Slippery Slope
Students will investigate ways to clean up an oil spill and design a water filtration system to understand the issues of water pollution, the importance of access to clean water, and make informed decisions concerning environmental safety.
Overview
Students investigate water pollution and the importance of clean water through oil spill cleanup and water filtration. The lesson opens with before-and-after oil spill photos, vocabulary, and a discussion of how little of Earth's water is freshwater available to people. Working as an engineering firm, groups spend a $100 budget on materials such as cotton balls, feathers, and cloth squares to recover motor oil from a simulated ocean, then examine the effect of a soap dispersant. They summarize what they learned, build a layered water filter using leftover spill water, and record Flip videos on their procedures and findings, commenting on two other groups' videos.
Lesson Objectives
- Investigate ways to clean up an oil spill and design a water filtration system to understand the issues of water pollution, the importance of access to clean water, and make informed decisions concerning environmental safety.
Standards
NGSS · 7
- 3-5-ETS1-1Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time or cost.
- MS-LS2-5Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
- MS-ESS2-4Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
- MS-ESS3-3Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
- MS-ETS1-2Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- MS-ETS1-1Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
- HS-ETS1-3Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural and environmental impacts.
CCSS Math · 8
- MP2Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- MP4Model with mathematics.
- MP5Use appropriate tools strategically.
- 3-5.OAOperations and Algebraic Thinking. (3-5-ETS1-1)
- MP2Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- 7.EE.3Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals), using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies.
- MP2Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- MP4Model with mathematics.
CCSS ELA · 8
- W.5.7Conduct short research projects that uses several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
- W.5.8Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
- W.5.9Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.
- RST.6-8.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
- WHST.6-8.8Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
- RST.11-12.7Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
- RST.11-12.8Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.
- RST.11-12.9Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.