Environmental+Aqueous+pH+Levels


 * Grade Level and Topic: ** Grades 6-8, Environmental Aqueous pH Levels

**Names and Contacts: **  Brittany Beggs: __ blb278@psu.edu __  Jennifer Mason: __ jmm5537@psu.edu __  Douglas Mallas: __ dvm5073@psu.edu __


 * Educational Standards: **
 * ** 3.5.7D- ** Explain the behavior and impact of the earth’s water systems focusing on mainly the fourth bullet point- Compare the effect of water type and the life contained in them.
 * ** 3.7.7B- ** Use Appropriate instruments and apparatus to study materials
 * ** 3.7.7C ** – Explain and demonstrate basic computer operations and concepts
 * ** 4.1.7C- ** Explain the effects of water on the life of organisms in a watershed

1) Students should be able to define pH and distinguish aqueous liquids by this quality. 2) Students should be able to explain the importance of pH on water quality. 3) Students should be able to explain the impact of pH on different ecosystems.
 * Instructional Objectives: **

The big idea of this lesson is to open up conversation about pH in terms of pollution in the environment. The lesson will give students initial stepping blocks into the chemistry of pH by learning such terms as acidic, basic, and neutral using the pH scale. From there several water samples will be tested from different environmental water supplies including lake and rain water with bottled water used as a control. Once the results are collected the students will have a chance to discuss what may have caused any irregular findings. The lesson ends with a discussion of different types of pollution found in the environment, allowing students to discuss what damage they think these pollutants may cause to different ecosystems.
 * Content Explanation: **

To make this lab easier for all students to use, we are going to break the students into two groups. Each group will have their own computer, water samples, and pH probe. This should allow each student ample time to use the materials, decreasing any feelings of not being involved. As for safety precautions, there are no chemicals or hazardous materials being used in this lab. The only precaution is to tell students to be careful with water around electronics. This lesson uses different learning strategies which should take into account all group members. There is not only verbal instruction, but a worksheet and poster. The nonverbal representations on the worksheet and poster should facilitate the understanding byELL/ESL students.
 * Administrative Considerations: **

For this lab, students will need a computer with analyzing software (Data Studio), pH probe, and five water samples. For this lab, we collected the samples prior to the experiment, but could have students collect additional samples prior to the lab allowing for a better range of results. We will be working in groups of 2-3 per group, with each group working on one computer. Depending on the size of the class and the equipment available, more students could be added to a group. Group work is preferred because it allows the students to collaborate during the experiment.
 * Materials, Equipment, and Set Up: **

** a) **** Engagement (2 min) ** ** b) **** Exploration (8 min) ** ** c) **** Explanation (5min) ** ** d) **** Evaluation(5min) ** ** e) **** Elaboration (extra time) **
 * Body of Lesson: **
 * 1) Questions asked to engage include - What is everyones favorite drink? What about water? Do you think water is important? Why? Who thinks we can drink rain water? How about water from a lake? Why or why not?
 * 2) Questions to determine prior knowledge include- Can anyone tell me what pH is? Can anyone give me an example of a base? An acid?
 * 3) Connection- We have built in this introduction on pH depending on what the students already know. The extent of their prior knowledge will influence how much time we spend with this background information.
 * 1) Guiding question- Can we determine if the environmental water samples are safe to drink?
 * 2) Hand out worksheet- To test the question, students will use the pH probes to test the different water samples. They will know that pH of 7 is neutral as a focus point.
 * 3) More than one way to test- The students are also going to receive a worksheet that has a pH scale that includes common household items on it. Even if the concept of pH is difficult to grasp, having common items to go by should strengthen the students’ conclusions.
 * 4) They will collect data using pH probes and data software on the computer.
 * 5) They will record data on the worksheet we provide.
 * 1) Making sense of the data- Once the data has been collected, we will discuss the findings as a group. First, any differences seen in the data between the two groups and why that might be will be examined, and second, what they think may have caused the samples to be acidic or basic. Once there options are heard, the teacher will guide them into thinking about a few different types of pollution including acid rain and fertilizer run off. With this guidance, we will again discuss what they think caused the changes.
 * 1) For the evaluation, we are going to have each student state one reason why they think acidic and/or basic water is a problem for the environment. If they understand the major concepts of pH along with looking at the pH scale given to them on the worksheet, they should have some understanding as to why species living in different ecosystems cannot live in different water conditions.
 * 1) For an elaboration question,we would ask the students brainstorm different ways to clean up water pollution, espeically in relation to the Gulf oil spill. It would be very interesting to see what students come up with.