How Much Is an Ecosystem Worth?

Demonstrate to your middle school science learners how chalk breaks down in a weak acid. Discuss what affects acidic rain might have on ecosystems. Lab groups then choose one of two questions: "How does acid precipitation affect an...

Students explain and discuss the importance of ecosystems. They analyze the natural resources in the environment. They also suggest actions that would protect ecosystems.

After reviewing biodiversity, learners work in small groups to analyze actual species distribution data. They learn to calculate the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for different communities. Though not particularly engaging, the content...

When judging diversity of an ecosystem, both species evenness and species richness must contribute. After a discussion of diversity and a guided example using the Shannon-Weaver function, scholars use the same function on two other...

How much information can we process? How much information is stored inside us? These questions, and many more, inspired an inquisitive installment from a larger video series. From verbal and written language to DNA and computers,...

No question is a silly question! Vsauce is a website that investigates strange questions. Founder and science educator, Michael Stevens, explains the value of the such questions to an audience and demonstrates by working through the...

There are millions of plant and animal species on the planet, but why do we need so many? Follow along with this short video as it explains how biodiversity helps strengthen ecosystems, allowing them to adapt to change so that life...

Climate change has happened throughout the history of the planet, and the video uses examples from continental drift to modern airplanes as measurable examples. It begins with how climate change will impact systems on the planet. Then it...

Dirt is worthless, isn't it? Find out the true value of dirt, and by dirt I mean soil. The class explores what makes soil, the types of soil, and what happens when soil becomes void of its nutrients. There are several great activities,...

The Greenhouse Effect is a big part of why Earth is able to sustain life. But, how much is too much? In part two of an eight-part series about the carbon cycle, environmental scholars learn how the natural Greenhouse Effect keeps us warm...