Activity:
Air Pollution Monitor
The number of particles I found in the center square was:
The number of particles I found in each of the three other squares was:
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1) ___
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2) ___
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3) ___
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When I used my hand lens to count the particles, the particles looked like pieces of:
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These are some things my town/city could do to reduce the particle count in the air.
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Add the number of particles from the 4 squares and divide by 4. The average number of particles per square was:
This is how weather might affect the results of this observation.
Air Pollution Chart
(Activity 2)
0 to l5 particles per square: Clean Air
16 to 29 particles per square: OK Air
30 to 43 particles per square: Not Too Bad Air
44 to 57 particles per square: Fair Air
58 to 7l particles per square: Not Too Good Air
72 to 85 particles per square: Not Good Air
86 to 99 particles per square: Polluted Air
100+ particles per square: Badly Polluted Air
Activity 2
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Air Pollution Monitor
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What You Want To Find Out (Purpose):
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You want to find out how many solid particles there are in the air.
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What You Need (Materials):
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2-l/2” square piece of wax paper
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pencil
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ruler
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1 of the pieces of foam board in your kit
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petroleum jelly
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tape
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hand lens in your kit
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What Do You Think Will Happen? (Hypothesis):
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Will you find particles stuck to the air pollution monitor after your test period? Do you think you’ll find a lot of particles, or just a few?
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Use the chart on the next page to find out about the particle count in the air.
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What You Are Going to Do (Procedure):
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1. Mark your wax paper into a grid of l/2 inch squares. Do this by making marks along each edge of the paper, l/2 inch apart, then connect the marks across the paper.
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2. Attach the paper to the foam board with tape. Please be careful with the foam board, because you will need it for another activity later.
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3. Smear the paper evenly with a thin coat of petroleum jelly.
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4. Find a place outside where you can leave the air pollution monitor for a week. It should be a place where it won’t be damaged. If you can, attach it to a string and hang it out of a window or from a tree branch.
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5. At the end of a week, bring your pollution monitor inside and look at it with the hand lens. Observe the particles that are stuck to the petroleum jelly.
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6. Choose the center square and count the number of particles that you see. Select three more squares and count the number of particles in each square.
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7. Add the number of particles from the 4 squares and divide by 4. Compare this number to the pollution monitor chart on the next page.
Activity 3
The objective of these activities is to formulate the concept that all living things need water to survive.
Materials
2 beakers l00 ml or baby food jars will do
6 lima bean seeds ___
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paper towels
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5 pebbles
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l knife
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masking tape
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l magnifying glass
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balance scale
A. 1. Label both beakers with your name.
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2. Find the mass of the 5 lima bean seeds.
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3. Place the seeds in l beaker.
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4. Find the mass of the 5 pebbles. ___
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5. Place the pebbles in the second beaker.
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6. Fill both beakers full with water. Store for one day.
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7. Remove and dry the seeds with a paper towel.
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8. What is the mass of the seeds? ___
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9. What was the mass of the seeds at the start of the experiment? ___
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10. What is the mass of the seeds now? ___
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11. What happened to the mass of the seed? ___
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12. What do you think caused this change? ___
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13. What do you think got into the seeds? ___
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14. Remove the pebbles from the beaker. Dry them.___
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15. Find the mass of the dried pebbles. ___
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16. What was the mass of the pebbles at the start of the experiment? ___
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17. What is the mass of the pebbles now? ___
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18. What happened to the mass of the pebbles? ___
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19. What did the seeds do that the pebbles did not? ___
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20. What did the seeds take in?___
B.
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1. Open a new dry lima bean seed.
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2. Open one of your soaked seeds.
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3. Compare the dry and soaked seeds using a microscope.
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4. Your soaked seed contains an embryo and a cotyledon. The embryo is an undeveloped plant. It will grow and change into a bean plant. The cotyledon stores food to help the plantstart growing. The radical will become the root. The hypocotyl will become the plant stem. The epicotyl will become the leaves. The seed coat protects the seed from drying out. When the seed gets enough water, the seed coat softens. It then softens and lets the embryo out.
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5. What part of the seed stores food?___
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6. What part of the seed will become a plant?___
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7. How does the seed coat help the seed?___
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8. What must seeds take into start their growth? ___
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9. What must all living things take in to stay alive? ___
Activity 4
Diluting Pollution
Problem
How effective is dilution as a method of cleaning up polluted water?
Aim
In this investigation, you will observe that it takes a large amount of unpolluted water to clean up polluted water.
Materials
Each group of students will need some blue food coloring, tap water, an eyedropper, a graduated cylinder, a test-tube rack, a stirring rod, a test tube, a small beaker or baby-food jar, and a large beaker or jar.
Procedure
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1. Using the graduated cylinder, measure 20 milliliters of tap water. Pour the water into a test tube and add one drop of food coloring. Stir. The food coloring represents a form of pollution such as sewage, pesticides, or some other unwanted chemicals.
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2. Using the graduated cylinder, measure l0 milliliters of the “polluted” water from the test tube. Pour it into a small beaker. Set the small beaker aside. Add l0 milliliters of tap water to the test tube. Hold the tube against a sheet of white paper and look at the color of the water. Describe the color.
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3. Repeat step 2 three times. What color is the water in the test tube now? Have you cleaned the water by dilution? Explain.
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4. Look at the water in the small beaker. There should be 40 milliliters of polluted water in the small beaker. Measure 20 milliliters of the water from the small beaker. Pour it into the large beaker. Add 20 milliliters of tap water to the small beaker. Describe the color of the polluted water in the small beaker.
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5. Repeat step 4 three times. What color is the water in the small beaker now?
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6. How much polluted water is in the large beaker? Does diluting polluted water appear to be an effective way of solving the pollution problem? Explain. How do cities avoid polluting rivers with sewage? How is water treated to make it clean enough for drinking?
Activity 5
The objective is to formulate the concept that water pollution disrupts the environment. How can we help nature clean up water pollution?
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Materials for each group of 4 students.
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1 test tube of muddy water
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1 stopper
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1 test tube clean
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1 test tube rack
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1 funnel prepared with paper and gravel
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1. Obtain the test tube of muddy water.
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2. Hold your finger over the seal. Shake the tube.
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3. Place your tube in the rack. Do not touch it for 5 minutes.
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4. What do you see after 5 minutes?___
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5. The mud represents solid waste. What happened to the mud? ___
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6. This method of purifying water is called sedimentation.
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7. Why wouldn’t you drink the relatively clear water at the top of the test tube? ___
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8. Shake your test tube again. Pour the contents of the tube over the funnel with the gravel and paper in it, into a clean test tube.
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9. Observe the collected water.
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10. Where are most of the pollutants now? ___
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11. Why wouldn’t you drink the clear water passing through the filter? ___
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12. What is this way of getting rid of water pollution called? ___
13. What can water pollution upset?
Natural Resources—Conservation
The reasonable use of the earth’s natural resources, water, soil, wildlife, forests and minerals, is a major goal of conservation. Conservation is the preservation and maintenance of the environment to meet human needs for production while insuring that proper consideration is also given to aesthetics and recreation. An effective conservation program results in a continuous production and supply of native plants and animals, and the continued availability of critical mineral resources. Timber, fuels, ores, and other resources are being depleted at such a rapid rate that the need to conserve them has become crucial. We all have to prevent the waste of natural resources to maintain a high quality environment and to preserve the natural heritage for future generations.
Natural resources are a vital part of sustaining life, and conservation measures are a vital part of sustaining human life. Conservation measures are designed to control, manage and preserve them so that they can be used and appreciated to the fullest. Fresh water habitats must be kept clean for drinking and for recreation activities. Soils must be kept fertile, without the accumulation of toxic chemicals from pesticides or herbicides, to provide fruits and vegetables. Forests must be managed in a manner that can provide not only lumber and pulpwood for paper products, but also homes for wild life. The use of oil, coal and minerals important for an industrial society must be carefully monitored to be certain that the supply does not dwindle too rapidly. The proper conservation of these natural resources is of key concern in maintaining the balance of nature in a world with a large population. The abuses of the past and even the present have emphasized the need for the wise use of natural resources. Conservation groups have promoted corrective legislation and instituted legal proceedings against violators. People have been made increasingly aware that their continued existence depends on these efforts to stop environmental deterioration.
Individuals have no right to destroy nature’s wealth for profit. The logging company that cuts down too many trees without replanting for the future; the industrial plant that fouls a river or pollutes the air with its wastes; the farmer who neglects his own farm and so damages his neighbors land, are injuring the whole community. The camper whose carelessness starts a forest fire; the automobile driver who wastes gasoline; the picnickers who litter the landscape with their garbage; are all abusing natural resources.
Stringent laws to stop the waste and destruction of natural resources must be supported and enforced. Conservation is everyone’s responsibility. It is one method we as students can use to save our world.