In this activity, students use elevation and distance data to construct graphic profiles and determine the average gradients for three streams. A series of discussion questions addresses concepts of deposition, erosion, and nickpoints, and gives students practice compiling evidence to provide scientific explanations. Graphs can be constructed by hand on paper or generated using graphing software.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
In this activity, students simulate deformational effects on Earth's crust using peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These common sandwich components are used to model geologic features such as synclines, anticlines, and monoclines, and to demonstrate the effects of stresses and strains.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
What happens when sugar and salt are added to water? Pour in sugar, shake in salt, and evaporate water to see the effects on concentration and conductivity. Zoom in to see how different sugar and salt compounds dissolve. Zoom in again to explore the role of water.
Material Type: Simulation
The main objective of this video lesson is to bring the students' attention to the importance of basic and natural sciences in our lives. The lesson will introduce a topic (sustainable energy) that is related mainly to chemistry and is not usually covered directly in a high school curriculum. We hope that this lesson will show students how important and useful the natural and basic sciences are not only for our daily lives, but also for sustainable development. The lesson will present creative and challenging ideas on the topic of alternative energies. It is hoped that students will be inspired by the introduction of these ideas, and that they will develop the confidence to come up with creative ideas themselves. Background for this lesson is based on fundamental concepts in chemistry (mainly), biology, physics and environmental science.
Material Type: Lecture
In this activity, learners use a chemical reaction to visualize where moisture forms on the body. Learners use the Minor's iodine-starch test, a diagnostic test that doctors use to detect hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), to identify where moisture is forming. Learners also use this method to test the effectiveness of different antiperspirants.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing, including testing for bacteria such as E. coli.
Material Type: Lesson
Students experience the engineering design process as they design, fabricate, test and redesign their own methods for encapsulation of a (hypothetical) new miracle drug. As if they are engineers, teams make large-size prototypes to test proof of concept. They use household materials (tape, paper towels, plastic wrap, weed-barrier fabric, glues, etc.) to attach a coating to a porous "shell" (a perforated plastic Wiffle® ball) containing the medicine (colored drink mix powder). The objective is to delay the drug release by a certain time and have a long release duration—patterned after the timed release requirements of many real-world pharmaceuticals that are released from a polymer shell via diffusion in the body. Guided by a worksheet, teams go through at least three design/test iterations, aiming to achieve a solution close to the target time release constraints.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Prior to reaching households, water is exposed to a variety of treatments designed to render it fit for human consumption and use. One of the first treatment steps is the removal of suspended solids using chemical additives called flocculants. In this activity, students learn about two commonly used flocculants and clean water collected from a local pond or river. They experiment with flocculant, stirring and pH variables.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
This video from NASA explains the process by which gamma-ray flashes associated with storms produce matter/antimatter particle pairs.
Material Type: Lesson
In this exercise, students use online data, spreadsheets, and graphs to analyze tidal fluctuations at the Battery in New York. They will be asked to examine and compare the observed and predicted tides, and then make their own predictions.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
In this activity, students play the roles of time travelers and travel to the Archaean era to learn what early Earth was like during that time. They collect information on the Archaean atmosphere, life forms, and landscape, and write a report that summarizes its characteristics. A scoring rubric for the report is provided.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
In this activity, which can be performed as a demonstration by the teacher or by the students themselves, carbon dioxide is generated in a fish tank using sodium bicarbonate and vinegar. The students can observe as the accumulating carbon dioxide extinguishes candles of different heights, marking rising levels of CO2 in the tank. They can also blow soap bubbles (which contain air) into the tank and observe them floating on the denser CO2 at first, then sinking as the gas diffuses through the soap film that forms the bubbles.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
Review of Toxicology. Delving into specific case samples and possible outcomes and implicaitons. Research into specific chemical ingredients in household cleaners
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this activity, students play the roles of consultants in developing a geologic 'tour' south od Rochester, New York, near the Pennsylvania border. They will gather information on the local rock types and underlying geology, examine an assemblage of fossils from the bedrock and from glacial erratics, and prepare a report detailing the geology with cross-sections and a timeline based on the fossil occurrences. They will also develop a plan for a walking tour highlighting the geology of the area.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
Millions of fish eggs from the Caribbean get stuck in the gulf stream every year and drift thousands of miles north where they hatch. Unfortunately, when winter comes, the baby fish will die. In this video, Jonathan joins the New England Aquarium Dive Club on a tropical fish rescue in Rhode Island where they catch some of these fish in the fall before water temperatures plummet. The fish go to the New England AquariumŰŞs exhibits. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Lesson Plan
This interactive activity, from the Building Big Web site, explores tunneling and the tools and methods used to do the job.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
The Story of Creation (according to the Big Bang). A mythical trek through the last 15 billion years.
Material Type: Interactive, Unit of Study
This user's manual describes the steps for using Google Earth tours. Topics include downloading and installing Google Earth software, selecting a tour file, and playing the tour. There are also instructions on how to use some of Google Earth's additional features. A downloadable, printable version is provided.
Material Type: Interactive, Lesson Plan
Ever wonder how a battery works? This segment highlights voltaic cells, their various components and how they operate.
Material Type: Lesson
This module provides an introduction to the chemical properties of water. The dipole across the molecule, hydrogen bonding, surface tension,and solvation are all introduced.
Material Type: Interactive, Unit of Study
