Students use USGS WaterData website to find data on area, average annual …
Students use USGS WaterData website to find data on area, average annual discharge and response to high-precip events in small watersheds in southern New England. Data for the class are compiled to generate graphs showing the regional relationships between (1) area and discharge, and (2) area and time-lag between precip and maximum discharge.
terms: discharge, watershed, flood
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This activity is a class activity where students gather information of the …
This activity is a class activity where students gather information of the water cycle, weather and seasons by doing a lab and game that enforces the concepts of the water cycle.
Students read one of two articles (the "cases") from High Country News, …
Students read one of two articles (the "cases") from High Country News, a bi-weekly periodical that covers environmental issues in the western North America. Both articles are about situations in which the use of ground water by irrigators has decreased the amount of surface water available for users with senior water rights. I divide the class into groups representing 1) surface water users, 2) ground water users, and 3) a regulatory board. The groups read and discuss each article and prepare a case to present to the regulatory board. After each group has prepared their case, we gather for a hearing, where groups of consultants present their cases and are questioned by the regulatory board. At the end, the regulatory board makes "decisions" on each "case". The decision isn't the focus of the exercise. The most valuable part is the subsequent discussion about the cases and the common issues in them that get the students to recognize the connection between surface and ground water and how humans have come up with confusing and sometimes scientifically conflicting sets of laws to regulate each.
(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 Yellowstone National Park online report provides an overview of the park's …
This Yellowstone National Park online report provides an overview of the park's wetlands and associated flora and fauna. Chapters include wetland plants, wetlands and wildlife, wetlands and people, thermal wetlands, a wetland inventory, wetland classification and acreage, and others. Information is presented as text, photos, graphs, tables, and maps.
This lesson uses hands-on activities to discuss water filtration. Students will have …
This lesson uses hands-on activities to discuss water filtration. Students will have the opportunity to explore water filtration by filtering water through a variety of materials and using potatoes to grow and test the bacteria levels of the water. With a focus on nanotechnology, this lesson discusses the benefits of embedding silver ions in filters to kill harmful bacteria. At the end of this lesson students will have the opportunity to put their knowledge to the test in a written discussion by designing a solution to a mock water crisis. This module was authored by the Auburn University NanoBio MSP Fellows Will Haynes, Chelsea Lindskog, Hannah Taylor, and Catherine Wolfe under the supervision and guidance of Drs. Virginia Davis and Chris Schnittka.
In this scenario-based activity, students design ways to either clean a water …
In this scenario-based activity, students design ways to either clean a water source or find a new water source, depending on given hypothetical family scenarios. They act as engineers to draw and write about what they could do to provide water to a community facing a water crisis. They also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process.
Students will test the percolation rates of 6 different soil samples. Three …
Students will test the percolation rates of 6 different soil samples. Three of the samples are measured sand and clay and three are collected from the schoolyard and wetland.
In this activity, students act as water molecules and travel through parts …
In this activity, students act as water molecules and travel through parts of the water cycle (ocean, atmosphere, clouds, glaciers, snow, rivers, lakes, ground, aquifer). Students use a diagram of the hydrologic cycle to draw the pathway they traveled.
In this activity students build a model of a watershed to learn …
In this activity students build a model of a watershed to learn where water goes when it rains. Students then make predictions and draw what they observe.
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students use a …
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students use a rating curve to determine discharge at various stage heights.
Students learn about physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine …
Students learn about physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. During the activity, students create their own groundwater well models using coffee cans and wire screening. They add red food coloring to their models to see how pollutants can migrate through the groundwater into a drinking water resource.
In this activity, students use models to investigate the process and consequences …
In this activity, students use models to investigate the process and consequences of water contamination on the land, groundwater, and plants. This is a good introduction to building water filters found in the associated activity, The Dirty Water Project.
Every step we take is in a watershed. Let's learn more about …
Every step we take is in a watershed. Let's learn more about them! Check out the Stream Restoration Coordinator video to learn how scientists help improve stream health. Then, in the Discovery Challenge video, observe, investigate, and record information about your watershed from a distance and then really close up . Then, after learning a little more about watersheds, we will create models of watersheds and use those models to investigate how soil and chemicals might move through our watersheds.
This lesson introduces NGSS standards, and those standards are listed in the lesson and is part of the Explore Science Club series, an online Career Connected Learning program developed by the Greater Oregon STEM Hub. To learn more find us at: www.go-stem.org.
In this exercise, students predict changes in the movement of a dissolved …
In this exercise, students predict changes in the movement of a dissolved plume in response to remedial pumping in an unconfined aquifer. The underlying conceptual model for the distribution of aquifer and aquitard materials is not known with certainty. Consequently, two alternative end-member conceptualizations are presented to students who are then asked to hypothesize differences in predicted responses at the pumping wells and nearby monitoring wells for each conceptual model. Predictions are compared to actual field data, and students discover that contaminant concentration measurements depend not only on the location of the observation point (in three dimensions), but also on the length of the screened interval through which water samples are collected. The activity is divided into three parts: (1) site/problem description, (2) formulation and testing of hypotheses for pumping wells, and (3) formulation and testing of hypotheses for monitoring wells. The activity gives students practice in three dimensional thinking and reinforces their intuitive understanding of contaminant plume migration in response to natural gradients and engineered stresses.
(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 best way for students to understand how groundwater flows is to …
The best way for students to understand how groundwater flows is to actually see it. In this activity, students will learn the vocabulary associated with groundwater and see a demonstration of groundwater flow. Students will learn about the measurements that environmental engineers need when creating a groundwater model of a chemical plume.
Students learn about the Earth's water cycle, especially about evaporation. Once a …
Students learn about the Earth's water cycle, especially about evaporation. Once a dam is constructed, its reservoir becomes a part of the region's natural hydrologic cycle by receiving precipitation, storing runoff water and evaporating water. Although almost impossible to see, and not as familiar to most people as precipitation, evaporation plays a critical role in the hydrologic cycle, and is especially of interest to engineers designing new dams and reservoirs, such as those that Splash Engineering is designing for Thirsty County.
Hands-on outdoor lesson plan for students to understand the meaning and components …
Hands-on outdoor lesson plan for students to understand the meaning and components of climate change, and engineer and model how greenhouse gasses cause heat trapping.
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