This article provides two activities, exploring genetic drift of small breeding populations, highlighting the black-footed ferret ("Mustela nigripes"). According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, all black-footed ferrets are descended from 18 individuals, making them extremely vulnerable to genetic drift. They were thought to be…

This article describes a unit in which students investigate total solar eclipses, such as the one coming August 21, from several perspectives. It incorporates mathematical thinking and aligns with the "Next Generation Science Standard." This article refers to physical, virtual, and mathematical modeling. Various models and perspectives…

Teaching about wave structure and function is a critical element of any physical science curriculum and supported by "Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)" PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer. To support students' learning of these ideas, teachers often rely on developing graphic models of a…

Biomodeling is the study of the structures and behaviors of interacting biological entities such as molecules, cells, or organisms. While physical and chemical processes give rise to various spatial and temporal structures, even the simplest biological phenomenon is infinitely more complex (Kling 2004). Over the past decade, much of biomodeling…

Points out the importance of an understanding of a sense of scale and presents an activity that uses distance or time as a measure. The activity illustrates for students what the universe would look like at various scales. (DDR)

In science, inquiry is used as students explore important and interesting questions concerning the world around them. In mathematics, one contemporary inquiry approach is to create models that describe real phenomena. Creating mathematical models using spreadsheets can help students learn at deep levels in both science and mathematics, and give…

Demonstrates how teachers can move their students from the novice into the expert range of problem-solving strategies. Utilizes a problem-solving model that follows how such skills develop. (DDR)

Uses chaos theory to investigate the nonlinear phenomenon of population growth fluctuation. Illustrates the use of computers and computer programs to make calculations in a nonlinear difference equation system. (MDH)

Describes the use of oceanographers' models for introducing students to the concept of mathematical modeling. Outlines a lesson showing the interrelationship of science and mathematics. (RT)