Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics Project part of Teaching Computation in the Sciences Using MATLAB:Matlab Workshop 2019:Activities
This activity is a project designed to introduce undergraduate chemical engineering students to chemical engineering thermodynamics in the context of MATLAB. The project requires students to learn concepts they ...

Unit 1: Use of Lead in the Environment and Health Impacts on Human Populations part of Lead in the Environment
In Unit 1, students engage in discussion of the historical use and resulting distribution of lead throughout the human environment. Activity 1.1 introduces the systems dynamics linking geology, human use, and human ...

Climate Change Mind Map part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities

CCD & Calcareous Ooze Assignment part of Oceanography:Activities
The assignment pre-tests student understanding of the CCD, lysocline, calcareous ooze, and the deposition of marine sediments near mid-ocean ridges and ocean basins.

Getting a Grip on Hydrogen Bonds part of Oceanography:Activities
The purpose of this brief (~15 minutes) activity is for students to directly observe some of the unique properties of water that are the result of hydrogen bonds, such as capillary action, adhesion, cohesion, and ...

Ocean Acidification part of Oceanography:Activities
Students choose shell fragments from different species of Molluscs and calculate percent lose after soaking in different ph solutions for different periods of time. They research ocean acidification and especially ...

Environmental Justice in Tacoma: A Non-Majors Qualitative Assessment of Pollution and Public Policy in the Local Community part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This activity is designed to get non-environmental majors to qualitatively examine their own community for evidence of environmental injustice. Using a mix of evidence from online sources (U.S. Census, EnviroMapper, Toxic Release Inventory, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, etc.) and field observations, student groups describe the population and pollution sources found within an assigned elementary school district in Tacoma.

An Environmental Analysis of Lake Waughop part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Through an analysis of water quality in a nearby lake, students are introduced to basic chemical techniques such as titrations (both acid/base and oxidation/reduction), atomic absorption spectrometry, and uv/vis spectrometry

Is The Water Safe for Aquatic Life? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
In this field activity students ponder sustainability issues such as point and non-point sources of pollution (including personal contributions), impacts of pollution, and potential mitigations.

Researching Ocean Acidification in General Chemistry part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This research-based student project used the problem of ocean acidification to cover the sustainability concept of fossil fuel combustion and the disciplinary concepts of kinetics, equilibrium, acid-base chemistry and solubility.

Hurricanes and Heat Transfer part of EarthLabs for Educators:Hurricanes
The lab activity described here was created by John McDaris of SERC for the EarthLabs project. Summary and Learning Objectives In this activity students investigate how hurricanes transfer heat by conducting ...

From Isotopes to Temperature: Working With A Temperature Equation part of Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum:General Collection:Examples
Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students build a spreadsheet to examine from a dataset the relation between oxygen isotopes in corals and the temperature of surrounding seawater.

Sensitivity of Parameters in Chaotic Systems part of Teaching Computation in the Sciences Using MATLAB:Matlab Workshop 2019:Activities
In this computer lab activity, students explore and discuss the nature of the sensitivity of parameters in a chaotic system. As a result, they understand the challenges of numerical simulation and/or parameters ...

Determining Energy Efficiency: A Lab Activity part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students determine the energy efficiency of different methods of heating substances in the lab and then assess the economic and environmental costs.

What is the True Cost of Burning Coal? part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
This activity is a framework for general chemistry students to explore the costs, ethics and alternatives to coal-fired electricity.

Alternative Deicers: An Application of Freezing Point Depression part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Road deicers raise several environmental and cost concerns. In this activity students consider alternatives while investigating colligative properties.

Acidification of Freshwater Streams and Lakes part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students research the acidification of freshwater streams and lakes, identify at least one of the sources, and determine how their daily activities contribute to the problem.

Integrating Sustainability Concepts into First Quarter General Chemistry part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
The goal of this project is to insert sustainability concepts and issues into the general chemistry curriculum. Specifically, I focus on carbon as the example to be considered throughout the quarter.

Exploring The Impact of Increased Acid Levels in Ocean Waters on Coral part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
The goal of this laboratory is to help students understand that burning fossil fuels, which results in an increase in the acidity of ocean waters, has a detrimental impact on marine life (specifically coral but also other organisms that have calcium carbonate based shells).

Organic Chemistry: Friend or Foe? An Organic Chemistry Special Investigation part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Students are asked to work in teams to find a claim in the media relating to the impact of an organic compound (or class of organic compounds) on the environment and its inhabitants. Their chosen compound should have an effect on the sustainability of plant or animal life, or, in particular, the sustainability of human health.