Human Performance and Effectiveness

Human Performance and Effectiveness

Pollution Effects on Plants

Grade Level(s): 7th – 10th

Academic Content Areas: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

Topics: Scientific Ways of Knowing, Science and Technology, Scientific Inquiry, Life Science

Recommended area of co-teaching for an AFRL Engineer or Scientist

Main Problem / Essential Question

After routine maintenance is performed on military planes and vehicles, why is it important to properly dispose of the used fluids?

Summary

This investigation is designed to determine if the substances used on a daily basis to make machines work efficiently cause a negative effect on the natural world around us. Students will experiment to determine if typical liquids used and disposed of during basic vehicle maintenance have a negative effect on plant life. They may use motor oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, or soapy water to represent fluids that are used in the driveway or at the curb of a home while someone is cleaning and/or maintaining their vehicle. Students will discover that care must be used in the disposal of toxic substances so that plant life is not harmed or destroyed.

Big Ideas / Focus

Students are doing this investigation to determine if the things we use on a daily basis to make our lives easier, to make our machines work efficiently; impact the natural world around us in a negative way. They will find that care must be used in the disposal of toxic liquids so that plant life is not destroyed.

Students will discuss other possible ramifications of careless disposal such as affects on animal life and contamination of groundwater. Students will understand that we will continue to improve our lives through inventions and technological improvements, but as we do, we must be aware and concerned about the effects of these advances on the natural world in which
we live.

Students will learn about the importance of variables, sample size, repetition, and reproducibility when performing a scientific investigation in order to interpret data and draw valid conclusions.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Students should have a solid understanding of observation and inference. Using newspaper pictures without the captions is a good way to have the students review observations and then make a reasonable inference based on these observations.

Students should have some understanding of bias and how it can affect an experiment's results. Repeated experimentation will lend credibility to the results. Doing a simple probability experiment is an easy way to review or introduce bias and its reduction by repeated experimentation.

It would be advisable for students to understand that the source of pollution is sometimes difficult to trace. Much of our air and water pollution results from either a point or nonpoint source

Basic understanding of seed germination. This can be taught/reviewed before the lesson or incorporated into the lesson.

Students need to be adept at measuring using the metric scale (mm and cm).

Creating and reading data tables is another prerequisite for this lab.

Some experience using a microscope would also be beneficial but not absolutely necessary.

Students should know how to use MS Excel, Fathom or other statistical software, to make graphs.

Standards Connections

Content Area: Science

Scientific Ways of Knowing Standard

Grade 7 - Benchmark B: Explain the importance of reproducibility and reduction of bias in scientific methods. / 1. Show that the reproducibility of results is essential to reduce bias in scientific investigations.
2. Describe how repetition of an experiment may reduce bias.
Grade 8 - Benchmark B: Explain the importance of reproducibility and reduction of bias in scientific methods. / 2. Explain why it is important to examine data objectively and not let bias
affect observations.

Science and Technology Standard

Grade 7 – Benchmark A: Give examples of how technological advances, influenced by scientific knowledge, affect the quality of life.
Grade 9-10 – Benchmark B – Explain that science and technology are interdependent; each drive the other. / 2. Describe how decisions to develop and use technologies often put environmental and economic concerns in direct competition with each other.
Grade 9
1. Describe means of comparing the benefits with the risks of technology and how science can inform public policy.
Grade 10
1. Cite examples of ways that scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world and how technology is driven by the need to meet human needs and solve human problems.
2. Describe examples of scientific advances and emerging technologies and how they may impact society.
Scientific Inquiry Standard
Grades 7 and 8 – Benchmark A: Explain that there are differing sets of procedures for guiding scientific investigations and procedures are determined by the nature of the investigation, safety consideration and appropriate tools. / Grade 7
1. Explain that variables and controls can affect the results of an investigation and that ideally one variable should be tested at a time; however it is not always possible to control all variables.
2. Identify simple independent and dependent variables.
Grade 8
2. Describe the concepts of sample size and control and explain how these affect scientific investigations.
Benchmark B: Analyze and interpret data from scientific investigations using appropriate mathematical skills in order to draw valid conclusions. / Grade 7
5. Analyze alternative scientific explanations and predictions and recognize that there may be more than one good way to interpret a given set of data.
6. Identify faulty reasoning and statements that go beyond the evidence or misinterpret the evidence.
7. Use graphs, tables and charts to study physical phenomena and infer mathematical relationships between variables.
Grade 8
3. Read, construct and interpret data in various forms produced by self and others in both written and oral form (e.g., tables, charts, maps, graphs, diagrams and symbols).
4. Apply appropriate math skills to interpret quantitative data (e.g., mean, median, mode).

Life Science Standard

Grade 10 – Benchmark G – Describe how human activities can impact that status of natural systems. / 18. Describe ways that human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilibrium in ecosystems. Explain how changes in technology/biotechnology can cause significant changes, either positive or negative, in environmental quality and carrying capacity.

Content Area: Math

Measurement Standard

Grade 7 – Benchmark D: Select a tool and measure accurately to a specified level of precision.
Grade 8-10
Benchmark E: Estimate and compute various attributes, including length, angle measure, area, surface area and volume, to a specified level of precision. / 5. Analyze problem situations involving measurement concepts, select appropriate strategies, and use an organized approach to solve narrative and increasingly complex problems.
1. Compare and order the relative size of common U.S. customary units and metric units; e.g., mile and kilometer, gallon and liter, pound and kilogram.
2. Use proportional relationships and formulas to convert units from one measurement system to another; e.g., degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius.
3. Use appropriate levels of precision when calculating with measurements.
Data Analysis and Probability Standard
Grade 7 – Benchmark A: Read, create and use line graphs, histograms, circle graphs, box-and-whisker plots, stem and leaf plots, and other representations when appropriate.
Benchmark E: Collect, organize, display and interpret data for a specific purpose or need.
Grade 8 – Benchmark A: Create, interpret, and use graphical displays and statistical measures to describe data.
Benchmark F: Construct convincing arguments based on analysis and interpretation of graphs.
Grade 9 & 10 – Benchmark A: Create, interpret, and use graphical displays and statistical measures to describe data.
Benchmark B: Evaluate different graphical representations of the same data to determine which is the most appropriate representation for an identified purpose.
Benchmark D: Find, use and interpret measures of center and spread, such as mean and quartiles, and use those measures to compare and draw conclusions about sets of data.
Benchmark E: Evaluate the validity of claims and predictions that are based on data by examining the appropriateness of the data collection and analysis.
Benchmark F: Construct convincing arguments based on analysis and interpretation of graphs.
Mathematical Processes Standard
Grade 8-10
A. Formulate a problem or mathematical model in response to a specific need or situation, determine information required to solve the problem, chose method for obtaining this information, and set limits for acceptable solution.
B. Apply mathematical knowledge and skills routinely in other content areas and practical situations.
E. Use a variety of mathematical representations flexible and appropriately to organize, record and communicate mathematical ideas.
F. Use precise mathematical language and notations to represent problem situations and mathematical ideas.
G. Write clearly and coherently about mathematical thinking and ideas. / 1. Read, create and interpret box-and-whisker plots, stem and leaf plots, and other types of graphs, when appropriate.
8. Design and conduct an experiment to test predictions, compare actual results to predicted results, and explain differences.
1. Use, create and interpret scatter plots and other types of graphs as appropriate.
2. Evaluate different graphical representations of the same data to determine which is the most appropriate representation for an identified purpose; e.g., line graph for change over time, circle graph for part to whole comparison, scatterplot for relationship between two variants.
6. make conjectures about possible relationships in a scatterplot and approximate line of best fit.
9. Construct convincing arguments based on analysis of data and interpretation of graphs.
Grade 9
1. Classify data as univariate (single variable) or bivariate (two variables) and as quantitative (measurement) or qualitative (categorical) data.
2. Create a scatterplot for a set of bivariate data, sketch the line of best fit, and interpret the slope of the line of best fit.
Grade 10
2. Represent and analyze bivariate data using appropriate graphical displays (scatterplots, parallel box and whisker plots, histograms with more than one set of data, tables, charts, spreadsheets) with and without technology.
(Note; Specific grade-level indicators have not been included for the mathematical processes standard. Mathematical processes have been embedded within the grade-level indicators for the other five content standards.)

Preparation for activity

1. Determine lab groups consisting of 4 students per group.

2. Prepare and organize materials needed for the lab. Soil /toxicant mixtures should be made.

3. Directions for making soil/toxicant mixture:

10 cups of soil

500 mL of toxic substance

250 mL of toxic substance

125 mL of toxic substance

62.5 mL of toxic substance

31.25 mL toxic substance

0 mL of toxic substance for negative control

4. Students should have lab books / data tables set up to record daily qualitative and quantitative observations.

Critical Vocabulary

bias – an influence that distorts or changes the results of an experiment. Material or the procedure can be biased.

constants – the factors in an experiment that do not change. They need to be kept the same in order for the results to be valid.

control – the standard used for comparison in an experiment.

dependent variable – the measured or responding variable - this factor will change as a result of the independent variable.

germination – a series of events that results in the growth of a plant from a seed.

independent variable –the tested or manipulated variable -the one factor that is changed by the person doing the experiment.

inference – a decision made based on observations and interpreting data

nonpoint source pollution – comes from many different sources so it is difficult to trace such as chemical fertilizers that runoff into streams, lakes, and wetlands and/or seep into the ground and then into groundwater.

point source pollution –- occurs from a single, identifiable source such as an oil tanker spill.

toxicology – the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living systems, whether they be human, animal, plant, or microbe.

toxic substance (toxicant) – a substance that accumulates in living systems and causes harm

qualitative observations – information gathered through the five senses.

quantitative observations – information gathered by measurements

radical – emergence of primary root

cotyledon – first leaves that appear in a dicot. They are the energy source for the seedling until it begins the photosynthesis process.

Timeframe

three to four week lesson (during the growth stage, partial class periods are needed to observe and record – the degree of detail required for the data table is determined by the teacher).

Day / Daily Time Allotment / Activities
1 / 50 minutes / Pre-Activity Brainstorming and Discussion
Discuss the problem in lab groups and together as a class.
2 - 3 / 50 minutes / Experimental Design – Identify the independent, dependent, and controlled variables. State a hypothesis. Determine the lab procedure – Consider the following:
1. The types of seeds used.
2. The number of seeds used.
3. The type of toxicant used.
4. The concentration levels of toxicant used.
5. Design data tables to record qualitative and quantitative observations.
4 / 50 minutes / Set-Up Experiment – Record Initial observations
5-14 / 10-15 minutes / Students will observe and record data at the beginning of each class period. This could be done on a M-W-F or T-TH schedule to lessen the class time taken.
15 / 50 minutes / Students will graph and analyze their data.
16-17 / 50 minutes / Students will draw conclusions and if choosing a final product, begin to write a letter or create a brochure.
Post-Activity Discussion

Materials & Equipment

lab books and copies of daily data tables if needed

seeds – choose one or more of the following: grass, sunflower, peas, radish, corn

Note: The grass will not show great variance in height but may show observable differences such as color, thickness, healthy, lush appearance. The other seeds listed above will show more height variance. Willow sprigs are another option as they have been successfully used in phytoremediation.

supplies needed for seed germination if observing germination is planned as part of the lesson:

plastic sandwich bags, coffee filters or paper towels

soil (prepared concentrations)

choose one of the following:

motor oil , transmission fluid, antifreeze, dishwashing soap

metric ruler

other handouts needed

1. student lab guide A or B

Safety & Disposal

Latex gloves for students who may find skin contact with the motor oil and antifreeze irritating.