Curated OER
Sea Water Mixing and Sinking
Students investigate the role of temperature and salinity in determining seawater density. They use a Temperature-Salinity Diagram to examine the effects of mixing on density.
Curated OER
What's A Water Column Profile?
Students investigate water column data. In this earth science and seawater activity, students determine how temperature, salinity, and density have an impact on sea water by viewing and analyzing data obtained from a number of websites....
NOAA
What's a CTD?
Why are the properties of the water important when exploring the ocean? Young scientists discover the tools and technology used in deep sea exploration in the fourth installment in a five-part series. Groups work together to examine...
Curated OER
Marine Fisheries Management
Almost 200 slides make this a vast collection! It is a quirky collection, titled "Marine Fisheries Management," but having little to do with that occupation. What you will find are two-toned blue backgrounds with no pictures, but a few...
Curated OER
Making and Using a Hydrometer
Students build a hydrometer to measure the densities of fresh and salt water samples. They record the water temperature and density and use the temperature, density, and salinity conversion graph to locate the salinity. Finally,...
NOAA
Please Pass the Salt
Salinity is the focus of two experimenters that work to answer the question, How does salt change the physical properties of water? Super scientists compare the freezing rate of salt and fresh water, combine the two waters to observe how...
Curated OER
Locating the Salt Front - Section 1
In this salt front of the Hudson River worksheet, 7th graders first read an excerpt about the lower portion of the Hudson River that is an estuary. Then they use a colored pencil to plot salinity data from the table shown on a graph,...
Curated OER
Ocean Water
In this ocean water instructional activity, students use 6 given terms related to ocean water, early Earth and ocean components to complete the sentences. They also answer 4 questions about seawater, the effects of volcanoes on oceans...
Polar Trec
Sea Ice Impact
The arctic seas contain currents that are both warm (with high salinity) and cold (relatively fresh water) that circulate throughout the year. Through discussion, a lab, and a web quest, participants explore the impacts of melting and...
NOAA
A Matter of Density
Larvae transportation on the New England seamounts is based on the density of the water. Scholars calculate density and graph salinity versus temperature to better understand the distribution of organisms in a water column. Discussions...
NOAA
The Oceanographic Yo-yo
How does chemistry help deep-sea explorers? Part four of a five-part series of lessons from aboard the Okeanos Explorer introduces middle school scientists to technologies used in ocean exploration. Groups work together to analyze data...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Composition of Seawater
Students explore the concept of finding the composition of seawater. In this finding the composition of seawater instructional activity, students make a saturated salt water solution. Students discuss why there is variation in ocean...
Curated OER
Tracking the Salt Front
Using the Hudson River as the focus, learners discuss the difference between salt water and fresh water environments, analyze maps and graphs, and complete addition and subtraction problems. This lesson comes with a wealth of...
Curated OER
An Oceanographic Proxy
Students conduct experiments on a sample of sea water. In this oceanography instructional activity, students inquire how conductivity is used to approximate the salinity ocean water. Students construct their own conductivity meters and...
Curated OER
Ocean Life
Students explore the topics of ocean water salinity, ocean life zones, marine life classification, and ocean food chains. They observe demonstrations, conduct experiments, complete quizzes and handouts, and analyze key vocabulary.
Curated OER
Liquid Rainbow
Students develop their own techniques for drawing a small sample of solutions into a straw. They hypothesize ways to increase the density of water, and discuss how salt-free rainwater tends to float on top of salty seawater.
Curated OER
Finding the Salt Front
Students discuss definitions of estuary, salinity, and the salt front. They listen as the teacher explains the Hudson River Miles and ways the upriver and downriver sections relate to the north and south. Students graph the salt front...
Curated OER
Biomes: Freshwater & Seawater
Students observe organisms behavior and adaptations. In this biomes lesson students conduct fieldwork to determine water quality and answer questions about the differences between different habitats.
Centers for Ocean Sciences
Ocean and Great Lakes Literacy: Principle 1
Is your current lesson plan for salt and freshwater literacy leaving you high and dry? If so, dive into part one of a seven-part series that explores the physical features of Earth's salt and freshwater sources. Junior hydrologists...
Curated OER
Outcomes Science 4
In this outcome science 4 worksheet, students apply scientific knowledge to answer and calculate a variety of questions. Students research the answer to several questions using the websites suggested.
Curated OER
Ocean Currents
In this ocean currents learning exercise, students will use maps of the Atlantic Ocean currents and the Pacific Ocean currents to complete 6 short answer questions.
NOAA
A Quest for Anomalies
Sometimes scientists learn more from unexpected findings than from routine analysis! Junior oceanographers dive deep to explore hydrothermal vent communities in the fourth lesson in a series of five. Scholars examine data and look for...
Curated OER
What is an Estuary?
Students define the terms estuary and watershed. They conduct an experiment to determine the density differences between fresh and saltwater. They examine the salinity distribution of the Peconic Bay Estuary.
Curated OER
Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change Course
Students explain the impact of glacial melting to global climate change. In this environmental science lesson plan, students design an experiment to investigate the effect of salinity change to melting glaciers. They share their results...