Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...

Desert regions are hotter for multiple reasons; the lack of vegetation causes the sun's heat to go straight into the surface and the lack of moisture means none of the heat is being transferred into evaporation. This concept, and other...

Art acts as inspiration for a conversation about human impact on the environment and creative writing. The class examines three pieces, looking for evidence of human impact on the landscape. They then write a first-person narrative, from...

At one point, all mammals carried only two color receptors, but now most humans carry three. An informative presentation and hands-on activity demonstrate how this evolved through genetics. By participating in the activity, pupils...

Couches, carpets, and even computer keyboards now advertise they are spill-resistant, but what does that mean? Scholars use physical and chemical methods to coat surfaces with thin films to test their hydrophobic properties. Then they...

Enzymes play a role in almost every function in the human body. Scholars explore three variables related to the use of enzymes. They observe a catalase reaction, experiment with substrates, and examine reactions rates. 

Amazing! Any 5th grader would be more than willing to participate in this project. Students are broken into groups, each group reads one book from a list of five. They use their book as the basis for choosing an animal and environment to...

The final lesson in the 21-part series on climate change focuses on energy solutions to the consumption problem. Using data specific to their school, pupils make recommendations, follow up on actions, and carefully track progress....

Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...

Currently, only 2.1% of global warming is felt on continents, while over 93% is felt in the oceans. The fourth lesson in the series of 21 on global warming is composed of three activities that build off one another. In the first...

This exam covers every topic in a typical first-year biology course. A wide variety of question styles gives high schoolers every opportunity to show what they know. Why start from scratch when a comprehensive final exam is easily...

Emerging ecologists need a full understanding of life, from the inner workings of a cell to the complex relationships among organisms. This examination is meant to assess high schoolers after an entire year of courses on the living...

The New York Regents High School Examinations are comprehensive and include various question formats, including multiple choice and graph analysis. This particular version, the 2008 Living Environment exam, surveys a variety of topics....

The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on topics ranging from the structure of DNA to interactions within an ecosystem....

The living environment, from the interior of a cell to the complex relationships among populations, is queried in this final examination. Learners examine air pollution maps, cell diagrams, population graphs, and drawings of cells. They...

Ghost pots, fishing gear lost during crabbing expeditions, continue to trap crabs that are never collected. Increase your budding ecologists' awareness of human impact on the environment as well as conservation efforts using this...

Students discuss the risks a landfill may pose to a community. The setting is a school board faced with a decision about whether to close a school until the landfill is capped (a 3 year period). They are asked to determine how they would...

Young scholars explore the concept of biodiversity. In this environmental science activity, students use field methods to examine the trophic relationship that allows for species diversity.

Students study the complexities for getting definitive answers for past and present happenings in our environment. They discover past global changes on earth and the evidence for why these changes took place before believing everything...

Students take this course as an introduction to the aspects of marine geology and oceanography that affect the environment and marine resources. Topics include estuarine oceanography and sediments, eutrophication of coastal waters,...

Learners review an interpretation of geologic history and relate it to the formation of oil deposits. They explore and explain factors controlling the porosity and permeability of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Pupils also interpret...

Students, in this experiment, collect leaves from two species of trees and the stomatal index on the upper and lower epidermis of each leaf be determined.

Students examine an area of land and assess its suitability for construction purposes. This project requires a vast amount of hands-on experimentation, data analysis, community involvement, and job shadowing/career awareness.

Second graders discuss the different forms of energy and their sources. They work with a partner to answer a variety of questions revolving around energy. They develop a scientific attitude about renewable energy.