Student
Environmental Systems: Issues
Webquest-Heavy Metals
EQ: What will our environment be like in 50 years?
Enduring Understandings
Interactions between humans and ecosystems result in
environmental changes.
The use of Earth’s resources impacts present day and future
environments.
Concepts Important to Know and Understand
Human impact, hazards & risks
Broad Brush Knowledge
Point & non-point pollution, primary & secondary pollutants,
hazardous waste, ground water, surface water
Learning Target
Access electronic information and assimilate information from
multiple sources.
Purpose
You might like Heavy Metal but we aren’t talking music here. Heavy metals can be found in
your food and water from sources which you might not be aware. This activity is an online
webquest to discover what heavy metals are, where they come from, and how they can
impact your life.
Background
For centuries, humans have known that heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic
can seriously harm our health. Lead’s effects on the brain were noted as early as the
second century B.C.E., and arsenic has been notorious as a poison since the Middle Ages.
The ancient Romans noted mercury’s harmful effects when slaves mined the metal in
Spain. The Incas used mercury to extract gold in the 1500s, and despite a well-developed
reputation for harming the brain and causing birth defects, mercury continues to be used
in mining, in addition to other industries and consumer products. Mercury, lead, and
arsenic are naturally occurring elements, but our bodies don’t need them in any way. And
at very low levels, all three can be toxic.
“Heavy Metals: A Centuries Old Problem.” Downloaded 6/2/2011 from http://pollutioninpeople.org/
Procedure
 Access the Internet and go to Cyberweb at http://k-12.pisd.edu/cyberweb/ click on the
High School > Science Bug > Environmental Systems > Environmental Issues >
Webquest-Heavy Metals. This is a Word document.
 Once the document opens in Word, go to File> Save As and save the document as
Webquest-Heavy Metals (your name). Save the document where your teacher designates.
For example: S:\...\Webquest-Heavy Metals-Mary Smith.
 Read the questions after each hyperlink then click on the link provided. Use the websites
as a resource then return to the Word document to type in the answers to the questions.
I.
http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/confronting-toxics/heavy-metals/
1. Define heavy metal.
2. How are humans exposed to heavy metals?
II.
http://pollutioninpeople.org/toxics/metals
Mercury
1. Name four ways mercury gets into the air.
2. List three common health effects of mercury exposure.
Updated 6/1/2011
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Student
Arsenic
1. Why was arsenic used to treat wood?
2. List three common health effects of arsenic
exposure.
Lead
1. How does lead get into drinking water?
2. List three common health effects of lead exposure.
III.
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/newsletter/heavymetal.htm
1. What are the three most common heavy metals released from road travel?
2. Explain how brakes, tires, and motor oil add heavy metals into the environment.
3. Besides zinc, copper, and lead, list 3 common metals in road runoff, and explain where
each metal originates.
A.
B.
C.
IV.
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/battery.htm
1. How are heavy metals used in cell phones?
2. What kinds of heavy metals are found in cell phone batteries?
3. What should you do with an old cell phone battery?
Analysis
In general what have you learned about heavy metals and the possible effects they have on
the body?
 Once you have completed the activity, check with your teacher to print the document.
Updated 6/1/2011
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