Aquifer
Lesson #2E - Engage/Explore
Have students make model aquifers by doing the following: Place a piece of
aluminum foil on the desktop. Position a sponge on top of the foil. Use a small
beaker to pour water slowly onto the sponge. Lift the sponge and examine
the foil. Lift the foil, and examine the desktop. Have students compare the
sponge to a porous layer of soil or rock and the foil to an impermeable rock
layer.
Explain what is necessary for a material to be an aquifer. A permeable rock
layer must overlie an impermeable layer of rock. Allow students to record
their responses in their notebooks.
EXPLORE 2
Fill a plastic shoe box or small aquarium with sand. Scoop out a deep
depression to represent a swamp. Pour colored water so that it fills the box
to the bottom of the “swamp.” With a grease pencil, mark the side of the
box to identify the “water table.” Have students identify the “zone of
saturation.” Add more water and have students observe what happens to the
“water table” and “swamp.”
Discussion:
What happens to the water table if the amount of water pumped from an
aquifer is greater than the water seeping in? The top of the water table
drops.
Elaborate
Have students compare and contrast wells, geysers, and hot springs. All
bring water to Earth’s surface. In a well, water must be pumped to the
surface. In geysers and hot springs, the water is hot. A geyser is a hot
spring that periodically erupts.