Ninth Grade, Environmental Science Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 3)

How Stable is Your Food Web?

Lesson Plan Grade: 5th-9th

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"Giant Kelp Forest" © 2010 Tom Thai Could you describe the kelp forest food web as a system? Your students will design and use a simple model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a marine food web, ranking their hypothetical ecosystems according to their stability when faced with a natural or man-made disturbance. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-6. Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

Invasive Species

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Invasive species are organisms (either plant or animal) that have been introduced into a new, non-native area and spread rapidly in the new environment due to a lack of regulation by predators. Frequently, invasive species will out-compete native species for resources which can put native species at risk. This is an especially big problem for threatened habitat and endangered species, which are already at risk. Survey your area to document cases of invasive species invading a local… Read more

Looking Downstream: Could Nanosilver in Consumer Products Affect Pond Life?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you know that many consumer products, such as sports clothes, cosmetics, and even food containers contain tiny silver particles? These so-called nanoparticles—usually 1–100 nanometers (a billionth of a meter) in size—are toxic to bacteria and fungi and therefore, are used to prevent them from growing on everyday items you use. But what happens if the silver nanoparticles get into the water; for example, when you wash off your makeup or clean your clothes? Do they affect… Read more

Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Pollution

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In this science project, you will collect macroinvertebrate samples from multiple points along a body of water, ideally a small creek or stream, and test the pollution burden and biodiversity of small organisms or insects to see if pollution impacts biodiversity. Read more

Make Mushroom Packaging to Explore Long-Term Ecological Impact

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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Are your students passionate about the environment? Do they like to explore new ideas for more eco-friendly products? This lesson will give your students a chance to grow a product out of mycelium composite, a material that recently gained traction as an eco-friendly alternative for many plastics and foams. Students will analyze the impact of this product on the environment at every step of its life cycle, from raw material to the end of its life, and compare it to a plastic or cardboard… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

HS-ESS3-4. Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.

Making Everyday Objects Out of Mushrooms: Environmentally Friendly Design

STEM Activity

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Maybe you have grown vegetables or flowers, but have you ever grown the flowerpot? Yes, you read that right! In this activity, you will use mushroom roots to grow a biodegradable material that can be molded into a product of your liking, like a flowerpot! Growing a set of bowls, a lampshade, or a pot is easier than you might think. Once you try it out, you just might feel inspired to replace some of your plastic objects with ecological counterparts that you created from mushroom roots! Read more

Mapping Troposphere Ozone Levels Over Time

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Ozone in the stratosphere protects the earth by absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. However, when ozone occurs in the troposphere, i.e., the air that we breathe, it is harmful to health. In this project you can use data from EPA monitoring stations to analyze the weather/climate conditions that can lead to harmful ozone levels. Read more

Native Landscapes

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do your parents like to garden? Then you might have a beautiful lawn surrounded by flowers, or a vegetable garden. Humans have been introducing plants to our landscapes for centuries, which has dramatically altered the natural habitat of many environments. Chances are, the landscape you live in is not a natural landscape. One movement is to restore these habitats by re-introducing native plants. Conduct a survey in your area looking for native and non-native plant species. You can take… Read more

Ozone Depletion

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The ozone layer is important for blocking most of the harmful radiation that comes from the sun. You can find maps of the ozone layer and compare different regions of the globe for ozone coverage. Where are the problem areas? Is there a difference in ozone coverage between different hemispheres? Between populated and un-populated areas? In atmospheric regions over land masses or over bodies of water? Some scientists think that aerosols in the air are breaking down the ozone layer. You can do… Read more

Runoff and Fertilizer Use

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Many people routinely use fertilizer for crops, gardens, and lawns. What people don't know is that each time they apply fertilizer, the fertilizer seeps through the soil into the water table. This can eventually lead to the contamination of a local water source, like a stream, pond, lake, bay, or ocean. This is an especially big problem for agricultural practices that frequently use large amounts of fertilizer on fields that are connected by irrigation channels. The run-off of fertilizer… Read more

Ninth Grade, Environmental Science Projects, Lessons, Activities (39 results)

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