Water supply is a problem of worldwide concern: more than 1 billion …
Water supply is a problem of worldwide concern: more than 1 billion people do not have reliable access to clean drinking water. Water is a particular problem for the developing world, but scarcity also impacts industrial societies. Water purification and desalination technology can be used to convert brackish ground water or seawater into drinking water. The challenge is to do so sustainably, with minimum cost and energy consumption, and with appropriately accessible technologies. This subject will survey the state-of-the-art in water purification by desalination and filtration. Fundamental thermodynamic and transport processes which govern the creation of fresh water from seawater and brackish ground water will be developed. The technologies of existing desalination systems will be discussed, and factors which limit the performance or the affordability of these systems will be highlighted. Energy efficiency will be a focus. Nanofiltration and emerging technologies for desalination will be considered. A student project in desalination will involve designing a well-water purification system for a village in Haiti.
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring …
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring high school contestants tackling engineering challengesí_í_íŹlearn about the fundamentals of sound as student teams create percussive and stringed instruments for a local band.
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring …
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring high school contestants tackling engineering challengesí_í_íŹstudents employ the concepts of tension and compression to build a suspension bridge without the aid of power tools.
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring …
In this video segment adapted from Design Squadí_í_íŹa PBS TV series featuring high school contestants tackling engineering challengesí_í_íŹstudents employ the concepts of tension and compression as they build a truss bridge without the aid of power tools.
This lesson provides experience working on a real-life scenario by allowing students …
This lesson provides experience working on a real-life scenario by allowing students the opportunity to use topographic maps to design a hiking trail system based on access from road, range of habitats, and other specified criteria. They will also complete a data sheet and produce an informational brochure.
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members design and build …
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members design and build door alarms using a variety of materials, including aluminum foil, batteries, and buzzers.
How can an understanding of pH—a logarithmic scale used to identify the …
How can an understanding of pH—a logarithmic scale used to identify the acidity or basicity of a water-based solution—be used to design and create a color-changing paint? This activity provides students the opportunity to extract dyes from natural products and test dyes for acids or bases as teams develop a prototype “paint” that is eventually applied to help with a wall redesign at a local children’s hospital. Students learn about how dyes are extracted from organic material and use the engineering design process to test dyes using a variety of indicators to achieve the right color for their prototype. Students iterate on their dyes and use ratios and proportions to calculate the amount of dye needed to successfully complete their painting project.
Learners will build an open spectrograph to calculate the angle the light …
Learners will build an open spectrograph to calculate the angle the light is transmitted through a holographic diffraction grating. After finding the desired angles, the students will design their own spectrograph using the information learned. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.
Pre-service Midle School teachers devised an experiment to test an assertion that …
Pre-service Midle School teachers devised an experiment to test an assertion that destruction of the Brazilian Rainforest would lead to a serious drop in atmospheric oxygen. The experiment proved to be a failure, but opened other avenues of science learning and had a positive impact on their confidence in teaching inquiry-based science.
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This activity involves using XRD to determine the chemical composition, state of …
This activity involves using XRD to determine the chemical composition, state of order, molar volume, and density of a monoclinic alkali feldspar.
(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 three-week lab sequence aimed at determining the approximate amount …
This is a three-week lab sequence aimed at determining the approximate amount of carbon stored in a local bog and teaching skills for solving complex problems through collaborative work.
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Students determine the energy efficiency of different methods of heating substances in …
Students determine the energy efficiency of different methods of heating substances in the lab and then assess the economic and environmental costs.
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This activity is divided into two parts - 1) Using data from …
This activity is divided into two parts - 1) Using data from primary literature to calculate mantle potential temperature beneath a ridge and an oceanic island ("hotspot"). 2) Using the transition zone thickness observed beneath a "hotspot" (Hawaii) to analyze contributions from anomalous temperature and composition. In addition to the student activity sheets, an Excel key, instructor notes, and student handouts are included below.
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Organic chemistry isn’t that different from an adventure game, with substrates as …
Organic chemistry isn’t that different from an adventure game, with substrates as characters, nucleophiles as magic potions, and reaction conditions as different magical kingdoms. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’ll learn the tricks to this game so that we can figure out which transformation, or mechanism, will occur when we combine any substrate with any nucleophile. Let’s go on an adventure!
This activity is an inquiry lab where students observe the effects of …
This activity is an inquiry lab where students observe the effects of temperature change on nitrogen dioxide gas, a common component of polluted air, to determine its color.
In this field lab activity, students will determine the density, pH and …
In this field lab activity, students will determine the density, pH and water content of prairie soil, transition soil, woods soil, and riverbed soil and compare their findings.
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