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Schools - Suggestions for science classes

3. Measuring Air and Water Pollution (7-10 yrs)

• Introduction

• Process

  • The Cellotape test

  • The Secchi test

• To Conclude

• Outputs

Introduction

• Resources/Materials Needed:  Cellotape (Scotch tape); White paper; pins; Red and green or blue pens; glass jars; map of the school grounds; water samples from at least 6  sites from the local area, map of the local area, magnifiers or microscopes

• Target Age Group: 7-10 years

• Curriculum Areas: Science, Geography, Mathematics

• Method Used: Outdoor Activity, Working in Pairs

Air and water pollution are among the major causes of death for children under five around the world.  This means that sometimes the most dangerous things children can do are to breathe the air and drink the water in their local communities. It is possible to reduce pollution in both air and water. But before any action is taken to reduce pollution, it is important to know what type of pollution it is and where it comes from. You can learn more about water pollution in the Hydrology, water resources and water pollution section of CaWeC.

There are two very simple ways of measuring local water and atmospheric pollution.  Both may be conducted safely by primary school age children. Through collecting samples, students will learn how to ask questions through investigation, make observations, and apply what they have learned to taking action. This activity will enable students to investigate the levels of pollution in their community be identifying types and sources of pollution.  What types of pollution are there and where do they come from? Answers to these questions are the only sound base from which to start.

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Process

The Cellotape Test

The first test is about air pollution. Although it is hard to assess what exactly the pollutants are, the test shows that all kinds of small particles are spread by air on the surfaces of all things on Earth, like buildings and the vegetation.

►  Divide the class into pairs

►  Ask each pair to choose a site on the school grounds

►  Issue each pair with a small roll of cellotape or scotch tape.

►  Ask students to:

• Peel off a short section of tape (5-8 cm long),

• Stick it onto a smooth, exposed surface – like a painted fence, window pane, steel lamp post, or smooth leaf,

• Pull off the cellotape and stick it onto a piece of white paper,

• Write beside it the date and the name of location where it was collected.

►  When the students go back to the classroom, set a scale for the findings: ten for the dirtiest and one for the cleanest.

►   Ask each pair to mark their findings with pins on the map of the school ground.

►  Circle the pins with red for the really dirty areas and green or blue for the cleaner areas.

►  Discuss with the students the possible sources of pollution:  These may be natural. Like desert dust, or the result of human activity, like the smoke particles from factories.

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The Secchi Test

The Secchi test is a similar test for water quality.  For this to be effective there has to be a practical preparation. The teacher or student technicians collect water samples from the local area and number the samples. A map is prepared with key features such as factories, sewage outflows, pine or eucalyptus plantations, residential areas, uncultivated and cultivated land, farms, etc. and with various sample locations marked.

►  Place the samples in clear glass containers, such as boiling tubes or drinking glasses.

►  Show the students the different numbered samples and the map of the neighborhood where the samples came from. The map does not indicate which sample came from which point.

►  Explain to the students that all the samples came from the marked points on the map.

►  Ask the students to work in groups of 4-6 and hand out a copy of the map.

►  Students can then discuss and predict where the various samples came from and indicate the number of the sample on the map.

►  Once their origins are agreed, the teacher writes the name of the places where samples were collected on sheets of white paper and line the sheets up along a table.

►  Place the samples beside each other, and judge them on a scale of 1 to 10 - ten for the dirtiest - one for the cleanest.

►  Ask the students to mark the sites with colors (red for the dirtiest and blue or green for the cleaner samples).

►  Compare the outcomes and discuss where the dirtiest water comes from on the map of the local area.

►  If you have access to magnifiers or microscopes ask the students to examine what is in the water that makes it cloudy.

►  Ask the student to write down notes or make drawings of what they see.

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To Conclude

Explain that this assessment of water and air quality was based on what we can see with our eyes, or maybe smell. Researchers of the environment use various methods to asses the quality of air and freshwater. They measure for instance also the incidence of chemical substances in the air (for example sulphur content in industrial areas causing smog or acidification), or test the amount of oxygen in water (measure used to assess eutrophication by suffocating algae).

Additional research methods are often necessary to assess the quality of water or air. Water is also the place where many insect larvae and tiny algae live, which provide food for fishes and other freshwater organisms. Explain to the students that it is therefore necessary to study what makes the water cloudy and that scientists use guides to determine the kind of species. Some species are indicators for bad water quality whereas others are only present in very healthy waters.

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Outputs

A map of local air and water pollution. Over a period of a year a valuable comparative study can be compiled using the samples.

(This science project suggestion has been adapted from Pachamama Teacher's Guide, UNEP, ISBN: 92-807-2147-X)

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