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
Modeling Estuaries
Students create a model estuary. In this modeling estuaries lesson, students identify characteristics and mix water of varying densities. Students form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, and analyze the results.
Curated OER
WONDERFUL, WATERFUL WETLANDS
Students list characteristics of wetland and describe the functions of a wetland.
Curated OER
Snow on Sea Ice
High schoolers examine different samples of ice and predict the amount of snow that has fallen in a given year. Using a calculator, they graph the various thicknesses. They analyze the graphs to determine the relationship between the...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Ocean Planet
Detailed website that was a companion to a 1995 traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian. Links to lesson plans and other educational materials are at the bottom of the page. Enter the exhibition to explore the world of the ocean.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Layering Liquids
A lab activity to show students how different densities of liquid layer on top of each other by using four different colored liquids that contain different levels of salinity. This activity can also be used in an ocean unit where...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Can Water Float on Water?
Of course it can, you say: ice is water and ice floats. And you're right. But we're talking about water in the liquid phase Can liquid water float on water? The goal of this project is to investigate what happens to layers of water with...