Unit 1 Section A
Chemistry In The Community
Unit 1 Section A
Sources and Uses of Water
Why Study Water?
• 75% of the Earth’s surface is covered by it
• Roughly 70% of your body weight is water
• To stay healthy you should consume nearly 2 liters of fresh water daily
• Virtually every industry developed by man relies on water in some capacity
• Tremendous amounts of biological and industrial wastes are discharged into our drinking water supplies
How Will We Study Water?
• A problem solving thematic unit
• We will examine Riverwood’s water crisis
• As citizens, we will make decisions about water use in our homes
• As scientists, we will investigate the cause of the crisis
• As town officials we will make decisions to protect against this type of crisis in the future
What Crisis? Where is Riverwood?
• Read the Riverwood News article by Lori Katz on page 4
• Look for the “who,” “what,” “where,” and
“when” items in the article
• Differentiate between fact and opinion
• Who is making decisions and what authority do they have to do so?
What is a fishkill?
• A sudden die off of fish in an ecosystem
• Caused by many factors
1. toxic pollution
2. dramatic temp change
3. dramatic O
2 change
4. dramatic pH change
5. illness
• Indicator of potential human health risk
How often do they happen?
• A “Google” search for “fishkills” turned up almost ¾ of a million results!
• Florida has a website for reporting them, http://research.myfwc.com/fishkill/submit.a
sp
• The ODNR has a whole webpage explaining them
Back to Riverwood
• What is the reaction from the public? Read
Juan Hernandez’ article on page 6
• Is everyone effected to the same degree?
• Who might be effected the most?
1. single dudes in bachelor pads
2. families with young kids?
3. the elderly?
4. business/restaurant owners?
Where Do We Start?
• Section A.3, How much water do you actually use? How big of a problem with the
Mayor’s shut down cause?
• Section A.2, Foul Water.
How tough is it to clean water? What are the necessary steps to get water clean?
Where is our water?
Groundwater
• An aquifer is an underground area where water collects
• May be confined or unconfined
• Aquifers are recharged by infiltration from the surface
Uses of Water
• Industry
– Electricity
– Manufacturing
• Irrigation
• Residential
