Sewage

Use the story Excuse Me, Is This The Way To The Drainpipe? Write about your wastewater journey as a drop of water going through a sewer or a septic system.

Using this page from the USGS as a springboard, consider the implications for areas of the world that have no sewer system. Write about the dangers faced by the people and suggest ways to deal with the problems.

Research a topic relating to sewage (examples: the reasons for sewage treatment, history of sewage treatment, how a treatment plant works, septic systems, uses of biosolids, reclaimed water, sewage spills, etc.) and prepare an oral presentation with a visual chart, physical poster or digital graphics.

Design a simple water filtration experiment by trying three different media such as sand, gravel and fabrics, and compare which best cleans a sample of dirty water. Rank the media in terms of effective filtration ability.

Using the “Wastewater Wise” worksheet (p.13), calculate how much wastewater you generate each day and compare the amount of wastewater generated by different activities.

Using this Plants and Permits lesson, use the formula to calculate parameters and determine which option for upgrading the wastewater treatment plant is best.

Plants and animals can change their environment.

Things that people do can affect the world around them. People can reduce their effects on the land, water, air, and other living things.  Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.

Examples of evidence could include needs, characteristics of the organisms, and habitats involved. The organisms and their habitat make up a system in which the parts depend on each other. Change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.

Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then, the matter still exists and can be detected by other means.

Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. Examples of environmental changes could include changes in land characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms.

Matter cycles between the air and soil, and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. 

Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. Individuals and communities can often mitigate these effects through innovation and technology. 

Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.

The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling.

Human activities can positively and negatively influence the biosphere, sometimes altering natural habitats and ecosystems. Technology and engineering can potentially help us best manage natural resources as populations increase. Examples of the design process include examining human interactions and designing feasible solutions that promote stewardship. Examples can include water usage (such as stream and river use); land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, wetland benefits, stream reclamation); and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).

Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as water.) Examples of effects can include changes made to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change.

Students explore and engage in a design process and employ it to generate ideas, consider solutions, plan to solve a problem, create innovative products, or solve authentic problems that are shared with others. Students use digital and nondigital tools to plan, manage, and support a design process and expand their understanding to identify constraints and trade-offs and to weigh risks.

Students engage in a cyclical design process to develop prototypes and reflect on the role that trial and error plays. Students test and revise prototypes, embracing the cyclical process of trial and error and understanding problems or setbacks as potential opportunities for improvement.