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Conservation of Mass: A Case Study in Renewable Energy
“Water Treatment Plant” by Florida Water Daily is licensed under CC BY 2.0. |
You are a Worcester City Council member that is being asked to vote on whether or not the city should continue its’ energy contract with Eversource, a natural gas company, or switch to purchasing bio-oil and methane from the newly constructed Bio-Crude plant that has opened at the Upper Blackstone Clean Water treatment facility. You will be given a variety of data and informational texts to learn about the differences between fossil fuels and renewable energy; the process required to make both natural gas and biocrude; and the costs associated with each energy source. |
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Creating a New Medication
“Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria” by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0. |
Antibiotic resistant pathogens are a global problem because antibiotics used to treat infections are becoming ineffective. Some diseases, like TB, disproportionately affect poorer nations than it does wealthier nations. Students are medical researchers developing a new antibiotic to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their antibiotic must block the transcription or translation of a resistance gene, or be an enzyme that breaks down the proteins produced by the resistance gene. |
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Hydrothermal Liquefaction:
(Illustration by Michael Perkins | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) |
There was a chemical run off from a local industry and the chemicals have now gotten into the nearest river. YOU CAN SOLVE THIS!! In order to do so you must complete an analysis of the chemicals in the mixture first. You can perform this by utilizing chromatography, since it’s a separation method that helps you identify the components in a mixture. After such compounds are identified, describe their physical properties and use the the information you have gathered to solve the problem. |
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Introduction to UN Sustainable Goals / Problem Identification and Solution Development
“united nations flag” by sanjitbakshi is licensed under CC BY 2.0. by Joe Lima |
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership.
Unfortunately, the United States did not make much progress towards the UN SDG between 2017 – 2020 and the President is now looking for ideas to promote a sustainable future. You are researchers responsible for thinking of ideas to solve problems related to these goals. Your assignment is to choose a problem, identify the possible criteria and constraints, do research and develop at least three solutions to the problem. You and your group will summarize your research and possible solutions in a presentation to the President. |
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Waves for a Smarter, Safer World
“Sound Waves” by Brett Jordan is licensed under CC BY 2.0. by Anna Valdez |
In this lesson, students use their knowledge of waves to create a device that can assist someone who is sensitive to loud noises. They are presented with three scenarios and asked to choose one to create a prototype for:
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“Sound Waves” by PaulineMoss is licensed under CC BY 3.0. by Simon Rees |
There is so much technology in the world which works in ways that we completely take for granted. It’s great that we have engineers who come up with ideas, but there is a wealth of creativity that is untapped in people who have no STEM background. We need to create good quality, relatable, and accessible educational material to inform others so that misinformation does not spread, to foster more interest in science and engineering, and possibly generate new and better ideas for the future. |
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“Phagocytosis of a Dead Yeast Particle” by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0. |
Part 1: It is the future, and a mysterious crisis is happening in Worcester. In the news and around your city, you see trash and dead matter, such as leaves, trees, and dead animals piling up. Things are getting stinky! Scientists need your help to figure out what could be causing this to happen.
Part 2: Thanks to your hard work we now know what is happening in the environment causing this trash and dead matter to pile up. Your help is needed again to find solutions to fix this problem and make the ecosystem healthy again! |
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Case Study on Tuberculosis and
“Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) and Second-Line Treatments” by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0. |
You have been assigned a mutation that our lab needs your help figuring out.
By the end of the week, you will need to tell us; what type of mutation this is, what structure or function it changes, and whether it is positive, negative, or neutral. You will have to present your findings with your group at our mutation madness conference. |
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“Yeast Cells Under the Microscope” by BlueShift 12 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. |
Part 1: “It is the future, and a mysterious crisis is happening in Worcester. In the news and around your city, you see trash and dead matter, such as leaves, trees, and dead animals piling up. Things are getting stinky! Scientists need your help to figure out what could be causing this to happen.”
Part 2: “Thanks to your hard work we now know what is happening in the environment causing this trash and dead matter to pile up. Your help is needed again to find solutions to fix this problem and make the ecosystem healthy again!” |
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Sustainable Development Goal
“United Nations in Geneva” by cometstarmoon is licensed under CC BY 2.0. by Anna Eng |
You are a data scientist for the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the United Nations. This is the group that provides support for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Your team has been assigned to one of the goals. Your job is to interpret the scatter plots for your goal area and present your findings at the next High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which serves as the central UN platform for the follow-up and review of the SDGs. Your data analysis will be used to help update the UN about the goals and inform them of ideas about how to address the issues. |
