Students will use the Hurricane Explorer model to explain and predict how the path and strength of a hurricane can change due to sea surface temperature, surrounding atmospheric pressure systems, and proximity to land. Students also investigate real-world case studies to consider and articulate factors that influence the risk and impact of hurricanes including scientific factors (winds, flooding) and social factors (people and infrastructure) on a local and regional scale. Finally, students will explore the effect of rising global temperatures on hurricanes and be able to answer the guiding question: How will hurricane risks and impacts change over the next 100 years?

This homework assignment is given in the first two weeks of class. Students receive one or two lectures that cover the topics of atmospheric layers, temperature and pressure profiles, concepts of atmospheric mass and pressure and measuring (i.e. dropsonde) instrumentation. At the beginning of each lecture I briefly show them the tropical update from the NOAA National Hurricane Center web site; if there is an active storm, I show where I go to get more info, such as the projected storm track and storm history (for example, from Intellicast Hurricane Tracking). Then, for this assignment, I reintroduce them to these hurricane information web sites and demonstrate how to find the historical data on tropical storms (such as from the Unisys Hurricane Data Archive), and how to copy and paste text data into word and/or excel, as a tab- or space-delimited file. I point out some problem areas with this data-grabbing method, such as headers that get lost from their associated data column or date information that may not format as dates.
I then hand out the assignment, which asks them to:

Find data on a current or recent (this year) tropical system, provide the name and year of the storm and the reference web site, and plot the wind speed and pressure variables against time. Students should label the axes and give a descriptive title to the chart.
Describe what they notice in the graphed data and if it seems believable (this allows students to decide if they have done the task correctly by using their understanding of the data).
Predict what will happen if the storm a) intensifies or b) weakens.
I then provide another data set (of any long-duration tropical storm that formed, weakened and later re-intensified) and ask them to go through the same process of plotting and interpretation.
I tell them that some future climate predictions are for more storms with lower central pressures and ask which of the two charts best represents that future scenario, and why.

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Students learn what causes hurricanes and what engineers do to help protect people from destruction caused by hurricane winds and rain. Research and data collection vessels allow for scientists and engineers to model and predict weather patterns and provide forecasts and storm warnings to the public. Engineers are also involved in the design and building of flood-prevention systems, such as levees and floodwalls. During the 2005 hurricane season, levees failed in the greater New Orleans area, contributing to the vast flooding and destruction of the historic city. In the associated activity, students learn how levees work, and they build their own levees and put them to the test!

In this field exercise, students measure channel cross sections in a rough alluvial and smooth bedrock-floored reach in a local stream. This exercise is hypothesis-driven. The hypothesis states that increasing roughness decreases average stream velocity, and so the depth and/or width must increase for the rougher bed. Working in groups, students use hand levels, tape measures, and surveying rods to document channel geometry. They then must reduce the data and plot it as distance-elevation on a chart. Finally, they analyze and compare the results to the predicted roughness-hydraulic geometry relation. Students learn simple surveying methods to collect field data. Students compare real world data to theoretical predictions. Students gain insight into how bank and bed roughness influences water flow, and thus can also influence flood heights.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Integrates geomorphology into a core course in geology
Designed for an introductory geology course
Uses geomorphology to solve problems in other fields

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This introductory exercise allows students to evaluate predictions from hydraulic geometry, area-discharge scaling and downstream fining in a complex field environment. For many this is their first time collecting, entering, plotting and analyzing data.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Uses online and/or real-time data
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills

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The flow or discharge value in a river does not mean much to a lay person or a decision maker because this flow can be insignificant on a big river or can be dangerous on a small creek. Thus, we must know how to translate this flow value into the water depth, velocity, and the corresponding extent to understand its impact. The objective of this unit is to perform hydraulic modeling on a reach of Wabash River near Lafayette, Indiana, to estimate water surface elevation and extent corresponding to a 100 year flow. Students will learn the basics of hydraulic modeling using HEC-RAS to simulate the flow hydraulics using one-dimensional steady state assumption. The outcome will be the inundation extent corresponding to the 100-year event along the reach of the Wabash River near Lafayette, IN. Make sure you have HEC-RAS available on school or personal computers prior to the start of the unit.

HydroViz is an educational "virtual" hydrologic observatory developed for a "real" watershed and is based on integration of field data, remote sensing observations and computer simulations of hydrologic variables and processes. The main purpose of HydroViz is to support hydrology education in engineering and earth science courses.

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This course develops the theory and design of hydrofoil sections, including lifting and thickness problems for sub-cavitating sections, unsteady flow problems, and computer-aided design of low drag cavitation-free sections. It also covers lifting line and lifting surface theory with applications to hydrofoil craft, rudder, control surface, propeller and wind turbine rotor design. Other topics include computer-aided design of wake adapted propellers; steady and unsteady propeller thrust and torque; performance analysis and design of wind turbine rotors in steady and stochastic wind; and numerical principles of vortex lattice and lifting surface panel methods. Projects illustrate the development of computational methods for lifting, propeller and wind turbine flows, and use of state-of-the-art simulation methods for lifting, propulsion and wind turbine applications.

This lab exercise exposes students to a potentially new alternative energy source hydrogen gas. Student teams are given a hydrogen generator and an oxygen generator. They balance the chemical equation for the combustion of hydrogen gas in the presence of oxygen. Then they analyze what the equation really means. Two hypotheses are given, based on what one might predict upon analyzing the chemical equation. Once students have thought about the process, they are walked through the experiment and shown how to collect the gas in different ratios. By trial and error, students determine the ideal combustion ratio. For both volume of explosion and kick generated by explosion, they qualitatively record results on a 0-4 scale. Then, students evaluate their collected results to see if the hypotheses were correct and how their results match the theoretical equation. Students learn that while hydrogen will most commonly be used for fuel cells (no combustion situation), it has been used in rocket engines (for which a tremendous combustion occurs).

This activity is a single, semester-long project that involves a hydrogeologic assessment of a property in Central Texas. The project is presented in the lab portion of a hydrogeology class, and it is broken into several separate steps. Each step is treated as a separate assignment, however, the data and results associated with each assignment are applied towards the overall goal of the project. Students are required to maintain a file and a master Excel workbook containing all information, data, and results from each of the steps. All this information is then used to develop an analytical model that simulated drawdowns in the aquifer. This model is used to answer the primary question associated with the project. The results are then documented in a technical report.

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In this hands-on investigation, students will utilize the hydroponic method to grow a bean plant from a bean seed. Over the course of a 2 week time period, students will make detailed observations and sketches of the actual bean growth and make predictions about growth patterns over the weekend time periods. Students will create a cartoon to defend the position that plants obtain materials needed for growth primarily from air and water. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

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:

"Low blood pressure, or hypotension, is common during surgery. Because hypotensive events are associated with worse outcomes, reducing the frequency, depth, and duration of intraoperative hypotension might be a way to help patients. Commercially available hypotension prediction algorithms can help physicians prevent potentially dangerous bouts of low blood pressure. But it’s unknown how effective they are. To address this question, researchers with the Cleveland Clinic tested a prediction algorithm in a pilot randomized controlled trial. The trial found no difference in hypotension in patients using the algorithm versus unguided controls. In the trial, which included 214 non-cardiac surgical patients, about half had care from practitioners using the algorithm, which is based on arterial pressure waveform features. The algorithm provides the probability of hypotension as an index ranging from 0 to 100, with 85 serving as an alert..."

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

An optimistic Unionist boast, issued early in Lincoln's presidency, predicting the summary defeat of the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln (at left) stands over the shield of the United States and a bald eagle, and fends off the sword of a bewhiskered secessionist. To the far left Lincoln's predecessor James Buchanan flees, saying, "I am glad I am out of the scrape!" He wears horns and has the words "Something rotten in Denmark" written on his clothing. Lincoln declares, "Just in time!" The secessionist wears a large-brimmed planter's hat, and has a pistol in his belt. He says, "Now or never" as his troops retreat into the background. Behind him federal troops under Union commander Winfield Scott approach. Scott says, "This is the way we serve all Traitors!" His lead soldier, holding up a noose, responds, "I am ready!" Behind are more Union troops, and a gallows. A domed building, possibly the Capitol at Washington, appears in the distance at left.|Copyright secured by Carl Anton, Cincinnati.|The print was deposited for copyright in the District Court for Cincinnati on May 24, 1861.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Weitenkampf, p. 126.|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 1861-27.

This activity is an observation where students study clouds and predict the weather.

The course addresses a fundamental issue in system design and management, the need for engineering leaders to recognize uncertainty in the performance of their plans or designs. It presents discounted cash flow (DCF) Excel models, simulation, and decision analysis as primary ways to analyze possible outcomes of design and management strategies. It also addresses how we should analyze possible performance outcomes and cope with risks in demand, requirements, cost, technology, etc.

In this activity, students will simulate the equal and unequal distribution of our renewable resources. Also, they will consider the impact of our increasing population upon these resources and how engineers develop technologies to create resources.

INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY Syllabus and Grading Criteria and Schedule for Flipped Classroom

CH104

DESCRIPTION
Introduces basic principles of general chemistry, including atomic theory, chemical formulas and equations, bonding, stoichiometry, acid/base chemistry, and solutions. Supporting laboratory work included. Not designed for science majors.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Interpret the periodic table to describe elements of atomic structure for the elements and to make predictions about properties based on the position of elements on the table.
2. Apply atomic theory in describing atomic structure, making predictions about bonding and compound formation, and interpreting chemical reactions.
3. Construct and interpret Lewis structures as models for ionic and covalent compounds.
4. Describe ionic and covalent bonding and distinguish between the two, including descriptions of substances of each type at the observable scale.
5. Solve problems using dimensional analysis involving chemical substances and reactions, drawing on understanding of the mole concept, formula masses and reaction stoichiometry.
6. Read, write, and interpret balanced chemical equations, using proper equation syntax and standard symbolism to link such descriptions to phenomena that occur at the observable scale.
7. Interpret and carry out a set of written experimental instructions and then to convey the experimental results in a laboratory report.
8. Apply kinetic-molecular theory to describe solids, liquids, and gases.
9. Recognize acids and describe acidity according to the Bronsted-Lowry definition.
10. Use scientific (inductive) reasoning to draw appropriate conclusions from data sets or theoretical models. Characterize arguments as scientific, or not scientific.
11. Make measurements and operate with numbers properly to convey appropriate levels of certainty when drawing conclusions from experimental data. Identify patterns in data by graphical means.

The students will simulate different methods used to treat the Eastern Red Cedar, using the Prairie Protector Game.

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:

"Mucosal sites such as the gastrointestinal tract are home to dense communities of commensal bacteria. At these barrier sites, plasma cells secrete a specialized type of antibody – immunoglobulin isotype A (IgA). A new method called IgA-Seq is often used to identify which bacterial taxa are bound to IgA, improving our understanding of host-microbe interactions. Unfortunately, IgA-Seq data often suffers from high variability between experiments and unresolved biases in equations used for analysis. In a new article, researchers describe the design strategy for an optimized IgA-Seq protocol. Using standardized positive and negative controls, they defined the optimal reagents and FACS parameters for IgA-Seq . Analysis with simulated IgA-Seq data showed that existing scoring methods are influenced by pre-sort relative abundance. These effects could be addressed using a novel scoring approach based on posterior probabilities..."

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

This activity is designed for students to discover how making observations of the environment is the key to making sound predictions. Students will also learn how both positive and negative outcomes of these predictions can affect and shape future decisions.