Students get a chance to examine the monetary and environmental cost of this bead exuberance with our unit pricing and recycling activity.
Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday
Tag: climate change
Louisiana
We recently watched the approach of Hurricane Barry and worried about the fate of Louisiana. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, what would another powerful hurricane do to this fragile state? What is it about Louisiana that causes so much…
Which car should I buy?
Presidents Day is also about car sales. Should you buy a hybrid car or an electric car to save money? What about the environmental considerations? Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years…
Monarchs are flying south again
In mid-August and early September, the Monarch butterflies begin their annual migration south to more moderate climates to hibernate and overwinter. It is an incredibly long migration and fascinating to observe. But, the populations data on Monarchs has seriously changed…
Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctica
The crack in Antarctica’s Larson C ice shelf has been growing for years. Has the speed of the rift’s growth stayed about the same? increased? decreased? Do the math and discuss the implications. The activity: ice-sheet-rift.pdf
Measuring sea level
What does this gizmo do? We’ve given students a diagram of what the interior of this mechanism contains and asked them to try to decide what its purpose must be. Then we’ve given them the data that was collected from…
Giant iceberg
Over the past Easter weekend this giant iceberg drifted passed Ferryland, Newfoundland. Its hard to tell how large it actually is but it looks huge. Use some of the data that was supplied and your estimation skills to gauge the…
Alarming ice cracks on Brunt Ice Sheet in Antarctica
A new, fast-growing ice crack is forcing the Halley VI British research station in Antarctica (shown above) to be moved. Fear of a huge break-off from the ice sheet is alarming not just to the scientists on the station but to…
Should I replace my toilets?
I’m trying to be more savy about wasting our resources. I have really old fashioned toilets and I’m trying to figure out if I should invest in saving water. Can you help me? The activity: PottyTalk.pdf CCSS: 8.F.3, 8.F.4, 8.F.5, HSF.IF.B.4, HSF.IF.B.6, HSF.IF.C.7, HSF.IF.C.9, HSF.LE.A.2, HSF.LE.B.5
What’s my angle?
I’m going to help save the planet by adding solar panels to my roof! Should I tilt the panels on my roof to more accurately aim towards the Sun? If so, at what angle should I use? Should I be…
Weather extremes
This year has brought torrential rains to Texas after years of severe draught. February was the coldest month ever in much of the midwest and Northeast US. Pakistan and India have experienced extreme and deadly heat waves. Use the open number line and…
McDonalds moves towards antibiotic-free chicken
Recently McDonald’s announced that by 2016 they will use only chicken raised without the antibiotics that are used in human medicine. McDonald’s plans to join Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Chiptotle, and Whole Foods in the move towards removing antibiotics in the…
Cost of light bulbs – updated!
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about the cost to consumers of CFL and LED bulbs and the savings in energy and money that could be realized. Let your students “do the math” and realize some of the profit…
Methane math
Carbon dioxide and methane are our two most prevalent human-contributed greenhouse gases. This holstein cow is one of many huge contributors to our methane production. Let students calculate percentages of greenhouse gas production from cars, cows, and people. We’ve got…