Students explore the biosphere and its associated environments and ecosystems in the context of creating a model ecosystem, learning along the way about the animals and resources. Students investigate different types of ecosystems, learn new vocabulary, and consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence of an ecosystem can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

In this lesson, students create a vision for the future of their community and identify what resources are most important to them as a starting point for resilience planning.

In this lesson, students will learn what erosion is and how human actions influence erosion. Includes introduction, demonstration instructions, and questions for wrap-up discussion.

NGSS: K-ESS3-3

Time: 50 minutes

Materials: plastic containers with sand and gravel, sponges, and plastic cups.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Managing wastewater is a major logistical puzzle that impacts the environment, the climate, and public health. While metropolitan wastewater typically undergoes complex processing and sanitation, rural livestock wastewater is often simply composted for fertilizer, but composting can release harmful contaminants like ammonia, CO₂, and methane. One way to still capture the nutrients with fewer harmful byproducts is by cultivating microalgae, which actually absorb CO₂ via photosynthesis rather than producing it. But how do microalgae impact pathogens? A recent pilot study using raw piggery wastewater found that microalgae cultivation dramatically reduced the pathogen load while also triggering a dramatic shift in the overall bacterial community composition. Further investigation using the most abundant pathogen, Oligella, found that the microalgae weren’t impacting Oligella directly. Rather, microalgae cultivation reduced Oligella abundance through a network of other bacterial species..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

How the indigenous Australians used fire to change their environment. Created by Sal Khan.

With a continued focus on the Sonoran Desert, students are introduced to the concepts of food chains and food webs through a PowerPoint® presentation. They learn the difference between producers and consumers and study how these organisms function within their communities as participants in various food chains. They further understand ecosystem differences by learning how multiple food chains link together to form intricate and balanced food webs. At lesson end, students construct food webs using endemic desert species.

This lesson explores the complexities of food waste and its connection to climate change.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students think about food waste and how it may be connected to climate.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students learn about different sources and areas of food waste, how food waste is rooted in inequity, and how food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students discuss different solutions and actions being taken to address food waste and reflect on the actions they can take within their own community.

Air is one of Earth's most precious resources, and we need to take care of it in order to preserve the environment and protect human health. To this end, students develop their understanding of visible air pollutants with an incomplete combustion demonstration, a "smog in a jar" demonstration, and by building simple particulate matter collectors.

Students will use knowledge of aquatic and terrestrial environments to identify fossils and predict environmental changes over time.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Around 125,000 years ago Earth was relatively warmer than today All because Earth’s orbit permitted greater exposure to incoming solar rays This time period provides an example of how Earth’s climate might respond to future warming A recent study used fossil corals to explore past changes within the Tropical Atlantic a region sensitive to shifts in the rain belt that spans the equator Any effect this has on water bodies is captured within the reefs built by corals Oxygen isotopes within seven corals reveal 85 years of seasonal climate change Pairing the coral data with computer simulations showed the rain belt moved farther north bringing more summer rain to the islands of the South Caribbean, such as Bonaire in contrast to the dry weather found in the region today Brocas et al. Last Interglacial Hydroclimate Seasonality Reconstructed From Tropical Atlantic Corals..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Between 70 and 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and there exists still more water in the atmosphere and underground in aquifers. In this lesson, students learn about water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They will learn about several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources. They will also think about their role in water conservation.

As the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, transportation is a driving factor for the climate crisis. Find out what politicians are doing about it, why these plans are being criticised by Chile's population and why workers' struggles and climate struggles go together. Afterwards, chat with Maxi from the future and find out how things could be done differently.

Students take part in a hypothetical scenario that challenges them to inform customers at a local restaurant of how their use and disposal of plastics relates/contributes to the Great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP). What students ultimately do is research information on the plastics pollution in the oceans and present that information as a short, eye-catching newsletter suitable to hand out to restaurant customers. This activity focuses on teaching students to conduct their own research on a science-technology related topic and present it in a compelling manner that includes citing source information without plagiarism. By doing this, students gain experience and skills with general online searching as well as word processing and written and visual communication.

Students learn how the greenhouse effect is related to global warming and how global warming impacts our planet, including global climate change. Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and how we react to these changes are the main points of focus of this lesson.

Tracing the evolution of international interactions, this course examines the dimensions of globalization in terms of scale and scope. It is divided into three parts; together they are intended to provide theoretical, empirical, and policy perspectives on source and consequences of globalization, focusing on emergent structures and processes, and on the implications of flows of goods and services across national boundaries – with special attention to the issue of migration, on the assumption that people matter and matter a lot. An important concern addressed pertains to the dilemmas of international policies that are shaped by the macro-level consequences of micro-level behavior. 17.411 fulfills undergraduate public policy requirement in the major and minor. Graduate students are expected to explore the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.

Geologist Peter Appel and miner Leoncio Onay tells about an alternative to mercury use in small and artisanal gold mining giving a higher yield with gold and avoiding pollution and poisonings with mercury.

Students build and observe a simple aneroid barometer to learn about changes in barometric pressure and weather forecasting.

This lesson introduces students to the concepts of air pollution and technologies that have been developed by engineers to reduce air pollution. Students develop an understanding of visible air pollutants with an incomplete combustion demonstration, a "smog in a jar" demonstration, construction of simple particulate matter collectors and by exploring engineering roles related to air pollution. Next, students develop awareness and understanding of the daily air quality and trends in air quality using the Air Quality Index (AQI) listed in the newspaper. Finally, students build and observe a variety of simple models in order to develop an understanding of how engineers use these technologies to clean up and prevent air pollution.

Students learn about energy flow in food webs, including the roles of the sun, producers, consumers and decomposers in the energy cycle. They model a food web and create diagrams of food webs using their own drawings and/or images from nature or wildlife magazines. Students investigate the links between the sun, plants and animals, building their understanding of the web of nutrient dependency and energy transfer.

Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and decomposers. Students are introduced to the roles of the hydrologic (water), carbon, and nitrogen cycles in sustaining the worlds' ecosystems so living organisms survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.