Activity: The Case of the Mysterious Occupants
THE CASE OF THE MYSTERIOUS OCCUPANTS
Scenario:
Mrs. Adams has called the water detectives to help her solve a serious problem. She was told they have an excellent track record for solving mysteries.
“What seems to be the problem?” asked one of the water detectives.
“Well,” said Mrs. Adams, “as you know, I rent out several apartments to college students. I never permit more than four students to stay in one apartment. But, in Apartment 320, I know there are more than four people. I just can’t prove it.”
One of the water detectives interrupted her with a question, “Have you ever tried making a surprise visit?”
“Yes,” she answered, “but every time I go there, four people or less are at home. Those college students come and go at all hours of the day and night. It’s impossible for me to keep track of how many students share the apartment.”
“Very interesting.” Said one of the detectives. “I think we can help you, but first we will need to see last month’s water bill for that apartment.”
“How will that help?” she asked.
“We will be able to see how many gallons of water were used last month,” said another water detective.
Mrs. Adams found the bill. It showed that last month the occupants used 12,000 gallons.
“Let’s see,” said one of the detectives. “Last month was April, which has 30 days. If we divide 12,000 gallons by 30 days, we know that they used 400 gallons per day.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Adams, but is that a little or a lot?”
“We’ll have to investigate and get back to you on that. We will do a survey to find out how much the average person uses,” said the detective.
With that, the water detectives left Mrs. Adams with a promise to return with an estimate of how many people are actually sharing the apartment. The water detectives decided that they needed to do some research to figure out how much water people use in one day. In order to come up with an estimate, they decided to find out how much water their own families use in one day. Here’s how:
Appendix C
Activity: the Case of the Mysterious Occupants
HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU USE?
Directions:
We are doing a water survey to find out how much water we use in a day. Place a tally mark in the Times/Day column each time someone in your family does the activity.
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Times/Day
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Total
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Toilet Flushing
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5 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Using Dishwashe
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20 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Washing Dishes with running water
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30 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Washing Dishes by filling a basin
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10 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Short Shower
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25 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Tub Bath
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35 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Teeth Brushing
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2 gallons
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X________
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=_________
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Grand Tota
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=_________
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NOTE: Washing clothes in a washing machine is not included in these calculations-a typical wash cycle uses 40 gallons of water. Another seasonal water use is lawn and garden watering. This survey deals with daily water use in the home, but most of us use additional amounts of water at school, work, and other places throughout the day.
To find the average use per person in your family, divide the grand total by the number of people in your family. The answer is: _________________________________
Follow-up Questions:
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1.
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In your home, which activity happened most often?_____________________
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_____________________________________________________________________
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2.
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Which activities use the water each time they occur? ____________________
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_____________________________________________________________________
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3.
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What other activities at home uses large amounts of water? _______________
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_____________________________________________________________________
