This article provides science content knowledge about forces that shape the Earth's surface: erosion by wind, water, and ice, volcanoes, earthquakes, and plate tectonics and how these forces affect Earth's polar regions.

An election-year satire favoring Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren in the 1848 presidential contest. A long-legged John Van Buren carries his father piggyback through Salt River, heading toward the White House on the far shore. "Matty" says, "Thanks to your long legs, John, I believe that I shall pass over this Jordan dry shod." The younger Van Buren assures his father, "Hold on Dad & I'll put you through." Meanwhile, abolitionist editor Horace Greeley and candidates Taylor and Clay are having a more difficult time fording the river. Clay is immersed head first, leaving only his legs visible. Taylor is neck-deep in the water. Greeley yells to Kentucky Whig leader Cassius M. Clay, seated on the near bank, "Help, Cassius, or I Sink." Clay replies, "Can't come there, Horace, I risked my life in Mexico, & I don't like to do it again." (Cassius Clay was a hero of the recent Mexican War).|Entered . . . 1848 by J. Baillie. |Published by James Baillie, 87th St. near Third Avenue, New York.|Signed with reversed initials: H.B. (H. Bucholzer).|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 97.|Forms part of: American cartoon print filing series (Library of Congress)|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1848-29.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Around 125,000 years ago Earth was relatively warmer than today All because Earth’s orbit permitted greater exposure to incoming solar rays This time period provides an example of how Earth’s climate might respond to future warming A recent study used fossil corals to explore past changes within the Tropical Atlantic a region sensitive to shifts in the rain belt that spans the equator Any effect this has on water bodies is captured within the reefs built by corals Oxygen isotopes within seven corals reveal 85 years of seasonal climate change Pairing the coral data with computer simulations showed the rain belt moved farther north bringing more summer rain to the islands of the South Caribbean, such as Bonaire in contrast to the dry weather found in the region today Brocas et al. Last Interglacial Hydroclimate Seasonality Reconstructed From Tropical Atlantic Corals..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This is an introductory environmental health course examining population growth, environmentally-linked disease, and health concerns associated with toxic substances, food quality, air pollution, water pollution, noise, solid and hazardous waste, and pesticide use. Scientific topics will studied in a global context, and will be discussed in light of society, technological, and economic systems that impact our collective environment. Environmental issues and problems transcend geographical boundaries and academic disciplines. Therefore, students need to understand the social, economic, political issues that affect the quality and quantity of environmental resources upon which humankind depend. This course fulfills the requirements for Science, Technology and Society. It does this by examining how human activity influences the availability and quality of environmental resources and how these environmental factors influence human health at both the local and global scale.

This video segment, adapted from Need to Know, discusses how the process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is used to extract natural gas and how the process may be polluting water resources with hazardous chemicals, leading to health concerns.

Explore fractions while you help yourself to 1 and 1/2 chocolate cakes and wash it down with 1/3 a glass of water! Create your own fractions using fun interactive objects. Match shapes and numbers to earn stars in the mixed number game. Challenge yourself on any level you like. Try to collect lots of stars!

If you are lucky enough to teach Petrology in a part of the world with a cold winter, freeze distillation of hard apple cider works well as a class demonstration when the cider is frozen overnight outside. The slow growth of ice forms fairly large crystals on top of the alcoholic liquid, as opposed to experiments done in a freezer where it is hard to separate ice and cider. The ice can be removed from the cider using a kitchen sieve, and the remaining hard apple cider has a beautiful amber color and a very strong smell of alcohol, so it is obvious to students what is going on chemically. The process can be discussed in terms of the ethanol-water eutectic phase diagram.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Between 70 and 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and there exists still more water in the atmosphere and underground in aquifers. In this lesson, students learn about water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They will learn about several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources. They will also think about their role in water conservation.

In this activity, students will use oxygen isotope values of two species of modern coral to reconstruct ambient water temperature over a four-year period. They use Microsoft Excel, or similar application, to create a spreadsheet of temperature values calculated from the isotope values of the corals by means of an algebraic equation. Students then use correlation and regression techniques to determine whether isotope records can be considered to be good proxies for records of past temperatures.

In this activity, students will use a tutorial on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website to learn about how surface water is treated to make it safe to drink.

This is one component of the Source to Sink Mini Lesson Set
Continental margins are phenomenal places to study the modern sedimentary cycle because sediment in margin regions has been routed from mountains (source) through river systems to the sea (sink); in some cases, sediment has continued across continental shelves and been delivered to the deep sea. The goal of this mini-lesson is to let students explore the characteristics of some key regions in the modern sedimentary cycle to identify and relate the variables that control source-to-sink systems. Which areas are eroding most rapidly and why? Which systems are responsible for the most rapid transfer of sediments from continents to the oceans? How do the characteristics of river systems affect the properties of the sediments they discharge? How can we apply our knowledge of these modern source-to-sink systems to the ancient sedimentary rock record?

Students will learn about the water cycle, watersheds, and specifically, the watershed that feeds Springfield, Oregon. After analyzing drought maps, reading news reports, and seeing images and videos, students will realize that drought is a real life concern. Students, as concerned citizens, will create a water collection device, at first on a small scale, and then a true to life water collection system to help re- purpose rainwater in our garden area.

Students will be able to design and defend a salmon rearing tank for the highest survival rate. They will measure temperature, ph and ammonia on daily basis and make needed adjustments. Given unit ending data students will be able to determine the optimal design for a salmon rearing tank using patterns between water conditions and survival rates.

This fuel cell animation demonstrates how a fuel cell uses hydrogen to produce electricity, with only water and heat as byproducts. The animation consists of four parts - an introduction, fuel cell components, chemical process, and fuel cell stack.

This lesson will expose Biology students to mechanisms of energy by using a wind turbine demonstration and a fuel cell car student lab.  Fuel Cell kits will need to be purchased for this activity.  

In this activity, students investigate the simulated use of solid rocket fuel by using an antacid tablet. Students observe the effect that surface area and temperature has on chemical reactions. Also, students compare the reaction time using two different reactants: water and vinegar. Finally, students report their results using a bar graph.

Fundamentals of Ammonia Synthesis is a meticulously designed resource that was written to provide both students and educators with an amazing learning experience.The topic is structured into five captivating lessons, each carefully designed to understand the complexity of ammonia production. Beginning with the first lesson where we studied the process steps involved in ammonia synthesis, to lesson two where we explored the concept of Synthesis gas production by steam reforming with emphasis on natural gas reforming. In lesson three we analyzed the various operating variables that influence the production of synthesis. In lessons four and five we studied the purification of synthesis and how it is used for the production of ammonia. Each lesson comes with a quiz to reinforce what was learned.Our resource doesn't just serve as class notes; it's a gateway to a deeper understanding of chemical engineering principles. Whether you're a student seeking to grasp the fundamentals or an educator looking to enrich your teaching arsenal, "Fundamentals of Ammonia Synthesis" promises an enriching educational journey filled with insight, discovery, and practical application. Join us as we unlock the secrets of ammonia synthesis and pave the way for a brighter future in chemical engineering.

Do you want to know more about atmospheric science? This course is designed to give both Meteorology and non-Meteorology students a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric science and the quantitative analytical tools to apply atmospheric science to their own disciplines. Students are introduced to fundamental concepts and applications of atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, atmospheric chemistry, cloud microphysics, atmospheric dynamics, and the atmospheric boundary layer. These topics are covered broadly but in enough depth to introduce students to the methods atmospheric scientists use to describe and predict atmospheric phenomena. The course is designed to be taken by sophomore meteorology students as well as by students in related disciplines who have an adequate mathematical and physical background.

This design-based subject provides a first course in energy and thermo-sciences with applications to sustainable energy-efficient architecture and building technology. No previous experience with subject matter is assumed. After taking this subject, students will understand introductory thermodynamics and heat transfer, know the leading order factors in building energy use, and have creatively employed their understanding of energy fundamentals and knowledge of building energy use in innovative building design projects. This year, the focus will be on design projects that will complement the new NSTAR/MIT campus efficiency program.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Terrestrial fungi are well known as decomposers, breaking down dead matter to return nutrients to the soil. However, the roles of fungi in the ocean are less well understood. Oceanic fungi occur with other microbes throughout the water column, where they break down carbohydrates. A recent study examined the role of these marine fungi in recycling proteins, which represent more than half of living and dead marine biomass. Researchers performed a multi-omics analysis of all oceanic fungal-affiliated enzymes that break down proteins (peptidases). They found that the abundance, diversity, and expression of fungal peptidases increased with ocean depth, similar to fungal carbohydrate-degrading enzymes (CAZymes). This indicates a strong link between the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the open ocean. In-depth analysis of the most widely utilised fungal proteases revealed that the majority of pelagic fungal communities are dominated by saprotrophy rather than parasitism..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.