Teach students about various ocean sciences topics, including density, acidification, ocean circulation, the impact of rising temperatures and the melting of polar ice, and more. Students exploring ocean sciences learn about the formation of the ocean, the role of the ocean in the Earth’s water cycle, the importance of the ocean as a habitat, and how the ocean fits into sustainability goals for the future.
Ocean Sciences Lessons, Projects, and Activities
Water is abundant! Right? With more than 70% of Earth covered by water, it can be hard to grasp that the planet faces a growing shortage of water. The Earth is mostly covered in water, but only a small portion of that water (approximately 3%) is freshwater.
The Earth’s Water: A Drop in Your Cup can be used as an introduction to ocean sciences and to conversations and projects related to thinking about sustainability goals and the challenge of ensuring fresh water around the world. There is only a finite amount of water on Earth, and most of that water is in the ocean. What does that mean when it comes to meeting the day-to-day needs for water to support life on Earth now and in the future?
The lesson uses a hands-on activity with a single liter of water to help students visualize the different types of water (and relative percentages) that make up the Earth’s total water supply. Students are divided into six groups and each given a portion of the one liter that represents a type of water and its percentage of the world’s total water: ice, groundwater, lakes, swamps, rivers, and the ocean (to which salt is added). Students are then tasked with brainstorming ways to use their allocated water to provide for all of their needs. The activity helps students clearly see the magnitude of ocean water compared to the other types. The lesson prompts a range of STEM-based questions, including: What kinds of solutions can help conserve freshwater? What options are there for desalinating ocean water? Why is water conservation important?
The Importance of the Ocean
Understanding the distribution of water on Earth, differences in salt water and freshwater, and the function of the water cycles is important to understanding the role of the ocean. The ocean covers more of Earth’s surface than land and plays an important role in existence on Earth:
- Phytoplankton in the ocean produce more than half of the oxygen we breathe
- More than 80% of Earth’s living organisms are in the ocean
- The ocean is an important part of the water cycle
- Weather and climate are related to ocean currents
- The ocean is constantly in motion
- The ocean absorbs approximately one-third of atmospheric carbon dioxide
But without desalination, water in the ocean is not drinkable.
Teaching Ocean Sciences
Teaching about ocean sciences (sometimes called ocean science, marine science, or oceanography) or doing independent science projects related to the ocean encompasses a wide range of science and engineering topics, from the formation and composition of the ocean to the water cycle, habitats, ecosystems, and alternative forms of energy.
The following lessons and projects, organized by the four main branches of study, can be used to teach about ocean sciences:
At the bottom of this resource, you will find related STEM careers, a list of key vocabulary words, and additional related resources. For students looking for science projects, we have also included a list of independent science and science fair projects.
Note: for more information about the various “types” of resources available, see Understanding Science Buddies’ Resources.
Chemical Oceanography
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1. Model the Water Cycle
In the Make a Water Cycle Model lesson, students learn about the water cycle and investigate how this natural recycling system is powered by energy from the Sun and the force of gravity. Building a physical model of the water cycle in a transparent box, with a lamp as a heat source, students will observe evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, and surface runoff. Questions: Why is the water cycle a “cycle”? What is the role of the ocean in the water cycle? How is the water cycle connected to weather patterns? (Note: In the related Make a Miniature Water Cycle Model STEM activity, students make a model of the water cycle in a plastic bag and use it to explore how water moves in and out of the atmosphere in a cycle of precipitation, evaporation, and condensation.)
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2. Excess Carbon Dioxide and the Ocean
Where does CO₂ come from and how does excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affect the ocean and aquatic life? In the What To Do About CO₂? lesson, students learn about the carbon cycle and explore the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and ocean acidification. When absorbed by ocean water, atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves and becomes carbonic acid. Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide have led to a corresponding increase in dissolved CO₂ in the ocean, which means more acidic ocean waters. Ocean acidification reduces the availability of calcium carbonate minerals, which are used by many marine organisms, including coral and shellfish. (Note: Students also learn how green chemistry is being used to build carbon capture technologies that can help prevent ocean acidification by capturing excess carbon dioxide before it is released into the atmosphere.) Questions: What has changed to cause increased ocean acidification? Why have ocean waters not always been acidic?)
Note: Students can also explore with the Swimming in Acid: Understanding Ocean Acidification ocean sciences project to demonstrate ocean acidification and investigate the effect on marine life. In this project, students make seawater and add varying amounts of vinegar (acetic acid) to change the pH and see how this affects empty mussel shells.
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3. How Salty is the Sea?
Ocean water is “salt water,” but what does that really mean? How salty is it? In the How Salty is the Sea? project students test freshwater and saltwater samples from local sources to see how much salt they contain. The amount of salt dissolved in water determines the salinity of the water. Salinity is often measured in parts per thousand (ppt), and bodies of water have different salinities. Questions: What determines if a body of water is freshwater? What is an estuary? How does an estuary differ from freshwater and salt water habitats in terms of salinity?
Fun fact: Seawater is usually in the range of 33 to 37 ppt, which means that a 1-liter bottle of seawater would contain 33–37 grams of salt!
Physical Oceanography
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4. The Ocean in Motion
The ocean is in constant motion because of ocean currents. In the deep ocean, currents are created by variations in water density caused by differences in temperature and salinity. Oceanic circulation, also known as “the global ocean conveyor belt” and “thermohaline circulation,” moves water from the North Pole to Antarctica and back again, a cycle that is estimated to take 1,000 years. In the Oceanic Circulation: What Keeps the Ocean in Motion? lesson,
students model ocean currents and explore the relationship between the density of water, temperature, and salinity. With cups, water, and food coloring, students investigate what happens when layers of water at different temperatures are brought together. Questions: Why is the ocean in constant motion? What causes ocean currents? What will happen to ocean currents if temperature variances decrease?(Directions for a related independent student project and an informal STEM activity are available. To explore the formation of waves, see the Waves in Slow Motion activity.)
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5. Climate Change and Sea Level
In the Climate Change and Sea Level Rise lesson, students investigate what will happen if polar ice melts as a result of climate change. Students explore density and displacement and the differences in ice caps, glaciers, and polar sea ice. Questions: What does knowing whether the ice is on land or in the ocean have to do with predicting whether or not sea levels will rise as ice melts? Why does ice float on water? Why will the melting of ice already in the water not increase sea levels? In the related Polar Puzzle: Will Ice Melting at the North or South Poles Cause Sea Levels to Rise? project idea, students use homemade dough and create models of ice floating in water and ice on land to see what happens to sea level when the ice melts. (For a similar STEM activity, see How Do Melting Polar Ice Caps Affect Sea Levels?.)
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6. Are Hurricanes Cooling?
Hurricanes are massive storms that get their power from warm ocean waters. In the Do Hurricanes Cool the Ocean?, students use historical hurricane data sets to investigate to see if temperatures of ocean waters decrease after a hurricane. Question: How is water temperature related to hurricane formation?
Biological Oceanography
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7. What is Coral?
In the Is Coral a Plant or Animal? lesson, students build an edible coral polyp as part of an investigation to find out if coral is an animal or a plant. In this lesson, students will learn about the anatomy of coral, what happens when coral dies, and how calcium carbonate contributes to the exoskeleton. Question: What is the impact of ocean acidification on coral?
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8. Bioluminescence and Circadian Rhythms
What causes patches of glowing light in ocean waters? In the Ocean Bioluminescence: Investigate When and How Dinoflagellates Glow project, students learn about bioluminescence and the role of circadian rhythms by observing cycles of phosphorescence in dinoflagellates. Question: What happens when the light-dark cycle is disrupted?
Geological Oceanography
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9. Model Water Bodies
In the Modeling Water Bodies lesson,
students explore different types of water bodies on Earth by making models of lakes, the ocean, and rivers using aluminum pans. After sharing observations about differences and similarities, students will be able to identify the typical characteristics of each water body. Question: What are the primary characteristics of the ocean?
Related Sustainability and Energy Experiments
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10. Protect Against Storm Surges
In the Protect Coastal Communities from Storm Surge Waves lesson, students design a seawall to protect paper houses in a model of coastal flooding. Questions: Approximately how much of the world’s population lives in coastal areas? What factors are contributing to increased storm surge problems?
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11. Sustainable Fishing
In the Sustainable Fishing lesson, students explore the decline in fish populations, play a game that helps model how fishing affects marine life populations, and design solutions to make fisheries more sustainable. Question: Why is the decline in fish populations a global problem?
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12. Make a Local Trash Map
In the Rapid Trash Assessment lesson, students record the types of trash they find in a local area. Investigating to see the correlation between the shape of the Earth’s surface and where pollution accumulates, students reference a topographical map of the area and use paper and markers to create a 3-dimensional model of the trash and litter they find. Question: What patterns do students notice when comparing records of food waste?
Other Ocean Sciences and Related Sustainability and Energy Projects
Additional Educator Resources
For related educator resources, see:
Vocabulary
The following word bank contains words that may be covered when teaching about ocean sciences using the lessons and activities in this resource.
- Acidosis
- Anthropogenic
- Aragonite
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide
- Bicarbonate
- Biogeochemical cycles
- Bioluminescence
- Carbon capture
- Carbon cycle
- Carbon dioxide
- Carbonate
- Carbonic acid
- Climate change
- Deep-ocean currents
- Density
- Desalination
- Dinoflagellates
- Displacement
- Dissociation
- Global oceanic circulation system
- Global warming
- Greenhouse gas
- Fossil fuel
- Fresh water (freshwater)
- Ice sheet
- Infrared radiation
- Ocean acidification
- Ocean circulation
- Ocean currents
- Oceanography
- pH
- Phosphorescence of the sea
- Polar ice cap
- Renewable resources
- Salinity
- Salt water
- Sea level
- Thermohaline circulation
- Zooxanthellae
Related STEM Careers
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Thematic Collections
Collections like this help educators find themed activities in a specific subject area or discover activities and lessons that meet a curriculum need. We hope these collections make it convenient for teachers to browse related lessons and activities. For other collections, see the Teaching Science Units and Thematic Collections lists. We encourage you to browse the complete STEM Activities for Kids and Lesson Plans areas, too. Filters are available to help you narrow your search.
Understanding Science Buddies’ STEM Resources
Lesson Plans contain materials to support educators leading hands-on STEM learning with students. Lesson Plans offer NGSS alignment, contain background materials to boost teacher confidence, even in areas that may be new to them, and include supplemental resources like worksheets, videos, discussion questions, and assessment materials.
Video Lessons include NGSS alignment and offer a plug-and-play option for teaching a STEM lesson. Each Video Lesson asks a science question, teaches students about the relevant science, and guides students in a hands-on experiment that will help them answer the question. Video Lessons are NGSS-aligned and bring core science concepts to life with storytelling, animation, and photos using a self-paced engage, explore, and reflect format.
Activities are simplified explorations that can be used in the classroom or in informal learning environments.
Projects are written to support students doing independent science projects or science fair projects. Projects can be adapted for classroom use.
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