. The sum of Darcy's Law calculations of discharge along streamtubes to a surface stream or estuary provides a groundwater discharge value over time for comparison. Each of these parts of the activity provides opportunities for the instructor to discuss uncertainties and sources of error.
Note that although software allowing TR-55 analysis exists, it is simpler and more instructive to have students use the paper method and forms in the manual.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Earth and Space Science; Hydrology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 03/23/2021

Evidence for Climate Change and Empowering Students to Action

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Evidence for Climate Change and Empowering Students to Action

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This activity provides an opportunity for students to examine the evidence that supports climate change and engage in a classroom discussion and self-reflection on that experience and empower them to consider their own actions and how they can make changes in their life practices

(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.)

Subject:: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Applied Science; Biology; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 06/21/2022

Evidence of Ancient Martian Life in Meteorite ALH84001?

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Evidence of Ancient Martian Life in Meteorite ALH84001?

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This NASA website provides a summary of a study led by NASA's David McKay that may provide evidence for past life on Mars. McKay and his team found carbonate globule features on the ALH84001 meteorite that appear to be nanofossils. In addition, secondary mineral phases and hydrocarbons provide further evidence for past life. The website features color photographs as well as links to related web pages.

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Reading
Provider:: NASA
Date Added:: 10/28/2006

Evolution in Your "Pet" Group

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Evolution in Your "Pet" Group

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In the first week of the course, students are introduced to the major groups of animals and single-celled eukaryotes that comprise most of the fossil record. At that time, each student selects one group (kingdom, phylum or class) of organism to be their special "pet" group for the rest of the semester. Several assignments are then tied to these groups, including this activity, which is a writing assignment directly following the class lectures on evolution and natural selection. Students are asked to use the scholarly article database GeoRef to locate a peer-reviewed journal article that describes research on the evolution of their "pet" group (or some specific member of it). After reading the article, students must write a 2-3 page summary and critique of it, applying concepts they have learned in the course to evaluate the scientific merits of the paper. If time permits, students are also invited to spend a few minutes presenting their summary and critique during class so that the students can learn about each other's "pets".

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Homework/Assignment
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 05/12/2022

The Evolution of Earth through Time

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The Evolution of Earth through Time

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This activity is designed for large freshman courses (>200 students) and is used in-class. The activity requires a short (15 minute) overview of Earth history before students have the opportunity to work through various questions and problems. Tasks include simple math problems, critical thinking questions, and include place-based examples of geological situations for Arizona and California.

Students completing the activity will have knowledge of Earth history, knowledge of some geological disasters, and will have learned several different perspectives of timescales that affect various events on Earth.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Earth and Space Science; Geology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 09/30/2022

Evolution of Extinct Animals

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Evolution of Extinct Animals

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A classroom/lab activity using the Paleobiology Database to produce and interpret diversity curves for various groups of important and popular extinct animals, such as trilobites, ammonites, and dinosaurs. Activity helps students appreciate ancient life, geological time, and the important of mass extinctions in shaping the history of life, and by extension the implications of current extinctions.
Outcomes:

Research how extinct animals lived, what they looked like, when they lived, and when they went extinct.
Observe the geological timescale, name three geological eras, and use them to understand geological time.
Name five major mass extinctions and relate them to the eras in which they occurred.
Use the Paleobiology Database to produce diversity curves for an important group of extinct animals.
Interpret graphs of diversity curves to understand the importance of mass extinctions in the history of life.
(Optional) Communicate results of study to peers in class. In the process, synthesize information on multiple extinct animal groups to better appreciate the importance of extinctions in earth history.

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 04/12/2023

Evolution of Normal Fault Systems During Progressive Deformation

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Evolution of Normal Fault Systems During Progressive Deformation

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Many papers by Ken McClay and colleagues have established the value of scale-model experiments in understanding the evolution and geometries of extensional fault systems (e.g. T. Dooley and K.R. McClay, 1997, Analogue modeling of pull-apart basins: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 81, no.11, p. 1804 -- 1826).

There are few resources available that help students visualize the dynamic nature of faulting, especially the complex interplay of faults during growth and evolution of a fault system. Such an understanding is critical, however, if students are to think meaningfully about fault geometries and what they imply.

Conducting scale-model experiments in a class setting is useful, but very time-consuming, difficult for all students to see well, and very temporary, except for the end product. Accordingly, taking a cue from a movie produced by Ken McClay, I constructed a deformation apparatus, conducted and filmed several experiments conducted by McClay, and then produced QuickTime movies of the experiments. This approach makes it possible for students to observe an experiment in a minute or two that took 30-45 minutes to produce and to view the experiment repeatedly, so as to become very familiar with all that is taking place.

Individual frames from the movie provide a template on which students can identify the sequence of fault development, rotation of features, and cessation of motion on some faults as they become inactive. Requiring students to document their observations, establish a chronological sequence of events, and explain in writing what happens during the experiment results in an increased awareness of the faulting process.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Diagram/Illustration
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 09/14/2020

Evolution of Normal Fault Systems During Progressive Deformation

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Evolution of Normal Fault Systems During Progressive Deformation

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Many papers by Ken McClay and colleagues have established the value of scale-model experiments in understanding the evolution and geometries of extensional fault systems (e.g. T. Dooley and K.R. McClay, 1997, Analogue modeling of pull-apart basins: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 81, no.11, p. 1804 -- 1826).

There are few resources available that help students visualize the dynamic nature of faulting, especially the complex interplay of faults during growth and evolution of a fault system. Such an understanding is critical, however, if students are to think meaningfully about fault geometries and what they imply.

Conducting scale-model experiments in a class setting is useful, but very time-consuming, difficult for all students to see well, and very temporary, except for the end product. Accordingly, taking a cue from a movie produced by Ken McClay, I constructed a deformation apparatus, conducted and filmed several experiments conducted by McClay, and then produced QuickTime movies of the experiments. This approach makes it possible for students to observe an experiment in a minute or two that took 30-45 minutes to produce and to view the experiment repeatedly, so as to become very familiar with all that is taking place.

Individual frames from the movie provide a template on which students can identify the sequence of fault development, rotation of features, and cessation of motion on some faults as they become inactive. Requiring students to document their observations, establish a chronological sequence of events, and explain in writing what happens during the experiment results in an increased awareness of the faulting process.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 09/10/2020

Evolution of Whales

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Evolution of Whales

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For this written assignment, the students outline the evolution of
whales from land dwelling animals to aquatic beasts. Rather than an
essay, they produce a detailed outline of the major modifications that
occurred during this transition, such as hearing, propulsion, shape,
limbs, and several others. They start with Start with Pakicetidae and
end with Mysticeti and Odontoceti lines. For each fossil species, they
describe the fossil, discuss the anatomic modification for living in an
aquatic environment, indicate the environment where the animal lived,
and the give the time range.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Homework/Assignment
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 08/08/2019

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

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Evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

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Most students are familiar with the use of antibiotics and antibacterial products; most have heard in various contexts about the problem of bacterial populations becoming resistant to antibiotics over time.
We used this example, relevant to everyday life, to guide students to uncover the complexity of the underlying biological mechanism, and to "see" how the evolution principles they have learned are interconnected and apply to a specific case.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 08/26/2020

Examination of Igneous Silicates

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Examination of Igneous Silicates

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In this three-part exercise, students study hand samples and thin sections of light-colored igneous minerals and related mineral species.

Part one - Box of Rocks: Students examine a tray of minerals and record their physical properties, composition, and habit. They note chemical and physical similarities and differences and why there are several varieties of minerals in each group.
Part two - Definitions: Define a list of terms relevent to the lab.
Part three - Minerals in Thin Section: Observe minerals in thin section and answer questions about them.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 09/07/2020

Examining Short-Term Tree Growth and Environmental Variables near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Examining Short-Term Tree Growth and Environmental Variables near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Photo of a tree band at Penn State Brandywine, Media, PA

Provenance: Laura Guertin, Penn State Brandywine
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
The Smithsonian Institution's Global Tree Banding Project is a citizen science program that contributes to research about tree biomass by tracking how trees respond to climate. Students around the globe are monitoring the rate at which their local trees grow and learn how that rate corresponds to Smithsonian research as well as comparing the work to other students worldwide.
But at Penn State Brandywine, we are going beyond the requirements of the Smithsonian project. Instead of only taking two measurements in the spring and two measurements in the fall, undergraduate researchers are taking measurements every two weeks. We started taking measurements of ten trees on campus April 3, 2012, and we will continue until each and every tree outgrows its tree band. As a result, we have a rich database that not only contributes to scientific research but can serve as a foundation for student inquiry-based projects. The data is available for download in Google Spreadsheets for students to examine changes in tree diameter within one or between growing seasons, supplemented with temperature and precipitation 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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 06/29/2022

Exercise 6: The human impact of sea level changes

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Exercise 6: The human impact of sea level changes

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In this nine-part exercise, students download NOAA high resolution bathy/topo DEMs and TIGER census data to predict the location of shorelines, the extent of inundation, and the number of people affected by sea level rise as a result of global warming and tsunami in various parts of the coastal US; extensions include developing a Map Book report with data driven pages and locating Pleistocene land bridges. You might also be interested in our Full GIS course with links to all assignments.

(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.)

Subject:: Applied Science; Biology; Environmental Science; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 07/10/2021

Exercise 8: Using LiDAR and GPS data to model the water table in ArcScene

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Exercise 8: Using LiDAR and GPS data to model the water table in ArcScene

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In this exercise, students process LiDAR data for the Hamilton College campus area to determine accurate elevations of wellheads of sampling wells on campus. Students use both GPS readings and orthophotos to determine wellhead locations and combine those with water levels, casing heights, and wellhead elevations to interpolate a groundwater surface under the campus and portray the groundwater in ArcScene. They also learn how to use Model Builder. You might also be interested in our Full GIS course with links to all assignments. You might also be interested in our webinar for the NYS GIS Association on A Simple Example of Working with LiDAR using ArcGIS and 3D Analyst.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science; Mathematics; Measurement and Data; Statistics and Probability
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 02/02/2022

Exercise for your Brain

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Exercise for your Brain

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Not all exercise is the same, but all exercise can help you grow strong and keep you healthy. Exercise can also help you with your homework and that science project due at the end of the year.

Subject:: Biology; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Game; Lesson Plan
Provider:: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences
Provider Set:: Ask A Biologist
Date Added:: 08/12/2009

Exercise in a Changing Climate

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Exercise in a Changing Climate

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Using the question of how exercise and sporting events might be affected by climate, students are led to the basic questions of what causes climate change, how our climate might change, and what affect that might have on athletes and anyone undertaking strenuous exercise.

(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.)

Subject:: Anatomy/Physiology; Applied Science; Biology; Environmental Science; Life Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 07/17/2017

Exercise on Atmospheric Structure, Stratospheric Ozone, and Acid Rain

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Exercise on Atmospheric Structure, Stratospheric Ozone, and Acid Rain

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Students do background reading on the atmosphere (see URLs below). The questions in this activity are divided up into atmospheric structure, stratospheric ozone, and acid rain. This activity helps students to understand the basic structure of the atmosphere as well as ozone and acid rain problems.

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Chemistry; Life Science; Physical Science
Material Type:: Activity/Lab
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 08/21/2019

Exercise on the Mesozoic/Cenozoic Development of the North American Cordillera

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Exercise on the Mesozoic/Cenozoic Development of the North American Cordillera

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This assignment is intended to have students use the map reading skills they have learned in previous labs and their understanding of the lower crust and upper mantle derived from classroom lectures and demonstrations to develop a three-dimensional picture the Southern Canadian Cordillera. I try to incorporate the notion of temporal change by asking students to describe the region at different times in the past and to speculate what the region would look like if certain tectonic events happened in the future.

Key words: tectonics, Cordillera,subduction, fold thrust belts

(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.)

Subject:: Biology; Life Science; Physical Science; Physics
Material Type:: Lesson Plan
Provider:: Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College
Provider Set:: Teach the Earth
Date Added:: 09/01/2020