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Pollution Unit Plan

The toxification of the Hudson River has had a dramatic impact on the health of the river's ecosystem as well as the ability of people living along the river to use and enjoy it. With increasing human population in the last one hundred years, the Hudson has endured high levels of raw sewage, loading of nutrients, and the accumulation of pollutants such as PCBs. In this module, students learn the changes that have taken place in the Hudson River due to two important pollutants, sewage and PCB's.

Water Quality & Pollution

Day 1-2:

Water Quality Introduction:

Objective: Students will understand the different aspects of water quality and be able to use water quality test kits to practice testing for pollutants.

Activities:
1. Students discuss pollution, what it means, and whether different water uses should have different standards. 2. Students practice using water quality tests in the classroom on prepared samples. 3. Students complete a water quality note-taking chart based on what they’ve learned.

Assignment: Read “Pollution” and complete chart from class

Materials: water samples in clear cups or beakers, water test kits, computer and projector for power point presentation, copies of chart

Day 3-5:

Is Our Water Healthy?:

Objective: Students will decide whether their local stream or the larger Hudson River are healthy, using chemical and physical characteristics, and be able to collect data to support or negate their hypotheses.

Activities:
1. Students determine which water body they would like to test by creating site drawings and developing a hypothesis about physical or chemical parameters. A field trip to the Hudson River is encouraged. 2. In groups, students test water quality parameters to gather baseline data. 3. Throughout the course of the year, or the semester, students return to testing location to observe changes over time.

Assignment: Complete site drawing and lab report

Materials: metersticks, measuring tape, thermometers (air and water), orange, stopwatch , waders or appropriate shoes, dissecting trays, tweezers, nets to observe benthic material (optional), test kits for DO phosphates, nitrates, pH, chloride and other appropriate tests, goggles, gloves, data sheets- stream/river, pond/lake, chemistry, hypothesis sheets

Day 6-7:

Importance of Soil:

Objective: Students will know the importance of soil as a water filter, and be able to construct a filter from different materials.

Activities:
1. Students discuss the importance of soil 2. Students receive materials and design a water filter 3. Students conduct experiment and discuss results

Assignment: Complete lab worksheet

Materials: Per group: 6 Paper cups or plastic bottles (or coffee cans with holes punched in the bottom), soil: sand, gravel, dirt, graduated cylinder, water, food coloring -stopwatch

Day 8-9:

Permeability of Soils:

Objective: Students will know the connection between land use and water quality, and be able to use data from a classroom activity to explain this connection.

Activities:
1. Students will look at aerial photos of their schoolyard and/or community and discuss the different types of land use in the area. 2. Students will use a model to determine the difference in runoff vs. infiltration of different surfaces. 3. Students will discuss how permeability affects runoff

Assignment: Complete lab worksheet

Materials: For each group: plastic funnel, water, 500 mL beaker, graduated cylinder (250 mL), coffee filters (5 for each group), potting soil, gravel, sand, clay , plastic wrap, collection tubs (beakers, jars, other containers), food coloring (optional)

School Water Budget:

Day 10-12:

Objective: Students will know how much water enters and exits their school building, and be able to understand how land cover affects the amount of water.

Activities:
1. Students complete a schoolyard water budget, determining how much of each type of surface exists, the amount of water that falls on each surface, and what happens to that water. 2. Students complete a school water use survey, and consider ways to reduce their water use.

Assignment: Complete lab packet

Materials: Per group: Aerial photo of your school building and schoolyard per group (use Google Earth), transparencies with a grid, Long meter tape (10m-30m), Ruler, Clipboard, pencil or pen

Land Use & Water Quality:

Day 13-15:

Objective: Students will know how land use affects water quality, and be able to compare results from two different types of aquatic ecosystems.

Activities:
1. Students determine which aquatic ecosystems to study (one with 0-10% impervious surfaces, and one with more than 30% impervious surface), and create hypotheses for their water quality based on observed land use. 2. Students obtain aerial photos of the study site, and/or conduct a land use survey on foot. 3. Students complete water quality study at two different sites, compile and discuss results. 4. Students use data to compare nitrogen retention in urban, suburban, and agricultural settings

Assignment: Complete lab worksheet

Materials:metersticks, measuring tape, thermometers (air and water), ping pong or tennis ball, stopwatch, waders or appropriate shoes, dissecting trays, tweezers, nets to observe benthic material (optional), test kits for DO, phosphates, nitrates, pH, chloride and other appropriate tests, goggles, gloves, data sheets-separate sheets for ponds/lakes, streams/rivers, macroinvertebrates and water chemistry

Bottled vs Tap Water:

Day 16-17:

Objective: Students will know the benefits and drawbacks of drinking bottled water, and be able to compare the quality of their local water source to bottled water.

Activities:
1. Students complete a blind “taste test”of bottled and tap water 2. Discuss results 3. Students research the differences in water quality between their municipal water source and bottled water 4. Students view a powerpoint that summarizes the drawbacks of bottled water

Assignment: Complete lab worksheet

Materials: 4 different types of bottled water (labels removed, numbered) , tap water , clear cups (one per student) , water analysis handouts

Salt Pollution & Streams

How Much Salt?:

Day 1-2:

Objective: Students will know at what level of salt concentration aquatic organisms are affected, and be able to explain the results of an experiment to determine these levels.

Activities:
1. Students discuss the impacts of living without light 2. Students learn about the impacts of light on plants using a demonstration or overnight observation 3. Students view photos of water chestnut 4. Students create an experiment to test the impact of a floating plant on dissolved oxygen 5. Over a one,week or two,week period, students take measurements of the water 6. Students report and discuss conclusions

Assignment: Complete lab report

Materials: Daphnia or duckweed plants (depending on type of experiment) students will need 5-10 organisms per container , rock salt (deionized) , distilled water , pipettes , beakers or cups , paper filter , plastic wrap

Why Is It So Salty?:

Day 3-4:

Objective: Students will know how the application of road salt impacts water quality and be able to discover the different sources of salt as well as the amount of time that salt stays in the aquatic ecosystem.

Activities:
1. Students discuss the implications of salt as a pollutant 2. Students work as ‘investigators’ in groups to discover the impact of different sources of salt 3. Each group receives a data set and creates a graph of the information 4. Students discuss their findings with the whole class

Assignment: Complete lab report

Materials: computers with Excel, worksheets

Wastewater & the Hudson

Can you swim in the Hudson?:

Day 1:

Objective: Students will know how the sewage levels in the Hudson River have changed over time, and be able to explain the consequences of these changes.

Activities:
1. Students discuss their ideas about the cleanliness of the Hudson River, and whether they could swim in it. 2. Students use historic data to determine whether the Hudson is swimmable. 3. Students create graphs and discuss results.

Assignment: Complete graphs & “History of Wastewater” reading

Materials: copies of the lab handout, computers with Excel (or graph paper)

Historic Pollution in the Hudson:

Day 2-3:

Objective: Students will know how the pollution in the Hudson River has changed over time, and be able to explain the consequences of these changes.

Activities:
1. Students discuss impacts of excess sewage on the Hudson using historic readings from the New York Times 2. Students graph 100 years of data on nitrogen, phosphorus, total suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand 3. Students discuss results

Assignment: Complete graphs

Materials: copies of the lab handout, computers with Excel (or graph paper)

Eutrophication:

Day 4-5:

Objective: Students will know the difference between a ‘pulse’ and a ‘press’ event with regards to eutrophication and be able to graph the growth of algae over time.

Activities:
1. Students discuss the implications of excess nutrients. 2. Students set up an experiment to observe eutrophication. 3. Every few days, students spend time counting algae under a microscope (alternatively, students can compare water color after a set amount of time)

Assignment: Complete lab report

Materials: 3 mason jars per group, fertilizer, graduated cylinders, pipettes, slides, microscopes (or filter paper), and pond water. Option: turbidity probe.

The Hudson & Eutrophication:

Day 6:

Objective: Students will know the history of nutrient loading in the Hudson River, the consequences, and be able to recommend ways to reduce the levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in the future.

Activities:
1. Students will discuss the implications of nutrient pollution on aquatic ecosystems. 2. Students will read and answer questions.

Assignment: Complete worksheet

Materials: copies of the reading & worksheet

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