These activities allow students to model how environmental scientists compare diversity in different ecosystems by using ordinary playing cards as ‘species’ to generate data to calculate Simpson’s Diversity Index. This can be completed in a single lesson. Some students find the concept of species diversity quite...

What is the perfect curve of a ball’s trajectory, what must the ideal turf be like, and...

Dr Laura Hobbs is a research scientist at the University of Strathclyde and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. She uses data from instruments, called echosounders, that use sound waves to monitor the depth and abundance of zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean. Studying copepods, her research has shown that...