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Sustainability Lesson Clearinghouse
Wastewater Treatment
Lesson Description:
This inquiry activity allows students to design and test a method for treating "wastewater". Students use common household materials and compete to create the cleanest possible water from their sample.
This inquiry activity allows students to design and test a method for treating "wastewater". Students use common household materials and compete to create the cleanest possible water from their sample.
Lesson Type:
- Experiment
- Other
Sustainability Topic:
- Water
- Other
GEF Program Category:
- Sustainable Water Challenge
Time Needed:
60-120 min for lab, more for extensions
60-120 min for lab, more for extensions
Standards Addressed:
Science/6/Investigation and Experimentation
Science/7/Investigation and Experimentation
Science/8/Investigation and Experimentation
Science/6/Investigation and Experimentation
- 7.0 Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Develop a hypothesis. b. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data. c. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative statements about the relationships between variables. d. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations. e. Recognize whether evidence is consistent with a proposed explanation. f. Read a topographic map and a geologic map for evidence provided on the maps and construct and interpret a simple scale map. g. Interpret events by sequence and time from natural phenomena (e.g., the relative ages of rocks and intrusions). h. Identify changes in natural phenomena over time without manipulating the phenomena (e.g., a tree limb, a grove of trees, a stream, a hill slope).
Science/7/Investigation and Experimentation
- 7.0 Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data. b. Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project. c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence. d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge (e.g., motion of Earth's plates and cell structure). e. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.
Science/8/Investigation and Experimentation
- 9.0 Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Plan and conduct a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis. b. Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of data. c. Distinguish between variable and controlled parameters in a test. d. Recognize the slope of the linear graph as the constant in the relationship y=kx and apply this principle in interpreting graphs constructed from data. e. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop quantitative statements about the relationships between variables. f. Apply simple mathematic relationships to determine a missing quantity in a mathematic expression, given the two remaining terms (including speed = distance/time, density = mass/volume, force = pressure x area, volume = area x height). g. Distinguish between linear and nonlinear relationships on a graph of data.
Materials Needed:
- Variety of substances to create "wastewater" (powdered drink mix, rock salt, gravel, cornstarch, baking soda, food coloring, etc.)
- Plastic cups or beakers to hold "wastewater"
- Variety of sand, rocks, coffee filters, funnels (2L bottles with the bottoms cut off work well as giant funnels), cotton balls, rags, mesh screen
- Paper towels, broom, and possibly a mop for clean-up
- Copies of lab handout (attached)
Submitted By:
Green Education Foundation (GEF) on Behalf of Lessonopoly
Green Education Foundation (GEF) on Behalf of Lessonopoly
School or Group:
Lessonoploy
Lessonoploy
Contact Email:
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
service@greeneducationfoundation.org
Notes:
For Further Information Please Visit: http://lessonopoly.org/node/11951
For Further Information Please Visit: http://lessonopoly.org/node/11951
Located in: Science
