What’s the Nonpoint? Assessing Nonpoint Source Water Quality Threats Nationwide
Nonpoint source water pollution comes from large areas or landscapes such as roadways, farms, and urban and suburban communities. Scientists know this type of pollution exists, but it is difficult to identify and control the sources. In this study, scientists were interested in determining how the threat from nonpoint source water pollution varies in watersheds across the United States.
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The questions you will answer in this FACTivity are: How do standardized units of measurement help scientists to answer questions? What are the advantages of using percentiles to standardize measurements?...FACTivity – What’s the Nonpoint?
The questions you will answer in this FACTivity are: How do standardized units of measurement help scientists to answer questions? What are the advantages of using percentiles to standardize measurements?...
Glossary
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Thomas Brown
My favorite science experience happened before I was a scientist. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Paraguay, in the heart of South America. I had grown up in...View Profile -
Pamela Froemke
Being constantly exposed to the great outdoors when I was young led me to love and appreciate the natural world. I always felt the best when I was outside. So,...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- Civic Ideals and Practices
- Culture
- Global Connections
- Individual Development and Identity
- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
- People, Places, and Environments
- Power, Authority, and Governance
- Production, Distribution, and Consumption
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Lessons
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In this lesson, students will create a storyboard to graphically represent the main points from the research article they read. This can be used with any Natural Inquirer article.Lesson Plan – Storyboard (Freshwater)
In this lesson, students will create a storyboard to graphically represent the main points from the research article they read. This can be used with any Natural Inquirer article.
Education Files
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Pollution Search” and “Watch on Wetlands” as additional resources.