In this homework assignment students are asked to consider the balance of forces on a hill slope using the Factor of Safety.

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This project helps familiarize students with data commonly available from well drillers, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Such data is often used to produce consulting reports. In this exercise, students practice working with available data and writing a consulting report while working on a real project of local interest. The question involves the probability of success in drilling a large well for a new county park. Students are given various maps and are guided through the use of a statewide database that contains well logs and well data. The outcome is a written report that describes the location and general geology of the site, uses the available data to summarize the types of materials that a driller might encounter, answers the questions that the client is interested in, and identifies problems or advantages presented by the groundwater system as indicated by available data.

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Given that humans historically have heavily used rivers and the lands along them for agriculture, transportation and other activities, how does human impact currently affect riparian ecosystems in a rural region? Students will address this question through several activities.

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The project is designed to allow students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned during the 'Active Tectonics and Remote Sensing' course. Over the first half of the course, students learn about remote sensing approaches, digital topography, seismicity patterns and geodesy, plus how these can capture various features of the tectonics of an active area. In the project, which runs during the second half of the course, students are asked to bring all available data (available online or in the literature) to bear on a selected continental area, to identify evidence for the tectonic activity that occurs there. Students are asked to highlight this evidence in a Google Earth dataset, which could include image overlays, annotations and markers, to indicate particular features of interest. Examples of highlighted features could include geomorphic features such as deflected or offset drainages, faceted mountain fronts or incised canyons, or linear trends seen in topography, seismicity or vegetation abundance.

The project is assessed via a written report and class presentation, which must refer to the Google Earth dataset. Students are instructed to choose an area located somewhere other than California, to broaden their horizons/address an otherwise California-centric world view.

Keywords: Google Earth, geomorphology, active tectonics

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First assignment of the course

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This Readers Theater script includes parts for 11 students. It is based on the Feature Story, At Home in the Cold and discusses various adaptations that allow animals to survive in the cold oceans of the Arctic and Antarctica. It is designed for use with students in grades 2-3.

In this activity, students explore the web-based U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Atlas to learn about projected climate changes in their state and how suitable habitat for tree and bird species is projected to change by 2100.

Atmospheric methyl chloroform concentration is modeled as an extension of the generic water tank structure. Simulated and observed concentrations are used to estimate the global atmospheric lifetime of methyl chloroform and its 1989 to 2009 emission history.

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This is a photo essay linked to a New York Times story about climate-related stressors on forests -- including mountain pine beetles, forest fires, forest clearance, and ice storms -- and the importance of protecting forests as an important carbon sink.

This is a laboratory based assignment that is for Introductory level geoscience classes (Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Earth Science) that brings an authentic research experience to your students. In the assignment, students are asked to process and interpret screenwash from the 2004 Aurora Mastodont Project, and to contribute authentic research results to the ongoing post-dig analyses. Students then contribute their results to a database to compare theirs to their colleagues around the country. This is an ongoing and free exercise available by requesting samples of screenwash (details below). This is one of several exercises that I ask my Earth Science students to complete as an introduction to the nature of science and the geosciences, that I call GSI (GeoScience Investigations) which was presented as a poster during the 2013 GSA in Denver.

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Syllabus for Microbiology course at Clackamas Community College.

Course Description:
An introductory microbiology lab course required for health science and science majors. Includes characteristics, physiology and growth requirements of
microorganisms, interactions between humans and microorganisms, immunology, infection, and principles of microbial control. This course emphasizes critical thinking and analytical skills in a collaborative laboratory environment.

This objective of the lab is to have students think as much about sampling and survey design as the EM and GPR methods. Students will draw on our discussions in class, and also draw on your own experiences and logic. Their goal of will be to design
a survey-using each technique-based on the fictitious objectives and constraints I outline. Students then present your data and interpretations in a written and oral report, and then create a revised plan based on your experiences in the field.
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills
Uses geophysics to solve problems in other fields
Addresses student misconceptions

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Step outside and discover the diversity of insect life in your neighborhood. Insects are the world’s most diverse group of living things, with over 950,000 identified species and counting. You might think that you’d need to travel to the Amazon to study insects, but they can be found practically everywhere—including right where you happen to be.

Students are introduced to the concept of engineering biological organisms and studying their growth to be able to identify periods of fast and slow growth. They learn that bacteria are found everywhere, including on the surfaces of our hands. Student groups study three different conditions under which bacteria are found and compare the growth of the individual bacteria from each source. In addition to monitoring the quantity of bacteria from differ conditions, they record the growth of bacteria over time, which is an excellent tool to study binary fission and the reproduction of unicellular organisms.

In this new video we look at the basics of bacteria. We look at their classifications, sizes, shapes and how they reproduce. This video is intended to be a primer on bacteria. We will go into more details as we progress in this series.
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Yogurt is the byproduct of hungry bacteria that digest the lactose in milk. You can make more yogurt just by feeding the bacteria more milk.

In this inquiry activity, students generate investigable questions to explore the link between hygiene/cleanliness and bacteria growth/population. The students will present their conclusions, and video clips containing additional information will be discussed.

Students construct paper recombinant plasmids to simulate the methods genetic engineers use to create modified bacteria. They learn what role enzymes, DNA and genes play in the modification of organisms. For the particular model they work on, they isolate a mammal insulin gene and combine it with a bacteria's gene sequence (plasmid DNA) for production of the protein insulin.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students tabulate and graph data on bacteria density vs. time for a culture. Data start with innoculation and progress through the peak and decline.

Students explore static electricity by rubbing a simulated balloon on a sweater. As they view the charges in the sweater, balloon, and adjacent wall, they gain an understanding of charge transfer. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET). The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments.