Rice University
Biology for AP® Courses
An eight-unit electronic textbook provides a guide to AP® Biology. Each of the 28 chapters include an introduction, multiple lessons, a summary, review questions, and test prep questions. Teachers see how each lesson connects to a big...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
CSI Wildlife
Can DNA fingerprinting prevent the extinction of elephants? Young scientists learn about DNA fingerprinting before applying their knowledge to case studies of elephant poaching. The first case requires them to match the DNA from a tusk...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Dynamics
Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Engineering the World Around Us: Genome Editing and the Environment
Challenge young minds to build a better world with genetic engineering. Biologists learn potential solutions for environmental issues using genome editing while interacting with three case studies. Scholars read articles and view...
National Park Service
Climate Science in Focus: A Streamflow River Study
Data speaks, but it's our job to determine what it's trying to say. Young scientists explore the changes in weather and climate using data from the Yosemite National Park in a six-day unit. Learners first compare weather and climate and...
PBS
Watershed Management: Ways of Watersheds | UNC-TV Science
Inspire young conservationists to protect the environment with a short activity on water quality and watersheds. Participants discover the importance of watershed management, learn about water quality problems, and discover possible...
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Animal Research and Vaccines
Animals save lives. In small groups pupils research the role of animals in the development of vaccines. Each team investigates one disease to find out how the vaccine was developed and how animals played a role n the research. Groups...
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Learning From Animals
Is all research on animals bad? Learners use a video to understand how animal research benefits humans. Pupils read about a drug modification turned deadly and the result of the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Scholars use a...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Following the Trail of Evidence
One important skill in analyzing scientific evidence is identifying facts versus opinions. Scholars identify pieces of evidence from the film The Day the Mesozoic Died and then discuss this evidence in small groups at the end of each act...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Using DNA to Explore Lizard Phylogeny
On the Caribbean islands, lizards expanded into different niches instead of competing for resources. Scholars discuss and learn from experts in a video how scientists prove the theory. They build phylogenetic trees based on appearances...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Got Lactase? Blood Glucose Data Analysis
Many physicals include a blood glucose test, but what are doctors actually testing? Scholars graph and interpret blood glucose data, allowing them to observe the differences in lactase persistence and draw conclusions. They then connect...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Can Small Pollutants Harm Aquatic Organisms?
Nanoparticles have toxic effects on plant and animal life—even though you can't see them. The second lesson of a two-part series has young scientists conduct an experiment that exposes plant and animals to nanoparticle pollutants. They...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
The Effects of Colloidal Silver on Microbial Growth: Investigating Snake Oil Science
Can your classes solve the problem of the smelly sweat sock? Young scientists complete a lab investigation that begins by using electrochemistry to generate colloidal silver. They use their solutions to test the rate of microbial growth...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
How Can Nanoparticles Move from Land to Ocean?
Investigate the migration of the nanoparticle from land to water! A lab investigation asks budding scientists to simulate runoff. Testing water samples before and after the simulation leads individuals to make conclusions about pollution...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Can We Absorb Nanoparticle Pollutants?
Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there! A growing concern for environmental scientists is toxic nanoparticles in our air and water. Young scholars conduct an experiment to demonstrate how these particles can cross our...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Creating and Testing Silver-Nanoparticle Socks
Antibacterial socks are a product of nanotechnology. An inquiry-based instructional activity asks collaborative groups to create their own antibacterial socks and then test them against other products on the market. The sock with the...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Help or Hype: The Ethics of Bio-Nanotechnology
Ethical concerns are not always black and white. A well-designed activity presents learners with scenarios for which ethics may come into question. Scholars learn to consider the different sides of a situation and make an unbiased...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
Towson University
Chestnut Tree Lab
What will your class learn in a curious tale of a fungus, a virus, and a chestnut tree? Biology scholars discover the world of viral biocontrols through a DNA restriction lab. Groups research the decline of the American chestnut tree at...
CK-12 Foundation
Limiting Factors to Population Growth: Graphing Population Growth
If any of the limiting factors in an environment change, both animal and plant populations also change. The video explains two different models of growth and the impact of limiting factors. It highlights the carrying capacity of an...
Virginia Department of Education
Adaptation and Evolution
Um may be the atomic symbol for confusion, but it won't be needed in this lesson. Scholars rotate through seven stations completing experiments, hands-on activities, writing exercises, and analysis. Stations include material on...
Michigan State University
Bug Lyphe!
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...