lesson 1: river geology - mr. potter's website · web viewthe amount of dissolved oxygen is...

Potter Name: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Hour: ______________ Environmental Science

Unit 1: Rivers and Lakes

Things I should know:

1. The Scientific Method 2. How to setup and write a lab report (basic level)3. Tragedy of the commons – common resources need to be managed/respected by all people who use them.4. How to perform chemical tests to measure water quality. (d.O., B.O.D., Nitrogen, Phosphorus)5. How to interpret the meaning of the chemical tests and explain what it means about the quality of the water.

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Introduction to the Chemical TestsWe will be preforming our chemical tests on two different samples of water. The first sample will be tap water (the control) and the second sample will be water that has been spiked with a small amount of fertilizer. Half the class will test the control and the other half will test the experimental group.

Perform the d.O., Nitrogen, and Phosphorus tests on one of the samples and record the results below. Get the other set of data from a group the tested the other sample of water.

Test Control Experimental Temperatu

red.O.

N

P

For the d.O. test, you will need to use the chart below. To use it, take a ruler or piece of paper and line up the

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Site Location: _____________________

Sample Collection DATA

1. Dissolved Oxygen test: _______mg/L

2. Collect BOD water in Glass Bottle (no bubbles).

3. Temperature:___________C

4. pH: ____________

5. Color of water: _______________

6. Can you see the bottom? __________

7. Return waste water to bucket.

Our Ponds and Dissolved Oxygen1. In your own words, describe what dissolved oxygen is and why it is important to animals that live in the

water.

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Use the following chart:dO Level Effect on Fishunder 3 ppm All fish die4.5 ppm Minimum for diverse fish population9 ppm and above Good fish environment

2. Based on the data, above, which lakes have the best fish environments?

3. The amount of dissolved oxygen is not the amount the water is capable of holding. This is a different measurement, called degree of saturation. In order to find out how saturated the water is with oxygen, you need to know the temperature. Why is temperature important in determining how much oxygen can be held by the water?

4. Use the chart supplied to find out the % Saturation of oxygen in our lakes. Write this down for each lake.

5. Look at the following information on Oxygen Saturation: How do our lakes rate?

125% Fish Die80-124% Excellent for fish60-79% Fish live, but not well. Below 60% Very poor--usually too warm or too much bacteria.

6. How can one get more dissolved oxygen into a lake or river?

7. What types of fish do well in low oxygen conditions? (hint: think size)

Biological Oxygen Demand

1. When there is a lot of biodegradable waste (sewage, for example), what will be there eating it?

2. What do those creatures need to survive besides the food (waste)?

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3. How can we use these creatures to find out how much waste is in the water?

4. Write down your answer from dissolved oxygen test from the previous oxygen lab.

5. Perform the dissolved oxygen test on the water from that day (it’s been 5 days).

6. Subtract the new amount from the old to find out how much oxygen was used.

7. The numbers above show the biological oxygen demand (BOD). This tells you how much biodegradable waste is in the water. Look at the following chart.

BOD RESULT

1-2 mg/L Very clean water

3-5 mg/L Moderately clean

6-9 mg/L A lot of waste, and many bacteria

10 mg/L or more Very bad--waste dumping in.

8. Does this let us know what is causing one lake to do well and the other one not?


9. Remember, this measurement does not test for toxic chemicals. It only tells you about biological wastes. Do you think eutrophic or oligotrophic lakes have higher BOD?

10. Lake Lansing is often closed because of high BOD. What is the cause?

11. The Red Cedar River used to be completely disgusting and had a BOD above 10mg/L. What do you think the reason for this was?

Water Quality Levels

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Dissolved Oxygen:9.0 mg/L: High quality water, many fish species4.5 mg/L: Minimum needed for healthy fish <3.0 mg/L: All fish die.

Percent Saturation of Oxygen125% or more Too high, fish die.80-124% Excellent60-79% Satisfactory < 60% Poor. Water is too warm, or too much bacteria.

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)1-2 mg/L Very clean, little waste3-5 mg/L Moderately clean, some waste6-9 mg/L Too much waste and bacteria10 mg/L or more: Terrible, dumping.

Phosphates0.01-0.03 mg/L Amount in uncontaminated lakes0.025 mg/L or more. Accelerates eutrophicationmg/L. Recommended maximum for rivers and streams.

Nitrate Levels:10 mg/L: Limit for drinking water.90 mg/L: Limit for warm-water fish.

pHIdeal for fish: 6.5-8.2Some fish: 5.0-9.0Best for eggs: 6.0-7.2

Nitrates in the Water

1. What do plants need nitrates for?

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2. What happens if too many nitrates get into the water (explain completely)?

3. Where do you get extra nitrates from?

Perform the nitrate test for nitrates following the directions in your kits.

4. What are the numbers for the two ponds?

Swamp pond Open Pond

1. 1.2. 2.3. 3.

5. Where do most of the nitrates come from in our pond system?

6. Look at the following information:

Nitrate level Safety

90 mg/L Safe for all warm-water fish

10 mg/L Safe for drinking water

a. Are any of the sources of water not safe for fish?

b. Are any of the sources of water not safe for drinking?

7. Could nitrates be the cause of the difference in life between the two ponds? Why or why not?

Phosphates in the Water

1. What would excess phosphates in the water do to the water after a long period of time?

2. What do we call a lake when it does what is mentioned above?

3. List the 3 stages of lake succession. The last stage should be mentioned for question two.

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Potter Name: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Hour: ______________ Environmental ScienceFollow the directions printed on the paper in your kit. Find out how much phosphate you have in your water. Also, record the amounts from other groups.

4. What is the amount of phosphate in your samples?Swamp pond Open pond

5. What pond did you take your sample from?

6. Using the information below, what can you say about the two ponds?

Amount of phosphate Safety Level 0.01-0.03 mg/L Amount of phosphate in most uncontaminated lakes.0.025 mg/L Accelerates the eutrophication process in lakes0.1 mg/L Recommended Maximum for rivers and streams

7. Besides natural phosphate, phosphates are also found in wastewater, fertilizer, and detergents. Explain how high levels of phosphate could get into your water source.

8. High phosphate levels are not dangerous to humans. However, phosphates were the reason for huge algae production in Lake Erie and caused the Lake to die off. Many people claimed that the lake was "dead" and, in most cases, it was. What do you think that Michigan, Canada, and the other states that border Lake Erie did to fix this problem?

9. How do you get rid of extra phosphates?

10. Could phosphates be the reason one pond has life and another does not? Explain why or why not?

Radish Seed Bioassay

A bioassay is a way to test to see if there are toxins in a water source. The idea is pretty simple. Put something living in it and see what happens.

1. Why is this a better way of testing for toxins than chemical tests? Why is it worse?

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2. Make a hypothesis for what will happen in each of the tests.

Procedure:The radish seeds have been soaking in a bleach mixture for 20 minutes. Take 10 seeds and rinse them in a beaker with water a total of 5 times.

Take a piece of paper towel. Soak it in your test liquid so it is wet, but not wet enough to drip. Place it in a plastic baggie. Label the baggie with your name and what pond you tested (2 groups will do controls, 2 groups swamp pond, and 2 groups open pond). Space out your radish seeds on the paper using forceps.

Give to Mr. Potter to put away.

3: Data tableName of sample: Name of sample: Name of sample:

Seeds germinated

Average root Seeds germinated Average root Seeds germinated Average root

Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5

4. Fill out the following table at the end of the experiment.Swamp pond Total germinated Average root lengthOpen pond Total germinated Average root lengthControl group Total germinated Average root length

Look at your data. Using your data, explain whether or not you think toxins are causing the lack of life in swamp pond. EXPLAIN THOROUGHLY.

Give a possible way that toxins/chemicals could have gotten into swamp pond but not open pond.

Biomagnification Lab

1. Where are most of the PCB's and mercury contamination in Lake Erie coming from today (not originally, but presently)?

2. What is the first level on the food chain that is affected?

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Potter Name: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Hour: ______________ Environmental ScienceGo to your desks and make sure you have the following:

12 Zooplankton papers, 3 bluegill papers, 1 walleye paper

Also, grab 12 M&M's. The M&M's represent mercury. Place an M&M on each zooplankton. Imagine that these zooplankton have picked up that much mercury in a day..

3. If each bluegill eats an equal amount of zooplankton, how much mercury will each one have?

4. If a walleye eats 3 bluegills a day, how much mercury will the walleye have?

5. Here's the bad news. How much mercury will the walleye have if it lives 3 years and eats 3 bluegills a day?

6. If you are eating fish, which fish would be safer to eat: bluegill or walleye?

7. Big predatory fish are often not safe to eat. What other type of fish is not safe to eat (hint: look at question 1)?

8. Where do walleye and other large fish store pollutants such as mercury and PCB's and what can we do to limit our consumption of these pollutants while eating these fish?

9. This lab shows what is called biomagnification. Please define this term.

10. Please eat the M&Ms. You now have mercury in you. ;)

Lake Erie Food Web

1. Name 5 Lake Erie fish.

2. Which member of the food chain would be most affected by pesticides?

3. Which member of the food chain would be first affected by fertilizer run-off?

4. Which member of the food chain would have the most toxins in them?

5. Where do most fish store their toxins, such as PCB’s and mercury?

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6. Which member(s) of the food chain do you think was hurt by zebra mussels?

7. Explain why.

8. Why do the Great Lakes have so many exotic species?

9. Name the following:a. decomposersb. producersc. primary consumersd. secondary consumerse. tertiary consumers

10. This food web is very incomplete. Add 3 non-fish species. Write these species down and tell me what part of the food chain they belong to.

11. If the water got clear, what do you think would happen to the ecosystem? Explain.

12. If the water got warm, what do you think would happen to the ecosystem? Explain.

13. When you are finished, obtain the improved, more, specific Food Web for the Great Lakes. How is it different from the food web you created? Be specific and detailed.

14. Why would eagles have more difficulty with pollutants than humans?

Lake Turnover1. Where are most toxins, such as lead and mercury and PCB’s, located (besides in animals)?

2. What time of year do you think the water is most toxic?

3. What is density?

4. What is very special about the density of water compared to the density of ice?

5. Put a colored ice cube into a beaker full of warm water.

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6. Write down your observations.

7. What season would this represent?

8. When this happens, what do you think happens to the dirt at the bottom of the lake?

9. Put warm water the bottom half of the beaker. Add food coloring to it and wait until the food coloring is spread out. Then CAREFULLY add a layer of cold water that is colored a different color.

10. Write down your observations.

11. What season would this represent?

12. When this happens, what do you think happens to the dirt at the bottom of the lake?

13. Draw a picture of a cross section of a large lake. Draw pictures of fish where you think most of the fish live.

14. Explain why.


Watershed Island

You are to make an island out of clay that fulfills the following requirements:

1. It must have 4 distinct watersheds.2. Two of those watersheds must connect (in other words, two rivers must join to become one).3. All water must flow off of the island (no lakes)4. When you have identified a river, scratch the path of the river in the clay.5. No cliffs.

When you are done, put the following on a separate sheet of paper labeled “Watershed Island”

A. Top-view of your island, with watershed boundaries and rivers labeled.B. List of 3 difficulties you had in making your watersheds.

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Stream Divides and River SystemsProcedure: 1. Locate the Mississippi River on the Physical United States map (the one with the labels).2. Find the Mississippi on the blank river map. Use a colored pencil and trace the Mississippi river upstream

to all of its tributaries.3. With the same colored pencil, encircle the river outlined in step 2. This circled region should include the

entire Mississippi River and its tributaries. Lightly color the region and label the enclosed area the Mississippi River System.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the Colorado River System, the Columbia River System, and the Rio Grande River System. Use a different color to outline and shade for each river system.

Materials: Physical United States Map Blank US River Map Colored Pencils

When you are finished coloring in the watersheds answer the following questions.

1. a. What river systems flow into the Pacific Ocean?

b. What river systems flow into the Atlantic Ocean?

2. a. The Western Continental divide is an area found in the US where rain falling east of it will eventually flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Rain falling to the west of it will flow into the Pacific Ocean. Where is the western continental divide on your map? Label and carefully draw a line through the US.

b. There is another divide found on this map. It separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico. Draw and label the Eastern Divide line.

3. What determined the locations of the western and eastern continental divides?

4. What is the main river near your town?

5. Where does your main river flow?

6. If you lived in Chicago and wanted to spend the summer traveling the Great Lakes; what path would you take from Chicago to the Atlantic Ocean? Include the names of the Great Lakes, other lakes, rivers, falls, etc… that would be needed to get to the Atlantic Ocean.

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Rivers and Watersheds of MichiganProcedure: On the Michigan map, locate the rivers and follow them upstream to where they began flowing (headwaters). You may find that the water source is a lake; however, the river may appear to have no source. In this case, the water is collected from the surrounding land and city systems; this is called runoff. If you find this write down the city/county area. If two sources come together then label both sources.

Use a piece of string to lie along the curves of the river to find the approximate length in miles using the key on the map.

Materials: Michigan map string pencil colored pencils

Length in miles Source (headwaters) Flows into (mouth)

Kalamazoo River

Grand River

Muskegon River

Manistee River

Au Sable River

Tittabawasee River

Raisin River

Questions:

1. What river in Michigan is the longest?

2. What rivers on the list above is the closest to where you live?

3. Is there a smaller stream/creek that flows into the river you mentioned in #2?

**Turn over for map**

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Potter Name: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Hour: ______________ Environmental Science4. A watershed is an area of land where all the water will drain into one river. On the map below, encircle the watersheds found in the Lower Peninsula.

5. Look at the watershed map again. How do you know where the highest elevations are in the Lower Peninsula?

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http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/michigan.shtml


Erosion questions

1. Rivers cause erosion. Name two other things that cause erosion.2. Draw a picture of a meander in the river. Label the cut bank and the point bar.

3. Which side does the river move fastest?

4. Which side does erosion take place?

5. Which side does deposition take place?

6. Explain why building a house on a cut bank is not a good idea.

7. If you wanted to stop erosion by planting trees, do you plant them on the cut bank or the point bar?

8. When talking about water erosion, what are three variables that will affect the amount of erosion? (Think about it—not in reading)

9. What can you do to slow erosion into a river?

10. How do people who canoe and kayak down a river lead to more erosion?

11. Why is erosion bad? What does it do to a river that is bad?

12. Gravel, silt, sand, and clay are soil particles. a. Of these four, which one only moves by being pushed along the bottom.

b. Which one stays suspended the longest?

c. Write down the order of deposition (which ones get deposited first, second, etc.)

d. Explain why point bars are often sandy.

13. Large boulders (the size of a house) can be moved by water. What time of year do you think this happens?

14. Why?

15. One of the best river improvements is called a silt trap. One digs a huge hole in the river, and allows the silt and other small particles to fill it. Then, you take a backhoe and remove it. What creatures would benefit from such an improvement?

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River Systems (stream tables)

Lesson 1: River Geology

Setting up the stream table: place a layer of sand down and then moisten the entire river bed.

1. Define erosion.2. Slowly pour 60 ml of water into the rain-maker. Observe the formation of a river. Pay very close attention to

where erosion is happening and where deposition (the opposite of erosion) is happening. Draw a top view of the river channel when you are done.

3. Add 30 mL of water. Draw the channel when you are done. Label headwaters and mouth.4. Add 30 mL of water and draw the channel.5. Did the channel stay the same the entire time or did it move?6. Is your channel a straight line or does it have bends?7. The bends are called meanders. The outside of the bend is called cut banks, while the inside of bend is called

point bars. Label these on your diagrams for number 2, 3, and 4. 8. Then add 30 ml of water and watch the speed of water and the erosion of sand at the bends.

a. Where does water move fastest (cut bank or point bar)?b. Where does erosion happen (cut bank or point bar)?c. Where does deposition happen (cut bank or point bar)?d. Where would the river be deepest (cut bank or point bar)?

9. If you were building a house, would you put it on a cut bank or a point bar? Why?

Lesson 2: Variables that Effect Erosion

Reset your stream table so you have a layer of flat, moist sand.

1. Slowly pour 60 ml of water into the rain maker and observe. Then, pour 60 ml of water DIRECTLY into the top of the model quickly (do not use the rain maker). Draw what is left over.

2. How is the shape different from the slow pour?3. Compare the amount of sand that got moved in the slow example to the “flood” example. Which one caused

more erosion?4. What time of year do you see the most flooding?5. Why? 6. What time of year do you see the most erosion?

Reset your stream table to resemble the start. This time, sprinkle 50-100 pieces of gravel on it.7. Slowly pour 60 ml of water into the rainmaker and observe. Draw the river channel that is left.8. Repeat and draw.9. How does the gravel move compared to the sand?10. What substance is easier to erode?11. What substance gets carried more?12. What is the difference between gravel, silt, clay, and sand?13. List these 4 types of soil in order of “easiest to erode to hardest”.14. List them in “easiest for a river to carry” to hardest.15. What time of year can large rocks be carried by the river?16. Why?

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lesson 1: river geology - mr. potter's website · web viewthe amount of dissolved oxygen is...

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