Goals:
1. Students will be able to view hands on, how oil spills affect water and habitation.
2. Students will be active participants in the process of cleaning up a simulated oil spill.
3. Students will become more aware of their own distribution of oil into the environment.
Resources:
1. Sources taken from the Internet:
http://www.portland.com/oilspill/oil1005a.htm
http://www.chevron.com/explore/science/crude/index.html
http://www.chevron.com/explore/science/refinery/index.html
2. Oceans for Every Kid by Janice Van Cleave (1996). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (ISBN-o-471-12454-0).
3. This lesson has been adapted from http://www2.ec.gc.ca
Time: This activity will take approximately 2.5 for the actual simulation and 2 hours for the movie, 1.5 hours for research and 1 hour for presentations, a total of 7 hours. This lesson can be split up into more then one day.
Materials:
one 28 cm x 19 cm x 4 cm clear glass baking dish
water
blue food coloring
12 tbsp. vegetable oil
8 tbsp. of cocoa powder
1 tsp. of table salt
a tablespoon and teaspoon
5 popsicle sticks
a coffee mug
sorbents (paper towel, cotton balls, rag, string, nylon, pot scrubber, sponge, Styrofoam cup, garden peat moss, and Shredded Wheat)
dishwater detergent
tweezers
bird feathers
Procedures:
Since this simulation involves a great deal of required materials, this particular activity could be a class experiment or a few large groups. After each step, the class will be asked to answer questions and record the observations they have made.
Step 1- The teacher will ask the class to prepare the fresh water. The students will fill the baking dish with cold tap water to within 1cm of the rim. Then they will add 5 to 6 drops of food dye, and stir the mixed dye and water with a stirring stick. After letting the solution settle, the class will observe and record what they see.
Step 2- Following the preparation of the fresh water, the class will begin to simulate crude oil by placing 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a coffee mug. Next, the students will add 2 tbsp. of cocoa powder, while mixing the powder and oil thoroughly with a popsicle stick.
Step 3- The next procedure will involve slowly pouring the simulated crude oil from a height of 1 cm onto the top of the fresh water dish (make sure not to pour too quickly). After completing this stage, the teacher will ask the class to again record their observations. After waiting three minutes, ask the class if they want to change their observations.
Step 4- In the next step, the students will test the various sorbents in the contaminated water. The teacher will then ask the class the following questions: 1.How much oil did the sorbent clean up and how quickly? 2.Does the sorbent pick up water too? if so how can you tell?
Step 5- Next, the teacher will ask the class to test the remaining sorbents. However, the next simulation will involve the addition of salt water into the fresh/water dish. The students will then be asked if there was any difference in the sorbent results from the fresh water to the salt water test.
Step 6- The instructor will ask the class to individually answer the following questions:1. How would you pick up the oil-contaminated material in a real oil spill? 2. How would you dispose of the oil-contaminated material in a real oil-spill?
Step 7- The students will then be asked to place the detergent into the fresh water/ocean and record their observations.
Step 8- The teacher will conclude the activity by having the students place a feather into the contaminated water. The students will then be asked to determine how oil affects feathers by dipping a feather into the oil contaminated fresh water. They will be asked to write down what they see and answer the question 1.How might an oiled feather affect a bird?
Step 9- The class will then watch the video Free Willy: Part 2, which deals with a large oil spill into the ocean.
Step 10- Students will research the affects the affects oil spills have on whales.
Step 11- Students will create a presentation for the class on their research findings from step 11.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on their participation in the group project as well as their answers to the questions and observations.
4 points= The student significantly participated in the class simulation.
3 points= The student adequately participated in the class simulation.
2 points= The student moderately participated in the class simulation.
1 point= The student did not participate in the class simulation.
4 points= The student accurately answered all of the questions and observations.
3 points= The student accurately answered most of the questions and observations.
2 points= The student accurately answered some of the questions and observations.
1 point= The student did not accurately answer the questions and observations.
Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:
1. Science- Students follow the experiment.
2. Communication Arts- Students must answer the questions and record observations as well as working in a large group atmosphere.
3. Social Studies- Students will be learning social implications.
4. Math- Students will be working with absorbing rates.
Possible Extensions:
1. The students could do research on the Exxon Valdeez oil spill and do a report with that information.
2. The students could find out about oil disposal in their own community and state.
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