Gold Seal Lesson:
I'M Thirsty

Copernicus Education Gateway

Subject:

Science

Grade:

9-12

ICLE Standards:

Science as Inquiry: Develop the abilities of scientific inquiry.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Develop an understanding of personal and community health.

Problem Solving: Apply integrated problem-solving strategies to solve real-world problems.

Performance Task:

Working in a team with two classmates, you are to design a way to purify water necessitated by the fictitious disaster given in the scenario below.

Scenario: A major earthquake occurred yesterday in Northern California. A large dam in the area was nearly destroyed, resulting in severe flooding. People are without water, gas, and
electricity. Although surrounded by water, people have no clean water to drink. The area of the quake has been declared a natural disaster area. People can only survive about 3 days
without water, and it is not known when drinkable water will be available.

Design a method to purify some of the water surrounding area homes. You only have the following materials available: heat source, funnel, coffee filter, sand/gravel, charcoal briquettes, glass and plastic containers, and sieve. Your teacher will provide a sample of "foul" water. To test for portability, you may send a sample to a local laboratory.

After completing the task, write a team laboratory report which communicates your team's thinking process. Include the procedure your team used to produce water that is potable for human consumption. Your conclusion should discuss which purification processes worked well and which did not. If your purification process was not working well, state any modifications your team made.

Write a short paragraph or two, describing how families could prepare for natural disasters like this that might occur.

Knowledge / Skills:

Plan and apply real or hypothetical models and constructions to facilitate investigation and learning and the solution to practical problems.  (s115)

Identify and comprehend the concepts involving the earth's water, i.e., ground water (infiltration, permeability, porosity, and capillarity), surface water (runoff), and pollution (sources, types, concentration, and long range effects).  (s17)

Understand the human impact on the environment through pollution (air, water, and soil), and ways to improve it through education, research, laws, and conservation.  (s10)

Participate, sometimes leading, in group meetings by contributing, taking turns speaking, and working toward a common goal.  (ela20)

Use writing as a tool for learning in formats such as learning logs, laboratory reports, note-taking, and journals.  (ela40)

Use expository writing skills in subjects other than English language arts.  (ela58)

Rubric:

4 Points  =  The student made significant contributions to the team, enabling the team to design, test, and evaluate its water purification processes. The water purification processes included a means to kill microbes, eliminate microscopic chemical impurities, and filter macroscopic particles from the water. The portability testing procedure was practical and would satisfactorily conclude whether the water was safe for human consumption. The group made several appropriate suggestions to prepare families for natural disasters. The written lab report is complete, mechanically correct, and in the appropriate scientific method lab report format.

3 Points  =  The student made valuable contributions to the team, enabling the team to design, test, and evaluate its water purification processes. The water purification processes were thorough, but did not provide a means to remove some of the microscopic and macroscopic contaminants from the water. The portability testing procedure is practical and may or may not satisfactorily conclude whether the water was safe for human consumption. The group made several appropriate suggestions to prepare families for natural disasters. The written lab report is complete, mechanically correct, and in the appropriate scientific method lab report format.

2 Points  =  The student made few contributions to the group. The group experienced difficulty in either designing, testing, or evaluating its water purification processes. The water purification processes produced undrinkable water that still contained unacceptable amounts of contaminants. The portability test is not practical and may or may not satisfactorily conclude whether the water is safe for consumption. The group made at least one suggestion to prepare families for a natural disaster. The written lab report is fairly complete, but contains mechanical errors, and is not organized in the appropriate scientific method lab report format.

1 Point  =  The student made no valuable contributions to the group. The group experienced difficulty in designing, testing, and evaluating its water purification processes. The water purification processes produced undrinkable water that still contained unacceptable amounts of contaminants. The portability test is not practical and does not satisfactorily conclude whether the water is safe for consumption. The group did not make any worthwhile suggestions to prepare families for a natural disaster. The written lab report is only partially complete, and contains many mechanical errors. The scientific method lab report format was not followed.

Keywords:

LIFE SCIENCE
ECOLOGY
MICROORGANISMS                
EARTH SCIENCE
WATER
MODELS AND CONSTRUCTION
POLLUTION
EXPOSITION
TEAM WORK

Grades:

Kg [] - 1 [] - 2 [] - 3 [] - 4 [] - 5 [] - 6 [] - 7 [] - 8 [] - 9 [X] - 10 [X] - 11 [X] - 12 [X]

ICLE Application:

D

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