Groundwater
Grungy Groundwater is an excellent activity for
demonstration
of groundwater flow. Flow rates through a variety of soils are compared,
and
then pollutants are added in order to monitor the filtration process that
occurs in
various soils. The second half of the activity uses the information
and skills
learned through the comparisons, and challenges the students to become
"polluters for a day". Students are given the basic story line of
a fictional town
and its drinking water supply. Next, they are asked to decide on
a location for
hiding an unwanted barrel of pollutant. Once the groundwater starts
flowing,
the students can see if they predicted the movement of the water well enough
to keep their illegal activities from being detected. The health aspects
of
contaminated groundwater are discussed, as well as methods of testing and
containing contaminants already present in a system.
If you live too far away to join us for Grungy
Groundwater on the MIT campus, this
activity can be reproduced anywhere. Follow the links below to learn
how to create
the materials for your own Groundwater activity.
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Downloadable PDF Files
Student Activity Pages:
Additional Links