Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum activity. In advance of an actual lab activity, students virtually simulate the calibration of a laboratory micropipettor. QL: Accuracy and precision.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students build a spreadsheet to find the combination of mini-pizzas and calzones that maximizes revenue given constraints on labor time and baking time.

To prepare students to think about the data, assumptions, and interpretations that are part of a phylogenetic analysis. This exercise comes in five parts. The first part is all of the data -- all specimens and age dates for all specimens. This simulates the impossible -- a complete fossil record. The second part has 10% of the specimens randomly removed (an imperfect fossil record), but all age information is provided for the 90% given. Similarly, the third and fourth parts have 20% (different 20%s) of the data randomly removed, and all information is provided for the 80% of remaining specimens (a more imperfect fossil record). The fifth part has dates only for the modern forms -- all other dates are removed. This simulates the situation for a group lacking a fossil record or a situation where the fossil record is ignored.

Depending on the class size, students either individually or in groups develop a phylogeny from their data prior to class time. In class we lay everything out on tables and compare and contrast the various phylogenies and in the process discuss many of the basic assumptions, practices, biases, etc. of phylogenetic reconstruction.

You could make this more complex and have students code things into MacClade, Paup, etc.; however, I use this for the concepts of phylogenetic reconstruction only.

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This activity is a chance for students to apply the diffraction grating equation m*Λ/d = Θ to solve a real life problem: find the wavelength of given source of light. It is also useful for them to apply trigonometry to real life scenarios.

In this activity, students have an opportunity to learn about the geomorphology and soils of your campus. Within a team, students collect soils information and use it to construct of stratigraphic cross-section and outline major geologic events in the history of a given site.

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Students are asked to design and conduct an archaeological survey of the modern college campus, focusing on the provenience of litter and other trash, which is collected, sorted, and analyzed. Students develop a research question about college culture, waste management practices, and/or sustainability more generally and prepare an academic poster presenting their results.

Students are given an outline map of the campus with no scale indicated. They are to work in small groups to determine the scale. Although rules and tape measures are provided, students are given no instruction on how to best determine the scale and are tasked with devising their own methodology. Students write their scales on the blackboard and we finish the class with a discussion of their various methodologies, sources of error, and why there is some variation among their results.

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Reading and constructing geologic maps is one skill that every geologists has to master. Initially, this means that we have to understand the symbols that are used on geologic maps. Once we know the general meaning of these symbols, we will have to learn how to measure and plot them. The measuring is generally done using a magnetic compass. Finally, we have to plot the data on a map so that others understand the geology based on our mapping.

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Students use GPS units and record the location of some feature of interest on the campus. A shapefile is created from data recorded in an Excel file. This data is incorporated into a map which includes shapefiles and imagery for various campus features.

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Link the college or university operations with local ecology. In this study, students use a tool from urban ecology, the nitrogen budget, to research the inputs, outputs and subsytem transfers of nitrogen on the college or university campus.

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Cancer is an everyday topic in the news and in most extended families. The types and treatment of cancers can be complex and confusing. Module 2 provides students with knowledge and resources concerning the development of cancers related to environmental factors. It is important for students to realize that the state-of-the-art of cancer treatment prior to 1986 (the year the trial started) is not the current state-of-the-art. Treatment of many types of cancer has progressed enormously due to medical research. Treatment of childhood leukemia is one of the success stories in cancer treatment. Research linking childhood leukemia to environmental factors or a specific environmental factor has progressed more slowly. Several links are provided within the website that students can read to become aware of environmental factors in Woburn that have been studied, including Woburn Chemical Industry, Woburn's Water Supply and Hematology of Leukemia. Several research articles are available for students to read and are cited within the searchable database at Bibliography & References.

By using the discrepant event of dropping a burning candle in a jar, students will predict, experiment, and discuss why the candle goes out as soon as it is caught.

Small groups of students examine a candle to consider its chemical properties. Class discussion follows to consider macro vs. molecular events, energy, phase changes, etc.

Students learn how make phylogenetic trees from morphological data using a variety of candy. Techniques and concepts learned include outgroup analysis, making a character matrix, coding characters, parsimony, building phylogenetic trees, monophyly, polytomy, synapomorphy, and why scientists can get wildly different trees with the same taxa.

Using the Scientific Method, can we know of the existence of Global Warming? Students will research the question: "Does global warming exit" using and summarizing Scholarly Journals.

The purpose of this exercise is to understand the capability and limitations of several instruments (AA, ICP-OES, ICP-MS) used for geochemical analysis. Students compare and contrast the cost, detection limits, etc. of these instruments.

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Students conduct this investigation collaboratively and with minimal guidance from the instructor. Students are presented with the research problem at the start of the semester, typically within the first week of classes. Soon after, a class-wide discussion is facilitated through the posing of some preliminary questions. Eventually and within the first few weeks, students outline a project design and methodology for implementation in the field and laboratory. Along the way and as project-pertinent topical units are covered, students are given journal articles to read that might further their thinking about the project, might present some appropriate methodology, or might serve as a model investigation.

Field work is accomplished early in the semester and with minimal time invested. Because scheduling field trips that can accommodate everyone is difficult, the field experience is optional. In these situations, someone chronicles the field work with either a digital still camera or digital videocamera and then these are shared with everyone in the class.

All aspects of the project are collaborative; students collect and share data, prepare and share figures and tables, and collectively prepare the poster and abstract.

The following files are uploaded as supportive teaching materials:
1. Geobio Research Project Description F08.doc: This is the project overview that is distributed to students as a handout at the start of the semester.
2. Geobio Research Project Qs.doc: This set of questions is distributed early in the semester to spark a discussion and to aid in the design of the project.
3. Geobiology GSA SE 2009 Abstract.doc: This is a copy of the abstract that was submitted to the 2009 Southeast Section Geological Society Of America meeting in St. Petersburg.
4. Geobio GSA SE09 Poster.ppt: A copy of the poster presentation given at the 2009 Southeast GSA meeting.

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This is two-hour lab exercise based on computer data sets. Students examine records of CO2 levels in the atmosphere as well as annual temperature records for the US and the world.

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Step 1. Students are asked to keep track of their energy use from a variety of sources (heating/cooling, electricity, transportation, secondary emissions, etc) during the 9 days of Thanksgiving break, when many of them are likely to travel. They use the total for the 9 days that they calculated using an online calculator to estimate their yearly footprint and compare it to US and world averages. For most of them, the amount of carbon emitted during those 9 days is quite large because of airplane travel or long-distance driving. However, using a week of break when many students will travel allows them to become aware of the significance of transportation in carbon emissions. We provided a table with electricity and heating/cooling bills for various residence halls for students who stay on campus during the break.

Step 2. Students complete an online survey where they are asked to enter the values that they have obtained for the various components of the calculator, perform some simple calculations and compare their annual footprint to the U.S. average. We used SurveyGizmo for the survey because it allows to download the data in a spreadsheet format and has some limited plotting features. The free version allows a maximum of 250 submissions, the Basic version ($19 per month, can be canceled at any time) has unlimited submissions.
Step 3. Students write an essay through BlackBoard/WebCT (Assignment). A few guiding questions are provided for this essay where students reflect on the results of their impact on the global carbon budget, what they found surprising, and if they plan to make any changes to their lifestyle to limit their impact. No length limit is set for the essay.

The guidelines and components of this assignment are available on a wiki page. The three steps can be implemented in BlackBoard/WebCT as a Lesson Plan with links to the online calculator (step 1), to the survey (step 2), and to the Assignment/essay (step 3).

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Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students use allometric relationships to calculate tree mass from trunk diameter in a stand of trees in the Pacific Northwest.

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