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Science, Maths & Technology
The oceans
The oceans cover more than 70 per cent of our planet. In this free course, The oceans, you will learn about the depths of the oceans and the properties of the water that fills them, what drives the ocean circulation and how the oceans influence our climate.
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Nature & Environment
Why do birds eat plastic?
The photos of birds killed by bellies full of plastic waste are harrowing - but why do they eat the stuff in the first place? The OU's Miranda Dyson explains.
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Science, Maths & Technology
How do ruminants digest?
A quick introduction to how ruminants break down the plant matter they eat - equally useful as a quick revision aid on ruminants.
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Nature & Environment
Human impacts on the lives of animals
Humans have destroyed or altered natural habitats, what impact has this had upon animals?
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Nature & Environment
Rough endoplasmic reticulum: The cell city's industrial park
Why is a cell's rough endoplasmic reticulum similar to a city's industrial park?
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Nature & Environment
Cell membrane: The cell's city wall
Why is a cell's membrane similar to a city wall?
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Money & Business
Opening the wardrobe
In November 2013, The Open University asked you to open your wardrobe and share your secrets with us in our wardrobe audit.
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level 2: intermediate icon
Nature & Environment
Understanding water quality
Please note, this course was written in 2003/2004 therefore some of the information is now outdated.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Exploring philosophy: faking nature
Commercial exploitation of nature, such as mining, fracking, or generating hydro-electric power, often damages the way the natural environment looks. What if the environment could be restored to exactly how it looked before? Would that mean that no damage had been done, that the natural environment was as valuable as it had been before the ...
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Nature & Environment
Does the rural idyll really exist?
Although associated with Coventry, Terry Hall has spent a lot of time in the country. Who better, then, to go in search of the rural idyll?
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Sustainable Scotland
Sustainable Scotland is a free course that will appeal to anyone with an interest in a sustainable future in the context of contemporary Scottish society. It will give you a broad-based introduction to a number of different aspects of sustainability that impact on Scotland and the wider world.
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Watching the weather
This free course, Watching the weather, describes how meteorological observations are made looking upwards from the surface of the Earth, looking downwards from satellites in space and from aircraft and balloons within the atmosphere. This international network of observations is vital for scientists and forecasters and the results impact on ...