Few people are aware of how crucial the sense of smell is to identifying foods, or the adaptive value of being able to identify a food as being familiar and therefore safe to eat. In this lesson and ...
... more

Few people are aware of how crucial the sense of smell is to identifying foods, or the adaptive value of being able to identify a food as being familiar and therefore safe to eat. In this lesson and activity, students conduct an experiment to determine whether or not the sense of smell is important to being able to recognize foods by taste. The teacher leads a discussion that allows students to explore why it might be adaptive for humans and other animals to be able to identify nutritious versus noxious foods. This is followed by a demonstration in which a volunteer tastes and identifies a familiar food, and then attempts to taste and identify a different familiar food while holding his or her nose and closing his or her eyes. Then, the class develops a hypothesis and a means to obtain quantitative results for an experiment to determine whether students can identify foods when the sense of smell has been eliminated.
... less

Bycatch can be defined as the act of unintentionally catching certain living creatures using fishing gear. A bycatched species is distinguished from a target species (the animal the gear is intended ...
... more

Bycatch can be defined as the act of unintentionally catching certain living creatures using fishing gear. A bycatched species is distinguished from a target species (the animal the gear is intended to catch) because it is not sold or used. Marine mammals (whales, dolphins, porpoises), seabirds, sea turtles and unwanted or undersized fish are some examples of animals caught as bycatch. The incidental capture of these animals can significantly reduce their populations. The most well known example of bycatch may be the unintentional mortality of spotted and spinner dolphins in the tuna fishing industry. "Dolphin-Safe" tuna was a result of this interaction (Be prepared to discuss how this came about with students, as it is something close to their daily lives). One important aspect to consider when discussing this issue is that laws protect some of the animals caught as bycatch (Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act). In this lesson, students will first be shown pictures of entangled marine animals and will discuss the definition of bycatch. This will lead to discussions on why bycatching exists, how it impacts specific animals as well as humans, whether the students believe it is an important issue, and how bycatch can be reduced.
... less

In this lesson, students learn about the basics of cellular respiration. They also learn about the application of cellular respiration to engineering and bioremediation. And, students are introduced t...
... more

In this lesson, students learn about the basics of cellular respiration. They also learn about the application of cellular respiration to engineering and bioremediation. And, students are introduced to the process of bioremediation and several examples of how bioremediation is used during the cleanup of environmental contaminants.
... less

This lesson begins with an activity in which students induce EMF in a coil of wire using magnetic fields. Then, demonstrations on Eddy currents show how a magnetic field can slow magnets just as Eddy...
... more

This lesson begins with an activity in which students induce EMF in a coil of wire using magnetic fields. Then, demonstrations on Eddy currents show how a magnetic field can slow magnets just as Eddy currents are used to slow large trains. There is then a demonstration in which a loop "jumps" because of a changing magnetic field. Finally, formal lecture reviews the cross product with respect to magnetic force and introduces magnetic flux, Faraday's law of Induction, Lenz's Law, Eddy currents, motional EMF and Induced EMF.
... less

Students are introduced to chemical engineering and learn about its many different applications. They are provided with a basic introduction to matter and its different properties and states. An assoc...
... more

Students are introduced to chemical engineering and learn about its many different applications. They are provided with a basic introduction to matter and its different properties and states. An associated hands-on activity gives students a chance to test their knowledge of the states of matter and how to make observations using their five senses: touch, smell, sound, sight and taste.
... less