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Listed under:  Science  >  Life  >  Ecosystems  >  Biogeochemical cycles  >  Water cycle
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Water is special

In this lesson sequence, students explore what water is and how it behaves as it changes from ice to liquid water to water vapour. The purpose of this lesson sequence is to give students a mental picture of water molecules. Learning about how these molecules behave when water is heated and cooled can help them to understand ...

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Solar still activity

In this activity students create a solar still and use a predict-observe-explain strategy to investigate how coloured salty water transforms into clear unsalted water. This activity is useful for exploring changes of state (evaporation and condensation) and water cycles.

Online

Catchment management: water sustainability

Water is an important resource, and is required by all living species to survive. Water is also important for many industries and businesses. This activity investigates the different land uses over time across your local catchment. OUTCOMES are for children to: understand the natural and urban water cycle; learn about the ...

Online

Every drop counts, being water wise!

This activity aims to explore water usage and water saving ideas. Every drop counts! OUTCOMES are for children to: understand the importance of water; look at ways to help save water; and undertake a water audit.

Online

Catchment management: the story of a river

Water moves through the environment by the Water Cycle. This activity investigates the journey of a river through the catchment. It is part of a sequence of 5 individual learning activities designed to support understandings of catchment management. Follow water through the environment and explore the changes to water quality ...

Online

Catchment management: the drain is just for rain

Stormwater originated as rain and flows into creeks, rivers and other water bodies. Any rubbish or chemical pollution collected during this journey can end up polluting the waterways. This activity looks the impacts of stormwater and rubbish in our waterways. Outcomes of this learning activity are for students to: understand ...

Online

Catchment management: what’s in a drop?

Water is a precious resource, yet water is also wasted every day. This activity investigates water consumption and how you can reduce the amount of water wasted. OUTCOMES of this learning activity are for students to: understand the urban water cycle; learn different ways to reduce water usage; discover how much water is ...

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Why is water sticky?

In this lesson sequence, students use a range of hands-on activities to explore what water is and how it behaves as it changes from ice to liquid water to water vapour. They explore the structure of water molecules and how these molecules behave when water is heated and cooled to help them to understand how the water cycle works.

Online

Water quality and the Murray-Darling Basin

This lesson sequence examines the issue of water quality in the Murray-Darling Basin: why it is important, what are the indicators of water quality and ways to monitor water quality. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes and a student worksheet. This lesson sequence is one in a series exploring ...

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The Murray-Darling Basin: an introduction

This lesson sequence is designed to introduce students to key aspects of the Murray-Darling Basin including the environment, geography, economy, people, history, water cycle and water management challenges. The lesson sequence includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes and a student worksheet. This ...

Online

Blue marble matches - activity

This is a resource for educators outlining practical activities that explore geological processes on Earth and how to identify geological features in images. It demonstrates how scientists use the Earth to gain a better understanding of other planetary bodies in the solar system through examining images of their geological ...

Video

Cloud seeding

This nine and a half minute video segment from Catalyst describes how researchers from Monash University have hard evidence that cloud seeding can produce good amounts of extra rainfall. Data collected over a long period of time has give hope to scientists and environmentalists who are trying to reduce the impacts of droughts ...

Online

Locks, Weirs and Dams

This lesson sequence examines structures that are used by water resource managers in the Murray-Darling Basin including dams, locks, weirs, barrages, fishways, channels and levee banks and explores the positive and negative effects of river regulation. It includes a teacher PowerPoint presentation, separate teacher notes ...

Video

Returning water to Hattah Lakes

The two short videos in this series highlight the value of Hattah Lakes and the importance of ensuring that sufficient water replenishes the lakes during dry times. The videos explain how dams and weirs upstream store flood water that would otherwise fill the lakes. A collaborative engineering project reduced the environmental ...

Video

Catalyst: Chemical pollutants toxic to whales

Explore how chemical pollutants affect the Antarctic food web. A scientist shows that baleen whales are consuming Antarctic krill contaminated by accumulated residues of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from pesticides and industrial chemicals. Find out why these pollutants are concentrated at the Earth's polar regions.

Video

ABC News: Sound waves measure ocean temperatures

View how scientists use underwater sound waves to measure ocean temperature changes in the Indian Ocean. The animations show how the technology called acoustic thermometry works. Australian scientists are working with a global network of 'listening posts' to monitor the long-term effects of climate change on ocean temperatures.

Video

The water cycle in the Murray-Darling Basin

This 12 minute video explains the water cycle in the context of the Murray Darling Basin and the great variability in rainfall in the region causing frequent floods and droughts. It highlights the importance of the rivers in the Murray Darling Basin for agriculture, environmental health, water supply, habitat for migratory ...

Video

Catalyst: Seals help climate research

Discover how seals are helping scientists study Antarctica, polar regions, oceans and climate change. Scientists use Weddell and southern elephant seals to gather data and monitor the way currents move heat around the world's oceans.

Audio

Lakes in Antarctica

Scientists are not complacent. We still have a lot to learn about the water cycle. The discovery of glacial lakes under the ice in Antarctica actively transporting water between reservoirs was a surprise. These lakes can be up to 3km beneath the ice sheets. The pressure of the ice above helps to melt the ice, forming lakes. ...

Video

Wastewater: treated well, it's not just a waste

This set of three short videos shows the treatment processes for wastewater in a first world community. Process engineers talk about wastewater and how they treat it.