Divide your chemistry or environmental science class into two groups. Each group tests water samples from a river for the concentration of phosphorus using a different method. With chemists, you can use this activity as they learn to use...

Young scholars list sources of phosphorus in soil. They explain how phosphorus is removed from the soil and used by plants. Students list the symptoms of insufficient or excess phosphorus. Young scholars perform experiments to examine...

Learners examine specific skills in assessing water quality from a holistic approach. They assess the health of a local watershed and identify problems in the local watershed and suggest remediation.

Young scientists roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty in this three-day earth science investigation. Following the scientific method, children monitor the growth of algae in pond water samples in order to determine...

How does water pollution affect the environment? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question as they learn about eutrophication and ecosystem changes. Over two weeks, they simulate the effects of pollution on the...

Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...

Observe two different water samples and write down observations. Write a paragraph which predicts the relative amounts of nutrients, nitrates, and phosphates in the water samples. Compare water samples under a microscope.

The theory that adding iron to ocean water may increase phytoplankton ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is examined. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is monitoring conditions off the California coast to...

Students explore nutrient, bacterial, and toxic surface water pollution. They identify the amount of water they use each day and summarize the kinds of substances that cause water pollution. They predict what will happen in water...

Learners are able to use a secchi disk to measure the turbidity of water by determining the depth at which the sechi disk is no longer visible and using the data in a formula to quantify the results. They are able to use Vernier probes...

Learners perform soil tests for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, composition and water percolation rate and assess the conditions in the schoolyard.

Young scholars examine the effects of detergents and fertilizers on aquatic life and describe algae. Students define the term eutrophication as the process by which a body of water, such as a pond, lake, stream, or river, has a sudden...

Students visit a sewage treatment plant and use an exercise to identify the effects of given sewage components on humans and the environment when sewage treatment is bypassed or fails. They read the provided "sewage matrix" worksheet and...

This is not they typical set of teacher instructions. It is an organized chart of the important organic compounds. For each, the involved elements, the name of the building block monomers, the names of polymers, extra information, and a...

Students investigate how excess nutrients enter a body of water, and the harmful effects they have on aquatic organisms.

Students explore how the energy flow through a system is related to trophic levels. They investigate how organisms affect the cycling of elements and water through the biosphere. Students participate in lab activities to observe ways...

Ninth graders practice how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet, make a graph, and interpret graphed data. They recognize how the pollution in the Hudson River has changed over time, and explain the consequences of these...

Middle schoolers determine how the various levels of minerals in the soil, as well as the pH of the soil, affect the growth of plants in these plant growth experiments.

Learners participate in a science lab to determine the pH of three different soil samples. Students conduct an experiment by creating a question, a hypothesis and then an investigation of soil samples. Then they compare colors apprearing...

Learners design a closed system to test the relationships between plants and animals. They monitor abiotic fluctuations within this living system by using a chemical test kit. They observe how living organisms respond to fluctuations in...

Students investigate the process of hydroponic agriculture. They grow beans in different hydroponic solutions, compare results and graph their observations.

Students state the physical, chemical or biological processes associated with these environments: Pelagic ocean zone, California coat Cave, Indiana Barrier island beach, North Carolina Sand dune, Dunes National Park, Colorado Wetland and...

Students recognize the need for gentle care of eggs. In this chicken hatching lesson, students observe the process of incubating eggs for hatching. Students find the materials needed to properly care for the chicks. Students complete a...

Students discover information about animal eggs by reading the book, An Egg is Quiet.  In this animal science lesson, students research different animals to find out what their eggs look like.  Students use a provided chart to...