Solar Energy Honors

1. - - - What patterns do you see in this clip?
      - How does agriculture in North America change through time? What if we move backwards in time?
      - What sorts of factors control or influence where agriculture can occur?
WATERSHED MAP:https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/pdf/farmstophyto_mississippirivermap.pdf
INTERACTIVE MAP: https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/

USING INTERACTIVE MAP and Watershed Map answer these:

1. - - - Do you notice any correlations between the drainage basin map and the location of farmland? (Farms are often located along rivers or river systems.)
      - Who can describe where water from central North Dakota flows and where it eventually ends up?
      - Knowing that the Mississippi River drainage basin in full of farmland, what types of materials might end up in the stream system? In other words, is water the only thing that a drainage basin drains?
      - Do you think farms have any impacts on the environment? Do farms produce any pollution?
      - Can this pollution get into rivers and streams?
      - Do you think this might affect the plants and animals that live in the streams or where the streams flow to? Turn to a partner and share some ideas for one positive impact this runoff might have on living organisms, and one negative impact.
      - Locate and report in Table form, what crops are grown where
      - Why are those specific areas chosen for those specific crops?
      - How does the farmland change from year to year, be specific

Plants, like people, need nutrients to grow. Farmers often put fertilizers rich in nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous on their fields. When it rains, these nutrients can be washed into surrounding rivers and streams and impact the environment. Explain to students that you are going to be creating a model to look at how nutrients (‘inputs’) from farm fields that get washed into rivers and streams move through the Mississippi River drainage basin. Many of these nutrients are dissolved in the water, and thus are not directly observable to us, but we can model how they flow through a drainage basin with something that is observable.

II. Eutrophication & dead zone forms in an aquatic ecosystem.

Draw and fill in a flow chart showing these processes while you talk about them
1. What do you think might happen if there was a sudden spike in nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem? What happens in other ecosystems when there is suddenly a lot of food available to a certain species?
2. When organisms die, they are decomposed by things like bacteria. When organisms produce waste, this waste is also decomposed by bacteria. Can you describe the process of decomposition? What does this process need to occur?
3. If decomposition happens at a faster rate, what happens to the available oxygen in an environment?
4. What happens to organisms who need oxygen to survive if their environment suddenly becomes depleted in it?

STUDENT SHEET: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hZ3fh3fWh7Oo1BIt9IcuMOkZ4brx45Vm/view?usp=sharing
Student Reference Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C5nAAMjAsPK_4Zl1cRXf0tla0po5XYtO/view?usp=sharing

4. Ocean spill clean up: https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/pdf/062_oilspill_refresh.pdf

- https://www.calacademy.org/sites/default/files/assets/docs/062_oilspillworksheet_refresh.pdf

5. BIOME Triptich: Directions and Rubric

- Years of El Nino and La Nina http://www.stormfax.com/elnino.htm
- STRONG YEARS: http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/El-Nino-La-Nina-Strength-2.jpg http://ggweather.com/enso/oni.htm
- After you find a location go here: https://www.wunderground.com/history/ manage the dates/ranges according to El Nino/La Nina years

6. PLASTICS in the Water Column: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/for-educators/educator-professional-development/curriculum/plastic-in-the-water-column (SHOW VIDEO FIRST)

ACTIVITY: Does it sink or float

7. FINITE OCEANS: https://youtu.be/oxjrjf3Tf5Y

WKSHT Page 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wl3oJA9IdRiEBdPzSg1KbfMYnt8heoI5/view?usp=sharing
WKSHT Page 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oMoBNDRqfNZjj2DhH66P2L0bwnTQLj7q/view?usp=sharing

8. The black, brown, grey water (technical terms) local wetland:

SUPERCOOL virtual walk along https://www.google.com/maps/@26.4860774,-80.1614904,3a,75y,42.34h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smyE7W888zQAAAAQYVWCXqQ!2e0!7i3584!8i1792
The Wetlands from Wastewater: https://discover.pbcgov.org/waterutilities/Pages/Wetlands.aspx

9. Fishing Game: https://www.ecoocean.de/the-game/

III. HOMEWORK

1. VIDEO: why Oceans Matter: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/why-ocean-matters/?utm_source=BibblioRCM_Row#why-the-ocean-matters

2. Article: Plastics in the Ocean: https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/plastics-in-the-ocean/

3. Article: Microfibers: https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/02/12/underestimating-impacts-microfibers/

4. Article/Video: Are we running out of fish?: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20120920-are-we-running-out-of-fish

5. Hydroponics garden: https://www.agritechtomorrow.com/article/2018/12/top-article-from-2019-convert-your-hydroponic-system-to-an-aquaponic-system/11178

IV. OUTCOMES

SC.912.E.5.4:

Explain the physical properties of the Sun and its dynamic nature and connect them to conditions and events on Earth.

SC.912.E.6.6:

Analyze past, present, and potential future consequences to the environment resulting from various energy production technologies.

SC.912.L.17.11:

Evaluate the costs and benefits of renewable and nonrenewable resources, such as water, energy, fossil fuels, wildlife, and forests.

SC.912.L.17.12:

Discuss the political, social, and environmental consequences of sustainable use of land.

SC.912.L.17.13:

Discuss the need for adequate monitoring of environmental parameters

when making policy decisions.

SC.912.L.17.15:

Discuss the effects of technology on environmental quality.

SC.912.L.17.20:

Predict the impact of individuals on environmental systems and examine how human lifestyles affect sustainability.

Define a problem based on a specific body of knowledge, for example: biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space science, and do the following:

1. Pose questions about the natural world, (Articulate the purpose

of the investigation and identify the relevant scientific concepts). 2. Conduct systematic observations, (Write procedures that are

clear and replicable. Identify observables and examine relationships between test (independent) variable and outcome (dependent) variable. Employ appropriate methods for accurate and consistent observations; conduct and record measurements at appropriate levels of precision. Follow safety guidelines).

3. Examine books and other sources of information to see what is already known,

4. Review what is known in light of empirical evidence,

SC.912.N.1.1:

Plan investigations, (Design and evaluate a scientific investigation). 6. Use tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data (this includes the use of measurement in metric and other systems, and also the generation and interpretation of graphical representations of data, including data tables and graphs), (Collect data or evidence in an organized way. Properly use instruments, equipment, and materials (e.g., scales, probeware, meter sticks, microscopes, computers) including set-up, calibration, technique, maintenance, and storage).

7. Pose answers, explanations, or descriptions of events, 8. Generate explanations that explicate or describe natural phenomena (inferences),

9. Use appropriate evidence and reasoning to justify these explanations to others,

10. Communicate results of scientific investigations, and

11. Evaluate the merits of the explanations produced by others.

SC.912.N.1.2:

Describe and explain what characterizes science and its methods.

SC.912.N.1.3:

Recognize that the strength or usefulness of a scientific claim is evaluated through scientific argumentation, which depends on critical and logical thinking, and the active consideration of alternative scientific explanations to explain the data presented.

SC.912.N.1.4:

Identify sources of information and assess their reliability according to the strict standards of scientific investigation.

SC.912.N.1.5:

Describe and provide examples of how similar investigations conducted in many parts of the world result in the same outcome.

SC.912.P.10.3:

Compare and contrast work and power qualitatively and quantitatively.

SC.912.P.10.9:

Mathematicians who participate in effortful learning both individually and with others:

Analyze the problem in a way that makes sense given the task. Ask questions that will help with solving the task

Build perseverance by modifying methods as needed while solving a challenging task.

Stay engaged and maintain a positive mindset when working to solve tasks.

Help and support each other when attempting a new method or approach.

MA.K12.MTR.2.1:

Mathematicians who demonstrate understanding by representing problems in multiple ways:

Build understanding through modeling and using manipulatives.

Represent solutions to problems in multiple ways using objects, drawings, tables, graphs and equations.

Progress from modeling problems with objects and drawings to using algorithms and equations.

Express connections between concepts and representations.

Choose a representation based on the given context or purpose.

MA.K12.MTR.4.1:

Teachers who encourage students to engage in discussions that reflect on the mathematical thinking of self and others:

Establish a culture in which students ask questions of the teacher and their peers, and error is an opportunity for learning.

Create opportunities for students to discuss their thinking with peers.

Select, sequence and present student work to advance and deepen understanding of correct and increasingly efficient methods.

Develop students' ability to justify methods and compare their responses to the responses of their peers.

MA.K12.MTR.6,1;

Apply mathematics to real-world contexts.

Mathematicians who apply mathematics to real-world contexts.

Connect mathematical concepts to everyday experiences.

Use models and methods to understand, represent and solve problems.

Perform investigations to gather data or determine if a method is appropriate.

Redesign models and methods to improve accuracy or efficiency

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