In this lab students will learn about the water cycle. Included in this resource is a lab for students to build a physical model of the hydrologic, or water, cycle and an animation to supplement learning.
In this activity students will explore the Greenhouse Effect. This activity includes videos and questions to help supplement student learning.
This unit will introduce the basics of the carbon cycle. Students will learn how carbon moves throughout the different components of the carbon cycle and where carbon is stored in the Earth's system. Using case studies, NASA visualizations, current research, and interactives, students will explore how living things on land, in soils, and in our oceans regulate the carbon cycle. Because carbon and climate are tightly coupled, students will analyze the effect of carbon dioxide on the Earth's thermostat and our climate. Finally, students will seek possible solutions to a warming climate.
Students clone a plant by taking cuttings. A closer look at the cuttings a few weeks later could reveal which characteristics of each cutting depend on the genetic make-up of the plant and which are strongly affected by environmental conditions.
Students will examine environmental factors that make surviving in an ecosystem difficult for organisms, focusing on the tropical montane cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica. The adaptations used by organisms to increase chances of survival in the forest will also be studied.
In this exercise, students review information about how color blindness is inherited and complete several problem solving exercises applying their knowledge.
This activity serves as an extension to the HHMI short film The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation and a means of reinforcing the concepts of variation and natural selection. Students will examine 8 snapshot samples from rock pocket mouse populations (4 snapshots at each of 2 different locations). By counting the number of light and dark-colored mice present at each location, they will determine the correct order of the snapshots from oldest to most recent. They will then graph their results and write a scientific summary describing one of the mouse populations and how it has changed over time.
This resource describes the four parts all cells have in common. It includes diagrams, a video, practice questions, a study guide, flash cards, interactive assessments, and articles on real world applications.
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Students trace the evolutionary history of birds by comparing the shapes and structures of certain bones in a chicken to those of some of its extinct and living relatives in this interactive.
In this biology inquiry lab, students study evolutionary relationships by making observations of preserved animal specimens, developing a question, then investigating by dissecting the specimens provided.
Students examine how physical features noted in the fossil record provide clues about the evolution of species.
In this lesson, students watch a video of scientists finding, collecting, and dating fossils. They then answer questions about scientific processes and work with ratios and proportions to solve simple algebraic equations relating to fossil data. Recommended for middle school life/earch science, high school environmental science, or high school biology.
In this lesson, students will utilize their knowledge of RNA transcription and translation in order to make a protein. They will use a paper strip DNA template (portion of the DNA that will code for the protein) to determine the appropriate m-RNA and t-RNA sequences for that protein.
In this computer-based activity, students download, graph, and analyze authentic satellite temperature data for coral reef sites around the world. The activity includes a mapping component so the students work individually on one particular coral reef location and then the findings for the whole class are summarized on a set of world maps. After observing global trends in the data, students evaluate the threat to coral reefs from heat stress, which has been occurring with increased intensity and frequency in recent years.
Students use coral reef ecosystem case studies to explore the ecological principles of shifting baselines, natural and anthropogenic disturbance, succession, and sustainability.
In this activity students will experience the human view of coral reefs through the eyes of ocean explorers and underwater filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall, as you watch the IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure. This video did not have a link on the site, but is available through the internet.
In this activity students will exam coral reef samples provided by the teacher. Students will then answer questions and engage in discussion about their findings. Students will also have the opportunity to examine a living coral reef system.
This unit will introduce students to many of the complex issues surrounding coral reefs. The 8 investigations in this unit incorporate some of the most current research data and visualizations available. Using data from a variety of sources, students will learn about the influences of both humans and the environment on the health and vitality of coral reefs.
This video demonstrates how corn seedlings behave in the presence of both gravity and a central light source in an otherwise dark room.