APES- Strip Mining Lab

APES- Strip Mining Lab

(5 points)

Objective: Students will understand the concept of strip mining and how difficult it is to “reclaim” land once ithas been mined. Students will also understand basic mining vocabulary and policies related to mining andenvironmental damage.

Materials:

cupcake w/ cream center aka ‘Ding Dong’

plastic knife

straw (clear)

ruler

scissors

Procedure:

1. Initial Research – Create Mine SchematicMeasure cupcake height and diameter in centimeters. Draw a scale diagram of your cupcake (land). Create ascale legend for your drawing (1cm = 100 ft).

2. Find Exact Location of Mineral - Take Core Samples

Plunge the straw into the top of the cupcake until you reach the bottom. Twist the straw slightly and pull it out.Take at least 2 more core samples. You are trying to find the cream center, which represents your valuable ore.Use scissors to carefully cut open the straws. Use this core sample to draw a scale diagram (view from the top)of where your ore is located including measurements in cm. (add to the drawing above)

3. Remove Overburden & Extract MineralIn mining, the overburden is waste earth & rock covering a valuable mineral deposit. Using your knife is arepresentation of the tools of mining, remove the overburden & extract your mineral ore. Draw a scalediagram of exactly where you found your ore, and then evaluate the accuracy of the hypothesis you madeusing core samples. For example- did you correctly predict where the ore would be found based on theseinitial assessments? Explain.

4. Replace Overburden & Study Effects on Mine AreaDoes the area mined look the same once the mineral is extracted? Take height and diameter measurements incentimeters, & draw a revised diagram of your land. Calculate the percentage decrease in height of your minedarea. Show calculations and explain what you found.

5. ConclusionIn your own words, explain the procedure of this lab as well as how it relates to strip mining. Also, list at least3 harmful effects of strip mining on the environment.

6. Explain The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. What does this act require coal-miningcompanies to do? Is it successful? Why or why not?

Extension:

7. Anaerobic methane digesters have been used for many years to reduce energy costs on farms throughout Europeand on some large farms in the United States. The digesters operate by using anaerobic bacteria to break downanimal waste. During the process, which typically uses a tank heated to about 100°F (38ÁC) to speed thereactions, raw manure is broken down and methane is produced. The methane can then be used to generateelectricity or produce heat.For a certain dairy farm with 500 cows, the cost of installing a digester is approximately $400,000. Assume thatthe farm uses 800,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year at a cost of $0.10 per kWh. The waste froma single cow can produce 3.0 kWh of electricity each day.

(a) Describe the steps by which methane produced in the digester can be used to generate electricity.

(b) Discuss TWO environmental benefits that may result from the installation of an anaerobic methane digester.

(c) Assuming that the cost of electricity remains constant and the farmer starts using the manure from the cows

in an anaerobic digester to produce electricity on the farm, calculate:

(i) The number of kWh of electricity that can be produced in one year

(ii) The amount of money the farmer can save in one year, NOT counting the installation cost of thedigester. (You may round your answer to the nearest $1,000.)

(iii) The amount of time, in years, that it will take to recover the cost of installing an anaerobic digester onthe farm. (You may round your answer to the nearest whole number of years.)

(d) Calculate the minimum number of cows the farm would need to produce 800,000 kWh of electricityper year.

8. Coal mining is a major industry in Wyoming and provides energy for essential services throughout the country. As the third largest coal producer in the country, Wyoming’s coal is either sub-bituminous or bituminous.

A. Identify two environmental consequences of coal combustion

B. Discuss three positive economic effects of coal mining

C. Explain one way in which coal is mined

D. Discuss two uses for coal

E. Explain two terrestrial environmental impacts of coal mining