Ocean acidification (OA) has been called climate change's evil twin for a reason. Increased levels of carbon dioxide, caused by humans burning fossil fuels, are not only causing a rise in global temperature but are also having adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. In the lesson presented in this article, students conduct investigations using…

Newton's law of cooling describes an object whose temperature decreases exponentially with time. Because of its many applications, it is a frequent topic of introductory physics labs. In this article, I describe an experiment designed for the freshman year algebra-based physics course that applies this law to answering the question, "Why…

Presents a collection of activities to help elementary students study ocean ecology. The activities have students investigate ocean inhabitants, analyze animal adaptations, examine how temperature and saltiness affect ocean creatures, and learn about safeguarding the sea. Student pages offer reproducible learning sheets. (SM)

Students make and test a seemingly impossible material made from ice and sawdust that had been developed for possible emergency use during the Second World War. It was open to the students to be creative with their methods of testing the viability of such a material. The thought of making a battleship from ice that would gradually melt seems…

Michael Oppenheimer and Jesse Anttila-Hughes begin with a primer on how the greenhouse effect works, how we know that Earth is rapidly getting warmer, and how we know that the recent warming is caused by human activity. They explain the sources of scientific knowledge about climate change as well as the basis for the models scientists use to…

The atmospheric recycling of water is a very important phenomenon on the globe because it not only refreshes the water but it also redistributes it over land and oceans/rivers/lakes throughout the globe. This is made possible by the solar energy intercepted by the Earth. The half of the globe facing the Sun, on the average, intercepts 1.74 ×…

Ocean acidification is one of the most serious environmental issues facing the planet (e.g., Doney 2006; Guinotte and Fabry 2009). It is caused by excess carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]) in the atmosphere. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels put CO[subscript 2] and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, which causes the Earth's…

Data and data analysis are central to science and the complex world in which people live. Students need to practice working with data--addressed in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013)--starting with small, self-collected data sets and moving on to larger, remotely collected data assemblages. Small data sets…

The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. With this set of lessons, middle school Earth systems science teachers can help their students build an understanding of how large bodies of water can serve as a heat source or sink at different times and how proximity to water moderates climate along the coast. The activity's combination of…

People of the Pacific Basin must decide how to manage the Pacific Ocean commons, who does what in a changing industrial structure, and how to adapt to the new technological revolution. Although the United Nations' Law of the Sea moved into national jurisdiction many of the ocean resources of the Pacific Region, there is one new major…

These teaching guides are meant to supplement the seventh season (1996-97) of the PBS Series "Scientific American Frontiers". Episode 701 is entitled "Inventing the Future: A Tour of the MIT Media Lab" and the teaching guide contains information and activities on a virtual pet dog, computers of the future, a smart car designed…

The history of the discovery of iodine is retold using brown-colored seaweed found commonly along the ocean shore. The seaweed is ashed at a low temperature and the iodides are extracted into boiling water. The iodides are oxidized in acidic medium. Solvent extraction of iodine by oxidation of iodides as well as simple aqueous extraction of iodide…

The chemistry of dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater is reviewed and used to predict the potential effect of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In agreement with more detailed treatments, we find that calcium carbonate (aragonite) may become unsaturated in cold surface seawater by the year 2100 C.E., resulting in the destruction…

In this article, the authors describe the mechanics of They're M-e-e-elting!, an activity wherein middle school students can simulate glacial retreat in Antarctica. They're M-e-e-elting! allows students to melt glaciers, change the water level and salinity of the Southern Ocean, and examine alterations to the Antarctic food web--all without…

Describes Ocean Thermal Energy Conservation (OTEC) as a method for exploiting the temperature difference between warm surface waters of the sea and its cold depths. Argues for full-scale demonstrations of the technique for producing energy for coastal regions. (TW)