Science
SCI.V.2.2
Grade: 9th
Strand V:
Using Scientific Knowledge in Earth Science
Standard 2:
Hydrosphere - All students will analyze the interaction of human
activities with the hydrosphere.
Benchmark 2:
Describe how human activities affect the quality of water in the
hydrosphere.
Constructing and Reflecting:
SCI.I.1.3 – Recognize and explain the limitations of measuring devices.
SCI.I.1.5 – Discuss topics in groups by making clear presentations, restating or summarizing what others have
said, asking for clarification or elaboration, taking alternative perspectives, and defending a position.
SCI.II.1.6 - Develop an awareness of and sensitivity to the natural world.
Vocabulary
Context
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Examples of local and regional human activities that
have measurable effects on water:
• Farming
• Industry
• Sewage disposal
• Toxic waste disposal
• Recreation
• Landscaping
Leaching
Chlorination
Fluoridation
Thermal Pollution
Agricultural Runoff
Acid Rain
Sewage
Nutrient Levels
Herbicides
Pesticides
Fertilizers
Ground water
Bacteria
Urbanization
Global Warming
Manufacturing
Knowledge and Skills
Students will:
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Identify the activities (waste disposal, use of
pesticides, herbicides, and thermal pollution)
that often negatively affect groundwater,
lakes, and streams.
Predict how human activities at one location
often have adverse affects on other locations
using their awareness of water movement
Compare, contrast, and evaluate various
methods of purifying water using their
awareness of water movement.
Resources
Coloma Resources:
CH 9 Surface Water
CH 10 Ground Water
CH 27 Human Impact On Resources
Glencoe MiniLab Pinpointing A source of Pollution
Other Resources:
• Michigan Teacher Network Resources
• Surf Your Watershed: discover watershed
boundaries and water quality indicators for all of the
United States. EPA
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Scope Unit – Water: Use, Don’t Abuse
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National Water Quality Information Project:
http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/nawqasum/index.html
Water Quality Conditions in the U.S
http://www.epa.gov/305b/98report/
Lake Michigan Management Plan - EPA
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/lakemich/index.html
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Water Science for Schools - USGS.
Everyone Is against Water Pollution.
Stapp, William. Field Guide to Water Quality Testing.
Thomson-Shore Printers, 1990.
• Field trip to a Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Science Olympiad event: “Water Quality”
• Berrien County Health Department
• Phycotech, Abonmarche, Whiteman & Assoc.
• CD-Rom: “Decisions, Decisions – The Environment”
available through the BCISD REMC.
Videoconferences Available
For more information, see www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl or
call Janine Lim 471-7725x101 or email
jlim@remc11.k12.mi.us
REMC Material:
V.2.HS.2
• Diving into Water Quality from Aquatic Research
Interactive, Inc.
• The Critical Link: Estuaries from the Marine
Education Center & Aquarium
• V.2.HS.2 Describe how human activities affect
the quality of water in the hydrosphere.
Vernier probes available: Dissolved O2, pH
Sensor, Turbidity Sensor, Water Depth
Sampler, Temperature Probe, Conductivity
Probe
Assessment
Instruction
Benchmark Question: How does water quality
change as a stream flows from its headwaters
through its watershed?
Focus Question: How does the water quality at the
source of a stream compare to the water quality at
the mouth of the stream?
1. The teacher will review with students the standard
techniques of water quality sampling and the
meaning of each test. The teacher will choose a
local stream that can be easily sampled in two or
more places as far apart as possible.
Students will collect water samples and analyze
them using standard water sampling techniques
(water quality testing kits are commonly available).
Students will compare and contrast water quality
data between sampling sites and develop
reasonable hypotheses to account for their
differences.
Note: Students need to know the difference between
point and non point pollution (point pollution is a
discernable source of water pollution like a pipe
versus non point pollution which is a diffuse source
of pollution where contaminants enter water bodies
from thousands of different points. Examples of nonpoint pollution would be agricultural fields, building
sites, and aerial deposition of contaminants)
Environmental clean up efforts have been more
successful with point sources of pollution because
these sources are easily identified. It is more of a
challenge to control agricultural runoff or stop an
adjacent state from creating air pollution that will fall
as acid rain.
Acid deposition includes rain as well as snow, sleet,
dust, and hail, which are significant sources of acids
in the environment
2. Extension: Students could also identify the human
activities on the stream located between the
sampling sites that could affect water quality
changes
3. Lab: “Waste Water in a Test Tube” (See
appendix).
4. Lab: “Dissolved Oxygen Lab” (See appendix)
Corresponds to standard I.1.3, I.1.5, & II.1.6
The teacher will provide each small group with a
map of an unfamiliar watershed that notes
industries, farms, and any other point sources of
pollution. The students will be given the following
scenario:
Imagine that a large concentration of a single
pollutant (e.g., DDT, mercury, liquid agricultural
waste, etc.) is released into the environment at a
single point in the watershed.
What effects will the pollutant have?
Each group will trace the flow of pollutants, predict
concentration levels, and describe the impact the
pollutant might have on living things at different
locations in the watershed. Each group will present
this information to the class.
(Give students rubric before activity.)
Criteria
Apprentice
Basic
Meets
Exceeds
Completeness of
presentation
Explains all
components, but all
are incomeplete: downstream flow,
pollutant
concentration
downstream, and
impact on
living organisms downstream.
Explains
one
component,
leaving
two
incomeplete:
downstre
am flow,
pollutant
concentration
downstre
am, and
impact on
living
organisms
downstream.
Explains
two
component
s, leaving
one
incomplete:
downstrea
m flow,
pollutant
concentrati
on
downstrea
m, and
impact on
living
organisms
downstrea
m.
Explains
all
componen
ts:
downstrea
m flow,
pollutant
concentrati
on
downstrea
m, and
impact on
living
organisms
downstrea
m.
Teacher Notes:
Analyze the interaction of human activities with the hydrosphere.
Young students are most familiar with water they use in their daily lives for drinking, cleaning, or
recreation and often assume water to be plentiful everywhere and easily replaced. All students need to
be aware of the impact humans have on the hydrosphere. They need to understand how subtle and
wholesale changes in the hydrosphere, such as the construction of a golf course or a parking lot can
have effects on a community. They should see water as a renewable resource that if managed
properly will continue to be able to sustain life on earth.