PBS
Sea Surface Temperature, Salinity, and Density
Earth's vast ocean is full of mysteries! Science scholars discover the big-picture properties that influence its characteristics at different latitudes using a lesson from PBS's Weather and Climate series. After completing a background...
Curated OER
Investigating the Effect of Salinity on the Density and Stability of Water
Water with varying amounts of dissolved salt are dyed and then used to compare densities. The objective is to discover the effect of salinity, and therefore density, on ocean water on the stability of the ocean. Many branches of science...
Aquarium of the Pacific
Rainbow Water Stacking – Density and Salinity
Create layers of water. Pupils investigate different densities of colored water caused by salinity by trying to stack layers of water. Scholars compare two water samples to determine which is the most dense. As the class members work...
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...
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...
Curated OER
Sea and Ice Salinity
Students conduct an experiment. In this salinity activity, students learn about sea ice, why it is important and how changing amounts can affect the sea. Students conduct an experiment to find out the effects of salinity on the...
Curated OER
Activity 2: Salinity & Tides
Students explore the effects of tides and salinity on an estuary. For this salinity and tides lesson plan, students complete 3 activities which help them understand estuarine systems. They study the tides in the Chesapeake Bay, they...
Curated OER
Water Density and Salinity
Middle schoolers observe how different water densities control the depth at which different water masses occur. They explain one fact that they comprehend about salt water. Students comprehend that temperature and salinity affect the...
Curated OER
The Relationship Between Salinity and the Density of Water
Students investigate density and salinity of water. In this density and salinity lesson plan, students find the density of objects and liquids and show the relationship between the salinity and density of water. Students add salt to...
Curated OER
Antarctica: Effects of Salinity on Icebergs
Learners investigate the effects of salinity on icebergs. For this hands on lesson, students design and conduct an investigation into how the amount of salt in ice affects its buoyancy.
NOAA
Ocean Layers I
How is it possible for ocean water to have layers? The sixth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates factors that cause different water densities to occur. Experiments...
Curated OER
Saltwater: Nifty Aqueous Colorful Layers
A classic investigation on the density of liquids is explained for you in this lesson plan. Te begin, you prepare water samples of different salinities and then add different food coloring to keep them separated and easily identified....
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
Count Marsili & the Mediterranean Current
Students integrate history and science while discovering how salinity affects the density of water. After a lecture/demo, students work in groups to complete a lab activity that demonstrates how salinity affects the density of water.
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
Ocean Layers II
Now that you know the ocean has layers, let's name them. The seventh installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program covers terminology associated with ocean layers, such as thermocline and...
Curated OER
Tides in the Hudson
Students view an illustration of the Hudson River watershed and identify the bodies of water shown. They discuss what happens when fresh and salt water mix. Students view a teacher demonstration of the stratification of fresh and salt...
NOAA
Through Robot Eyes
How do robots assist ocean explorers in collecting data and images? The final installment in a five-part series has science scholars examine underwater images collected by robots and identify the organisms shown. Groups then calculate...
Curated OER
Salinity
Learners define and discuss salinity, conduct classroom experiment to determine salinity of water sample by using hydrometer, record predictions, and demonstrate understanding of how salinity influences object's ability to float in water.
Curated OER
Ranking Salinity
Young scholars explain the uses of titration in chemistry and in industry. For this chemistry lesson, students determine the concentration of an unknown solution using titration. They calculate the percent of salt in saline solutions.
Curated OER
Salinity in Mill Creek
Fifth graders use water samples collected at three different locations of Utah's Mill Creek to test salinity of water, hypothesize about salinity levels at each location, record results, and discuss their findings with classmates. ...
Institute for Systems Biology
Introduction to Saline Environments & Microbial Halophiles
If you do not mind wading through unrelated headings (This is not for a physics or STEM course, as it states.) and content (The lesson opens with an article about neurology, not halophiles.), then you will find a valuable resource on...
Curated OER
Stacking Water
Students experiment with different salinities of water using straws and different colors of water. They collect and interpret data from the experiment.