This activity introduces the concepts of management and conservation and the requisite vocabulary used by scientists to explain population declines. Extensive background material and glossary included. The largest animal on earth is sustained by the smallest animals on earth. Students investigate food chains, food webs, energy pyramids and plankton to estimate how much food a blue whale population needs to sustain itself. This lesson clearly illustrates the high productivity of the global ocean.
Salt is the most obvious difference between the water that comes out of our tap at home and the sea.
In this lesson students make and calibrate a hydrometer and design a neutrally buoyant submarine to float in various saline solutions. The basic chemistry of seawater and the concepts of positive, neutral and negative buoyancy are covered. A demonstration and follow-up activity that allows students to determine how much of the earth is covered with water. Students calculate percentages and construct graphs of surface land and water ratios using random selection points on a globe and maps. Small student groups construct a model of the sea floor incorporating major sea floor features.