NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
Purdue University
Food Waste and the Environment
Out of sight out of mind can be a dangerous habit. Learners investigate the life of food waste after it leaves people's homes and its impact on the environment. They complete a series of three activities that involve building a mini...
NOAA
The Dead Zone
The fifth installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program defines dead zones and how they form. Pupils then examine data from the Gulf of Mexico to determine dead zone formation.
Virginia Department of Education
Changes in Ecosystems
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...
Curated OER
The Influence of Human Activity on the Environment
The surge in human population in the last 2,000 years, due in large part to better health care, has brought a surge in the demand for resources and in pollution. The graphics, photographs, and real-life examples in a thought-provoking...
Curated OER
Eutrophication
Students observe the effects of eutrophication and determine why it is harmful to aquatic ecosystems. They create mason jar ecosystems to observe the growth of algae in pond water. In addition, they observe the effect of introducing...
Curated OER
"Dead-Zones" and Coastal Eutrophication: Case-Study of Chesapeake Bay
Take an in-depth look at nutrient loading, eutrophication, and hypoxia using data on The Chesapeake Bay as an example. This comprehensive presentation includes detailed graphs, photos, and details about the changes in marine organism...
Curated OER
AP: Chapter 54: Ecosystems
A lot of learning is packed into these 23 questions about ecosystems. Advanced biology classes apply their knowledge of communities, productivity, biogeochemical cycles, and human impact on the environment by writing short answers for...
Curated OER
Week 3: Pollution Source and Effects
Lab groups set up an experiment to observe what happens over time in collected pond water when fertilizer, representing pollution, is added. This website does not include student lab sheets, but background information, materials, and...
Curated OER
Plankton
Learners explore how to collect plankton and use microscopes to observe and identify it. They collect the plankton sample and classify the various components of the plankton. Students identify organisms in the plankton and draw...
Curated OER
Measuring Exponential Growth
Middle schoolers reinforce math skills while learning about best practices
for protection of water quality in the management of animal feeding
operations. They make a table to show results of their calculations and compare and justify...
Curated OER
Eutrophication Lab
Middle schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Pea Soup Ponds
Young scholars perform an experiment where they learn how water can be polluted by algal bloom. They grow algae with different concentrations of fertilizers or nutrients and analyze their results.
Curated OER
The Nitrogen Cycle
Students study the nitrogen cycle and construct a diagram. In this Earth Science lesson students use role play to see the various paths.
Curated OER
Biochemical Cycles: Recycling Carbon and Nitrogen
Students construct flow diagrams of the carbon and nitrogen cycle processes. They identify sequences in each cycle that are affected by human impact and present their research to the class.
Curated OER
"The Good, The Bad, and the Bountiful" Algal Blooms
In this biology worksheet, students draw 2 illustrations of the nearshore environment before and during algal blooms. They explain what happens after the bloom is over.
Curated OER
Ions in the Environment
Students explain the importance of the five main biogeochemical cycles. In this chemistry lesson plan, students discuss how ions are transported in the environment. They design an experiment to collect data on eutrophication.
Curated OER
Effects of organic material and nutrient pollution
Young scholars create a definition of eutrophication. In this organic material lesson students work together to create a storyline.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Harmful Algal Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay
Harmful algal blooms occur when algae, which form the base of the ocean food web, grow in massive numbers and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. In this project you will learn how to...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Lab 7: Nitrates and Phosphates and Algae, Oh My!
A lab experiment, in a series of experiments, that investigates fisheries. In this lab, students test the effects of fertilizers and other pollutants on a model ecosystem. Students also examine 2 years of ocean color (chlorophyll...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Epa: Mississippi River / Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force
Learn about the task force formed to help the public understand the causes and effects of eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico.
NOAA
Noaa: Estuaries 101 Curriculum: Dissolved Oxygen in an Estuary
In this activity, students focus on the relationship between dissolved oxygen, plant growth, chlorophyll-a and temperature using SWMP water quality data from monitoring stations in the Narragansett Bay Estuarine Research Reserve and the...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Visualizing Watershed Health
Using data visualizations that show dissolved oxygen levels, students analyze the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. They will also learn about dead zones, which are aquatic areas where there is insufficient oxygen to support life....
NOAA
Noaa: Estuaries 101 Curriculum: Nutrients in an Estuary
An overload of nutrients, called eutrophication (Greek for "good-nutrition"), can be harmful to estuaries. This phenomenon is also referred to as "over-enrichment," or "nutrient pollution". Students will investigate the range of...