Name: ______Date:______Period:_____

Question: How much rain falls on our school each year?

Part 1: The average precipitation that falls each year in Newbury Park is about 6 inches. This is a good start; however it does not give us the answer to our question. Inches are no way to measure the volume of a liquid. We need to find the volume of water that fall on our school over one year. 6 inches is how tall a rain gauge would fill up (height). Volume is calculated using the following equation:

Volume = Length x Width x Height

Calculating Volume of Rain fall on Newbury Park High School

Height in meters: ___6_ inches x 2.54 cm/inch = ______cm ÷ 100 cm/meter = meters

Length: ______(Use Map)

Width: ______(Use Map)

**Volume = Length x width x height

= ______x ______x ______

= ______mᶟ of rain each year falls on just our school!!

So we now know that ______mᶟ of rain falls on our campus each year, but I can imagine a gallon of water easier than a cubic meter so let’s convert to gallons. There are 264 gallons in 1 mᶟ. So to find our answer we just need to multiply our answer by 264

Converting to gallons

______mᶟ x 264 gallons/m = ______gallons/ year

What does it all mean?

An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 660,000 gallons of water. So how many swimming pools of water fall on our school each year?

______gallons/year ÷ 660,000 = ______Swimming Pools per year falling on our campus!

The average toilet flush uses about 1.6 gallons of water each time. How many toilets could we flush with the amount of rain that falls on our campus each year?

______gallons/year ÷ 1.6 = ______flushes per year with our school’s rain!!!!!!!!!

Analysis:

  1. A school the size of ours uses about 12 million gallons of water per year. Do we use more or less water than falls on our campus? By how much? (subtract)
  1. Judging by these numbers our campus should be at the bottom of a very deep lake! What happens to the water that falls on our campus? (There are a few options)
  1. Think of an idea to help our campus save water. It would be very difficult for us to rely on only the rain for water needs, but perhaps we could use the rain for some things. Explain your idea of how to capture and use some of this water.

Name: ______Date:______Period______

Newbury Park High School Surface types

Procedure: Color the map LIGHTLY! Use a different color for each of the following surface type: Concrete/Asphalt; Grass; Gravel/Sand and Dirt; Roof material.So you should have 4 categories. You need to color lightly enough to be able to see the squares still when you are done.

Questions:

  1. What type of surface does our school have the most of?
  1. What type of surface does our school have the least of?
  1. What is it called when water in any form falls from the sky? What are the 4 types from your notes?
  1. What 3 things can happen to the water after it reaches the surface?

Map Analysis: The map of our school has a grid drawn over it to help us calculate the area of each surface type. From your coloring, recall that our 4 surface types are Concrete/Asphalt; Grass; Gravel/Sand and Dirt; Roof material.We will be constructing a pie chart to show the relative percentages of each surface.

Procedure:

  1. Count the number of squares that represent each surface type on the map. Record in table below.

(Sometimes you will need to estimate if there are half squares. Just do your best)

  1. Divide the number you counted by the total number of squares (143) to find the percentage.
  2. Construct Pie Chart (Circle Graph)

Table 1: Relative Percentage of Different Surfaces at NPHS.

Type of Surface / Number of Squares Counted / Percentage of School (÷ by 143)
Concrete/Asphalt
Grass
Gravel/Sand and Dirt
Roof material

Title: ______

Analysis:

  1. Surfaces that allow water to infiltrate easily are said to be permeable. Of the four surface types at NPHS, which do you think are permeable?
  1. If water can’t infiltrate easily, a surface is said to be impermeable. What surfaces at NPHS do you think are impermeable?
  1. Using your pie chart what is the total percentage of permeable surface at NPHS? What is the total percentage of impermeable surface?
  1. Explain what 2 things can happen to the water that lands on an impermeable surface? Why would some say that water is wasted?