The earth is covered with millions of species of living organisms, ranging from tiny microbes to gigantic whales.
Exploring Our Fluid Earth
Teaching Science as Inquiry
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Biological
Explore aquatic diversity, focusing on the structure, function, and evolutionary connection between organisms.
Table of Contents:
Representative Image:
Unit List:
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Aquatic plants and algae produce their own food from sunlight and supply much of the planet’s oxygen. -
Most of Earth’s animals are invertebrates. These animals without backbones offer a wide diversity of shapes and lifestyles. -
Fish are some of the most recognizable aquatic organisms in both freshwater and marine habitats. -
Amphibians, reptiles, and birds represent three major groups of vertebrate animals.Topics Include: -
Mammals have adapted to a wide variety of conditions and are perhaps the animal group most familiar to humans. -
The world ocean is filled with tiny organisms called microbes. Microbes play a crucial role in sustaining all other ocean organisms.Topics Include:
Table of Contents
- Physical (241)
- World Ocean (23)
- Introduction to the World Ocean (1)
- Ocean Basins and Continents (5)
- Map Distortion (7)
- Locating Points on a Globe (9)
- Weird Science: Polar Circles and Tropical Circles (2)
- Weird Science: The Prime Meridian and Time Zones (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Converting Decimal Degrees (1)
- Activity: Locating Points on a Globe (1)
- Activity: Mapping the Globe (1)
- Activity: Pacific Scavenger Hunt (1)
- Further Investigations: Locating Points on a Globe (1)
- Density Effects (30)
- Introduction to Density (1)
- Density, Temperature, and Salinity (8)
- Weird Science: Macroscopic Changes in Liquid Water Volume (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Human Density (1)
- Practices of Science: Making Simulated Seawater (1)
- Activity: Density Bags (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Submarines and Ocean Circulation (1)
- Weird Science: Floating Aircraft Carriers (1)
- Further Investigations: Density, Temperature, and Salinity (1)
- Ocean Temperature Profiles (4)
- Measuring Salinity (6)
- Density Driven Currents (7)
- Circulation in Marginal Seas and Estuaries (3)
- Atmospheric Effects (29)
- Introduction to Atmospheric Effects (1)
- Wind Systems (5)
- Wind Formation (4)
- Ocean Surface Currents (8)
- Question Set: Wind Generated Currents (1)
- Weird Science: Marine Debris and Oceanic Gyres (1)
- Weird Science: From Observation to Inference to Testable Hypothesis (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Biogeography (1)
- Activity: Current Observation Methods (1)
- Activity: Build a Drifter (1)
- Further Investigations: Ocean Surface Currents (1)
- Effect of Surface Currents (5)
- Climate and Atmosphere (5)
- Waves (24)
- Introduction to Waves (1)
- Wave and Wave Properties (9)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: The Origin and Diversity of Surf Crafts (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Estimating Wave Height (1)
- Activity: Watching Waves (1)
- Weird Science: Communicating Wave Sizes—Local Scale (1)
- Question Set: Waves and Wave Properties (1)
- Activity: Make Your Own Wave (1)
- Activity: Standing Waves (1)
- Further Investigations: Waves and Wave Properties (1)
- Sea States (8)
- Wave Energy and Wave Changes with Depth (5)
- Coastal Interactions (24)
- Tides (30)
- Ocean Floor (37)
- Introduction to the Ocean Floor (1)
- Layers of Earth (6)
- Change Over Time (6)
- Continental Movement by Plate Tectonics (9)
- Voice of the Sea: Volcanoes (1)
- Activity: Modeling Plate Spreading (1)
- Activity: Earth’s Plates (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Volcanoes (1)
- Activity: Continental Movement over Long Time Scales (1)
- Practices of Science: Opinion, Hypothesis & Theory (1)
- Question Set: Ocean Floor and Volcanoes (1)
- Further Investigations: Continental Movement by Plate Tectonics (1)
- Seafloor Features and Mapping the Seafloor (7)
- Activity: Interpreting Contour Maps (1)
- Activity: Contour and Raised Relief Maps (1)
- Activity: Contour Lines and Nautical Charts (1)
- Activity: Simulating Sonar Mapping of The Ocean Floor (1)
- Question Set: Using Technology to Map the Ocean Floor (1)
- Further Investigations: Seafloor Features and Mapping the Seafloor (1)
- The Oceanic Crust and Seafloor (7)
- Navigation and Transportation (22)
- Introduction to Navigation and Transportation (1)
- Wayfinding and Navigation (11)
- Weird Science: Animal Migration (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Tara Oceans Expeditions (1)
- Traditional Ways of Knowing: Polynesian Stick Charts (1)
- Activity: Floating Magnetic Compass (1)
- Activity: Determine Your Latitude (1)
- Traditional Ways of Knowing: Estimating Latitude (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Traditional Voyaging (1)
- Activity: Navigating with Nautical Charts (1)
- Question Set: Wayfinding and Navigation (1)
- Further Investigations: Wayfinding and Navigation (1)
- Transportation and Ship Design (9)
- Activity: Boat Floatation (1)
- Weird Science: Giant Ships and Canals (1)
- Question Set: Transportation and Ship Design (1)
- Activity: Ship Stability (1)
- Activity: Evaluating Cargo Transportation (1)
- Activity: Design a Ship (1)
- Activity: Ship Speed and Efficiency (1)
- Further Investigations: Transportation and Ship Design (1)
- Ocean Depths (21)
- World Ocean (23)
- Chemical (123)
- Matter (18)
- Introduction to Matter (1)
- Definition of Matter (3)
- Properties of Matter (8)
- Practices of Science: Interpreting Safety Information (1)
- Weird Science: Chemical Symbols (1)
- Activity: Where is Water? (1)
- Practices of Science: False Positives and False Negatives (1)
- Weird Science: We Are Water (1)
- Question Set: Properties of Matter (1)
- Further Investigations: Properties of Matter (1)
- Composing and Decomposing Matter (5)
- Chemistry and Seawater (38)
- Introduction to Chemistry and Seawater (1)
- The Salty Sea (8)
- The Nature and Organization of Elements (4)
- Atoms, Molecules, and Compounds (4)
- Elemental Abundance (8)
- Activity: Concentration and Dilution (1)
- Question Set: Concentration (1)
- Practices of Science: “Parts per” Notation (1)
- Weird Science: Compare Your Sense of Smell to a Shark’s Sense of Smell (1)
- Activity: Elemental Abundance in Nature (1)
- Activity: Parts Per Thousand (1)
- Further Investigations: Elemental Abundance (1)
- Ionic Compounds (8)
- Question Set: Using The Periodic Table to Predict Ion Formation (1)
- Question Set: Ions in Seawater (1)
- Question Set: Ionic Compounds (1)
- Question Set: Salts are Ionic Compounds (1)
- Weird Science: Salt Fortification and Additives (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: The Role of Salt in Human History (1)
- Further Investigations: Ionic Compounds (1)
- Covalent Compounds (4)
- Properties of Water (24)
- Introduction to Properties of Water (1)
- Types of Covalent Bonds: Polar and Nonpolar (4)
- Hydrogen Bonds Make Water Sticky (7)
- Weird Science: Rain Drops Are Not Really Drop Shaped! (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Water Experiments in Space (1)
- Activity: Cohesion and Adhesion (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Capillarity, Transpiration, and Wicking (1)
- Question Set: Water Properties (1)
- Further Investigations: Water Properties (1)
- Comparison of Water with Other Liquids (6)
- Conductivity (5)
- Chemicals as Tracers of Water Movement (1)
- Energy and the Water Cycle (29)
- Introduction to Energy and the Water Cycle (0)
- Phases of Matter (4)
- Ice (3)
- Salinity and Ice Formation (3)
- Liquid and Gaseous Water (5)
- The Water Cycle (12)
- Activity: Simulate the Water Cycle (1)
- Question Set: Still (1)
- Question Set: Evaporation and Humidity (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Water Droplets (1)
- Weird Science: Objects in Air (1)
- Climate Connection: Storm Clouds (1)
- Question Set: Condensation and Precipitation (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Water Needs and Water Use (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Sea Surface Salinity (1)
- Question Set: Water Cycle (1)
- Question Set: Sublimation and Deposition (1)
- Further Investigations: Water Cycle (1)
- Specific Heat (1)
- Biogeochemical Cycles (10)
- Seafloor Chemistry (1)
- Building Blocks of Life (1)
- Matter (18)
- Voice of the Sea: Fish No Take (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Fish Spawning Aggregations (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Food Webs of the Open Ocean (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Shark and Tuna Tagging (1)
- Voice of the Sea: Strange Fish of The Deep (0)
- Voices of the Sea: Fish No Take (0)
- Biological (182)
- What is Alive (23)
- Introduction to What is Alive? (1)
- Properties of Life (6)
- Evolution by Natural Selection (10)
- Weird Science: Species Flocks (1)
- Activity: Modeling Evolution (1)
- Practices of Science: Communication & Collaboration in the Scientific Community (1)
- Weird Science: Deadly Flu (1)
- Activity: Simulate Natural Selection (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Natural and Sexual Selection (1)
- Compare-Contrast-Connect: Marsupial Mammals versus Placental Mammals (1)
- Practices of Science: Common Misconceptions on Evolution (1)
- Further Investigations: Evolution by Natural Selection (1)
- Classification of Life (5)
- Aquatic Plants and Algae (33)
- Introduction to Algae and Aquatic Plants (1)
- What Are Aquatic Plants and Algae (3)
- Structure and Function (7)
- Weird Science: Penicillin and the Cell Wall (1)
- Practices of Science: Microscope Use (1)
- Weird Science: Kleptoplasty (1)
- Activity: Identifying Cells and Cell Parts Using a Microscope (1)
- Activity: Structure of Algae with Comparisons to Vascular Plants (1)
- Further Investigations: Where are photosynthetic autotrophs found in your life? (1)
- Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity (6)
- Energy Acquisition (4)
- Adaptations (2)
- Growth, Development, and Reproduction (6)
- Behavior (3)
- Invertebrates (49)
- Introduction to Invertebrates (1)
- What is an Invertebrate? (4)
- Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity (3)
- Structure and Function (4)
- Phylum Porifera (3)
- Phylum Cnidaria (8)
- Worms: Phyla Platyhelmintes, Nematoda, and Annelida (3)
- Phylum Mollusca (7)
- Phylum Arthropoda (5)
- Phylum Echinodermata (6)
- Phylum Chordata (4)
- Fish (27)
- Amphibians Reptiles and Birds (17)
- Mammals (31)
- Marine Microbes (1)
- What is Alive (23)
- SEA Curriculum (1)
- OPIHI Curriculum (1)
- Standards Alignment (50)
- Ocean Literacy Principles (OLP) (9)
- Introduction to Ocean Literacy Principles (OLP) (1)
- OLP 1: The Earth has one big ocean with many features (1)
- OLP 2: The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of the Earth (1)
- OLP 3: The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate (1)
- OLP 4: The ocean makes Earth habitable (1)
- OLP 5: The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems (1)
- OLP 6: The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected (1)
- OLP 7: The ocean is largely unexplored (1)
- Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (40)
- Introduction to NGSS (1)
- Science and Engineering Practices (9)
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems (1)
- Developing and Using Models (1)
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (1)
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data (1)
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking (1)
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (1)
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence (1)
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information (1)
- Crosscutting Concepts (7)
- Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) (5)
- Physical Science Performance Expectations (5)
- Life Science Performance Expectations (5)
- Earth and Space Sciences Performance Expectations (4)
- Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science Performance Expectations (3)
- Ocean Literacy Principles (OLP) (9)
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Exploring Our Fluid Earth, a product of the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG), College of Education. © University of Hawai‘i, 2022. This document may be freely reproduced and distributed for non-profit educational purposes.