Human Impacts on the Environment
Module Summary
This module focuses on how humans have changed the world around us in a myriad of small and large ways. Students start with an activity that explores the rapid spread of disease in dense populations (such as a city). Next, students use bacteria and common household antiseptics to examine evolution. This lesson emphasizes the accelerated evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria due to over-use of antibiotics and antiseptics. In the third activity, students create a model neighborhood and river community to examine the impact of their every day actions on the environment. The conclusion to the unit is a molecular investigation into the unanticipated results of pesticide runoff. In this activity, students test to see how species diversity is affected in an area that does not receive pesticide spraying. A genetic analysis, including DNA gel electrophoresis, helps students answer this question.
Grade Levels
9-12
Module Materials (view or download)
Disease Detectives
Bacterial Evolution
Human Impact: Down the River
Species Diversity
Module Activity Overview | Estimated Class Time |
Disease Detectives | 1 (90 min) class |
Bacterial Evolution | 1 (75 min) class & 1 follow-up (20 min) activity |
River of Shame | 1 (90 min) class |
Species Diversity | 2 (90 min) classes |
Last updated: 3/10/2015