Embedded Files
📝Note: This activity was developed by graduate students, Kalpana Kukreja and Dylan Stover, who are working in Critical Zone research labs. Formatting the activity into K12 lessons and aligning them to standards is still a work in progress.
The activity engages students in hands-on science practices, encourages critical thinking about the role of nutrients in soil, and fosters an understanding of how to assess and measure these nutrients in an ecological context.
Summary
In this activity, students learn about the variability of nutrient levels in soil across the Earth. They measure nutrient levels in soil by conducting experiments with different soil solutions.
Students are provided with various solutions (Reagent A and Reagent B) and are guided to mix them with a test solution to observe chemical changes, such as color transformations.
Students learn about the impact of different nutrient concentrations on the color of the solutions, helping them understand the importance of nutrient content in soil for plant growth and the broader ecosystem.
Nutrients Facilitator Guide.pptx.pdfFacilitator Guide
These guides include instructions for setting up and facilitating the experiment.
How can it be adapted to match your students and your subject?
NGSS Connections:
NGSS Standard: MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
NGSS Standard: MS-PS1-2: Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
NGSS Standard: MS-LS2-3: Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
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