Ground+Water+PH

Emily Wolin, 2012

Groundwater lab, investigating pH.

2 day lab.

[|waterdownbelowmap.pdf] [|The Water Down Below.docx]

Part I. We gave an introduction to what groundwater is by putting pea-sized gravel in a clear plastic box and poured colored water ("rain") into the box to show that groundwater is contained in the space between particles of rock and soil. Then we asked what would happen if we poured in polluted water, eventually explaining that pollution can seep into groundwater. That helps set up the "mystery" part of the lesson.

We also gave a very basic explanation of pH.

We had them use pH probes to explore the relationship between pH and the amount of acidic "contaminant" (lemon juice!) in a sample of water.

Part II. Students applied their results from that exploration (more contaminant = lower pH) to test samples from the town of "New Evanston" to find the source of a leak that was contaminating the town's groundwater.

Part III. Students finish analyzing the data and complete their write-ups.

Additional notes: Lesson should be rewritten with more transitions and guiding questions. (I think I know where we were getting stuck and could change it for the future.)