Earth and Human Activity: Bundle

• Students will explore types of pollution and human impacts to air, water, and soil. • Modules include in-depth background reading, quizzes, and ideas for lesson extensions that align with NGSS. • Buy each module individually or bundle them together for more than 25% savings! In the “Earth and Human Activity: Air Quality” kit, students create an air pollution journal, perform chemical reactions to produce and test carbon dioxide gas, and engineer a particle collector to quantify pollutants in their local environment. The dissolving of gaseous acid rain precursors into water is modelled with a simple reaction, and “acid rain” is then applied to a series of rocks and metals. In the “Earth and Human Activity: Water Quality” kit, students collect water samples from a local environment and test a suite of environmental parameters, including: pH, nitrates, phosphates, oil, and lead. Students are guided through the scientific method and design their own controlled experiments to investigate the effects of nutrient loading on an aquatic system. A teacher demonstration on particle settling time introduces a discussion about particulates in the environment and in drinking water. In the “Earth and Human Activity: Soil Quality” kit, students collect soil samples that are used throughout the unit plan. Students learn about the textural triangle and ribbon test to draw conclusions about about the color, texture, and possible mineral content of their samples. In a STEM activity, students engineer their own filtration device and test filtered samples for potassium and oil, comparing their own samples to controls with fertilizer and distilled water. Students design and perform a controlled experiment to investigate soil salinization and its effects on seed growth.