How Clean is the Water in Your Town?

(1) Scientific processes. The student, for at least 40% of instructional time, conducts field and laboratory investigations using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices. The student is expected to:

(A) demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations; and

(B) make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the disposal or recycling of materials.

(2) Scientific processes. The student uses scientific methods during field and laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:

(A) plan and implement investigative procedures including asking questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting equipment and technology;

(B) collect data and make measurements with precision;

(D) Communicate valid conclusions.

(9) Science concepts. The student knows how solution chemistry is a part of everyday life. The student is expected to:

(A) Relate the structure of water to its function as the universal solvent;

Materials List and Advanced Preparations:

For the class

3 water testing kit for saline

3 water testing kit for algae

Box of latex gloves

Goggles

Eight 200 ml beakers or plastic cups

Plastic pipits

Graph paper for each student

Colored pencils for graph sketching

5 discovery scopes or 3 microscopes

Engagement:

Water is so abundant that the earth’s surface is made of 70% water. Has anyone ever wondered what is in the water around them? Has anyone ever walked past a dirty pond or lake and wondered why the body of water looked the way it did. Would anyone drink a cup of water from the ocean? Why is some water safe for human consumption and some water is not? What do you think is in this water that makes it unsafe for humans?

Now, thinking about organisms. Why are some of organisms able to live in some waters and not others? For example, think about fresh water organisms vs. marine organisms. Today, well keep all those experiences in mind and we are going to test water for different components.

What the teacher will do	What the Student Will do	Ongoing evaluation (Questions you will ask the students)
Today, we will be testing different bodies of water for two things: Saline concentration and algae.
For this experiment we are going to collect water sample from two locations, the beach, and the salt marsh. The first place we will travel to is the salt marsh.	Listen Attentively
For this experiment, I would like for everyone to have a partner and grab a beaker. When at the marsh/ beach, I encourage each group to try to collect water that is not in the same area as other members of their class.
Once you collect your water in a beaker, bring it to the saline testing kit for testing. Once you have your results for this experiment, then, we will collect another portion of the same water sample to test for algae.
Explain Step-by-Step Procedure on how to test for saline, and then explain procedure to test for algae.	Listen and ask questions
Keep in mind that you are encouraged to collect 2 samples per location
Once finished with the steps, call on students to demonstrate the steps to see if the students have clarity. (i.e. Brittany, what is the first step that we do, Ryan, what is the second step and so on)
Discuss safety precautions (do not eat, drink any of the water collected, do not throw of splash water etc. follow directions do not go into shallow water or climb on top large ledges to get water etc.)
Each person was given a worksheet to complete during the lesson. Give students worksheet and discuss student expectations of the quality of work desired. Stress to the students that there are no right or wrong answer in their predictions, and the purpose of their predictions would be to test them to see if they are true.	Write their predictions on their data sheet.	Considering that we are traveling to two different locations (i.e. the marsh and the beach) Which body of water do you predict will have the highest concentration of saline? Algae?
Travel to Marsh Time spent at Marsh 35 minutes. Salt marshes occur in places where the land meets the sea, such as barrier islands and other coastal areas. They are exposed to water at different times of the day or year. Sometimes the marsh has little water, sometimes it is dry, and sometimes it is very full of water—almost like a pond Perform both water quality tests.		1.) Can anyone remember what a salt marsh is?
Finish lesson, 5 minute water break for students
Travel to Beach Time spent (35 minutes)
Perform both water quality test Water quality test 1.) Ocean water is about 3.5% salts. That means that if the oceans dried up completely, enough salt would be left behind to build a 180-mile tale, One-mile thick wall around the equator. 90% of that salt would be NaCl, KCl, Chlorine, Na, and other major dissolved salts. 2.) Sea water is approx 55.3% chlorine, 30.8 % sodium, 3.7% Magnesium, 2.6% sulfur, 1.2% Calcium, and 1.1% Potassium. 2.) It is important that oceans and seas supply most of the water that evaporates and then falls as rain in the water cycle. 3.) Explain Water Cycle
Instruct students to compare data.		1.) Now compare the results from the salt marsh to the results of the beach. What do you see?
.

Explanation:

What did you notice about our predictions?

What happened when we traveled to the marsh? Beach?

Summarize the experiment we did today.

In your own words, where do you expect to find bodies of water with high saline concentrations? High algae concentrations?

The results of our experiment are recorded in your data sheet. Would you use a graph to chart this information. If so, what kind of graph would you use? How would variables would you list as X and Y?

Evaluation: Pretend that you are an engineer for a very prestigious company. Your job is to knock down an abandoned building with as less swings as possible. Write a description of our activity and explain your results.

Elaboration: Today we talked about water testing and quality. Make a list of three things that can affect the saline concentration of water. Next to this list, make another list of three things that can affect the algae concentration of water.

Safety: Be sure that student wear non-latex gloves and goggles at all times. A waste disposer container should be used to dispose chemicals.

Math Connection: The students will graph the results of the science investigation using bar graph. Sample number vs. Saline/ Algae concentration

Inquiry based (Discovery) Learning:

Student Diversity: The lesson can be found to be interesting to all students regardless of their background.

Procedure: Salinity

1. Fill the test tube to the 10 ml line with demineralized water from the Demineralizer Bottle.

2. Fine the 0- 1.0 Direct Reading Titrator to 0 mark with sample water. Wipe off any excess water off the titrator.

3. Dispense 0.5ml of the sample water into the titration tube by depressing plunger until the tip is at 0.5 mark. Discard water remaining in titrator.

4. Add 3 drops of “Salinity Indicator Reagent A. Cap solution and gently swirl to mix. Solution will turn yellow.

5. Fill the 0-20 Direct Reading Titrator with the “Salinity Titration Reagent” B. Insert titrator into hole of cap.

6. While gentling swirling sample, slowly depress the plunger until color changes from yellow to pink-brown. Read test result where plunger tip meets scale. Record this value as point salinity.

7. If Titrator becomes empty before color change occurs, refill and continue titrating. Add original amount (20ppts) to final result.

Procedure: Algae

Filtration Assembly

1. Unscrew the cover of the filter holder and install a filter paper in the holder. Position the paper carefully to avoid by- passing the filter. If a membrane filter is used, install a support pad in back of the membrane disc. Replace the cover

2. Insert the end of the check valve that does not have threads and does have small tabs, into the Luer tip of the syringe.

3. Insert the opposite end of the check valve with the threads into the larger opening in the filter holder.

4. Depress the syringe plunger to the 0 position. Attach the plastic tubing to the side arm of the check valve. Submerge the free end of the tubing in the sample water.

Algae Procedure

1.) After syringe-filter device has been prepared according to the above procedure, complete one stroke of the syringe by pulling the plunger out and drawing water into the syringe through the plastic tubing. Fill the barrel to the 50ml mark. Slowly depress the plunger to expel the water through the filter holder. Repeat at least 4 times.

2.) Disconnect filter holder from the syringe. Unscrew the filter holder and carefully remove the filter disc. The presence of green-yellow color on the filter disc indicates algae may be present.

3.) Place the filter disc in the test tube. Fill to 5ml line with Methyl Alcohol. Cap and shake vigorously for 2 minutes. This will extract the green chlorophyll from the algae cells and disintegrate the disk. The disintegrated disc must be filtered out of the solution.

4.) Place a new filter disc in the filter holder.

5.) Remove the check valve from the syringe. Attach the filter holder directly to syringe.

6.) Remove plunger from syringe and pour the contents of the test tube into the syringe barrel. Place the outlet of the filter holder into the test tube, replace the plunger in the syringe and slowly depress until all of the solution has been collected in the test tube.

7.) View across the diameter of the test tube or down through the solution. A clear yellow to green color indicates algae is present.

Name:___________________________________

Date_____________________________________

Ms. Hollie________________________________

Water Quality Data

Water Test	Sample “A” beach	Sample “a” marsh	Sample “B” beach 2	Sample “b” marsh 2
Salinity
Algae

Questions to Consider:

1.) Briefly summarize the data on the chart.

2.) What type of graph would you use to represent this data?

3.) What do you think would happen to organisms if they were displaced out of their natural habit (i.e. organism moved from high saline water to low saline)? Could they adapt?

4.) Where do you think the algae deposits come from?

5.) What organisms do you think can live in high saline concentrated water? Low?

6.) Do you think organisms live inside the algae? If so, why?

How Clean is the Water in Your Town?

Title: The Quality Water

Objective: The student will be able to