How does your lifestyle measure up in terms of your ecological footprint? Young ecologists examine their impact on the planet using an insightful online calculator. A short quiz asks users to rank the size of their homes, their energy efficiency, and a variety of other conservation-minded questions.

Concepts

ecology, human population, land use, water usage, population density, energy consumption, fuel efficiency, food sources, modes of transportation, human impact on the environment

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• The resource is a perfect tool for studying human impact on the environment or green math
• Use the calculator as a pre- and post-assessment of your class' understanding of energy-efficient concepts and practices
  

Classroom Considerations

• Plan a full class period of computer use for individual students
• The calculator requires users to log in with Facebook or an email address
  

Pros

• Lesson includes printable student worksheet 
• The score at the end of the online quiz is shown in the number of Earths required to sustain the user's lifestyle—a very eye-opening visual cue
  

Cons

• None

Common Core

7.SP.A.1 RST.6-8.7