Signature AssignmentGEOL 1305 Environmental Science

Surface Water Assessment Project

Course

Assignment Title

Assignment ID (to be assigned)

Outcomes/Rubrics to

be Assessed by the Assignment

o Communication

o Critical Thinkingo Empirical and Quantitative Reasoning

Assignment Description

In teams, students will conduct a short-term water quality assessment

project at a nearby field site. Each team will sample and test the water body three to six times to determine the level of several key chemical and physical parameters. Each student will record the data.

Upon completion of the water quality testing, each student will write a technical report on the water quality at the site. The data obtained by the team will be transferred to a table and from this graphs depicting what

happened to the water quality parameters over time (over the sampling period) will be created. Students will analyze the data by looking for changes that occurred at the site over the period of time – by identifying trends in the water quality data. What the trends are and why they might be happening – or not happening, if that is the case – will be discussed and conclusions drawn.

Surface Water Quality Assessment Project

These are the directions to copy into the assignment post on Blackboard. Do not include in the document provided to the students.

Students will submit a technical report.

Assessments include the following:

Introduction – Communication (Written) Results – Quantitative and Empirical Data Collection and Analysis Graphs – Communication (Visual) Discussion – Critical Thinking

Surface Water Quality Assessment Project

Have you ever wondered how clean our streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters are? Should you swim in or fish from these waters? Are these waters safe enough to be used as a source of drinking water?

Water quality monitoring provides this basic information. Monitoring is the long-term, standardized measurement and observation of the aquatic environment in order to determine its status and trends. Water quality data are used to characterize waters, identify trends over time, identify emerging problems, determine whether pollution control programs are working, help direct pollution control efforts to where they are most needed, and respond to emergencies such as floods and spills. Monitoring can be conducted at regular sites, known as fixed stations, on a continuous basis; at selected sites on an as-needed basis to answer specific questions or to characterize a watershed; on a temporary or seasonal basis; at random sites throughout an area or state; or on an emergency basis, such as after a spill.

Teamwork Activity – Water Sampling and Testing:

You and your teammates will conduct a short-term water quality assessment project at a nearby field site. Your team will sample and test the water body three to six times to determine the level of several key chemical and physical parameters. Dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, and other important chemical water quality parameters will be measured. In addition, your team will also monitor physical conditions such as temperature, clarity, and/or turbidity. The specific tests to be conducted will be identified each semester. Water samples may be collected and brought back to the laboratory for further testing.

Your team will use the attached data collection sheets (one sheet for each collection date) to record the results of your field observations and measurements of water quality.

Individual Activity – Water Quality Report

Upon completion of the water quality testing, each student will write a technical report on the water quality at the site. Transfer the results for your group obtained to a table. You will create graphs depicting what happened to the water quality parameters over time (over the sampling period). You will analyze the data by looking for changes that occurred at your site over the period of time you sampled – by identifying trends in the water quality data. Discuss what the trends are and why they might be happening – or not happening, if that is the case.

Report Format

Introduction (Written Communication)

Describe the scope of the project and location to allow readers (not just the instructor) to understand the context of your project.

Describe what parameters (temperature and one other parameter) you are measuring and their importance to water quality and the environment.

Cite a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed journal articles so that your readers understand the purpose of your project.

Materials and Methods

Describe the site in detail. Include photos.

Describe the equipment and the methods you are using to collect the data.

Results (Quantitative and Empirical Assessment)

Using your Data Collection Sheets, construct a table of results including temperature and your second parameter.

Using this table of results, create a graph of your results over time. (Communication – Visual)

Discussion (Critical Thinking)

Analyze what is occurring over time at your sampling location – the trend over time and what might influence this trend.

Compare temperature to the second parameter. Use a graph to demonstrate any relationships (correlations) that might exist. Your graph should be easy to read and use patterns/colors as appropriate. Explain the graph. Does a relationship exist? Why?

Relate your research to the articles that you cited in the Introduction. It may be appropriate to cite additional articles here. Evaluate the viewpoints of experts. Does your data support their hypotheses?

State any assumptions that you have made during this project. Do these assumptions impact your evaluation of the data?

Conclusion

Summarize your findings and correlations. Demonstrate an understanding of further work required to more fully understand this system

End your conclusions with a review of how this research pertains to the broader topics that we have discussed this semester—on a global scale, why do your findings matter?

Works Cited

Include the citations for your references in the format of one scientific journal that you used. The citation format should be consistent for all references. Appendix

Include a copy of your Data Collection Sheets.

Surface Water Assessment – Data Collection Sheet

Date of Sample _____________________ Sampler ___________________________

Stream Name and Location ______________________________________________

FIELD OBSERVATIONS

Number of days since significant rainfall _________________

Flow ______ Turbidity ______ Clarity ______ Color _______ Odor ______

1 - no flow 1 - low 1 - excellent 1 - brownish 1 - sewage 2 - low 2 - medium 2 - good 2 - reddish 2 - chemical 3 - normal 3 - high 3 - fair 3 - greenish 3 – rotten egg 4 - flood 4 - poor 4 - blackish 4 - musky 5 - high 5 - clear 5 - fishy

6 - dry 6 – other* 6 - none

7 – other*

Water Current Wind * OtherSurface _______ Weather ______ Intensity ______ Observations:

1 - calm 1 - clear 1 - calm

2 - ripples 2 – partly cloudy 2 - slight 3 - waves 3 - cloudy 3 - moderate

4 - rain 4 - strong

APPROXIMATE SAMPLE DEPTH: _____________________

WATER QUALITY MEASUREMENTS

Temperature ____________ DO _______________ pH ________________

Conductivity ____________ Clarity ____________ N (NO3) ____________

Salinity ________________ Turbidity __________ P (PO4) ____________

Assignment Design Worksheet: Written Communication GEOL 1305 Environmental Science

Water Quality Assessment Project (Common Assessment Lab)

Course

Assignment Title

Assignment ID (to be assigned)

Criterion Design (How does the assignment ask students to perform in the manner

expected by the criterion?)

Context of and Purpose for Writing

Students are asked to write a technical report for readers other than their peers or the instructor based on data gathered during the course of this water quality assessment project. The information collected includes how the water

quality testing and sampling of water is performed including pH, temperature, clarity, and other general water parameters. A summary of their findings is

warranted after data collection.

Content

Development

General parameters for the format are supplied by the project directions and

data collection sheet. Content development will evolve gradually through several working drafts until the final product is completed.

Genre and Disciplinary

Conventions

A technical report in a scientific discipline is generally characterized as being very factual and systematic. Facts, statements of clarity and other scientific

virtues are common methods of effectual communication when relaying data-based information. The information shows logical flow and environmental context. There is an introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion,

and conclusion section in the report. Works cited will use a format consistent with relevant journals.

Sources and Evidence

Students are asked to provide three peer-reviewed journal articles in order to provide a framework for understand reliable methods of water data collecting.

This is an important step since scientific articles provide the foundation of comprehension of their field work relevant to actual water quality analyses

completed by professionals. Additional sources may be cited for interpretation of the data. However, integration of the results of this study will be the primary use of sources and evidence by the students.

Control of Syntax

and Mechanics

Information conveyed through technical reports dealing with water quality

assessment should flow well and be easy to read. This ensures understanding and context that will allow the reader to assimilate the information in an efficient manner.

Readability of Visual Elements

For this particular assignment, students are asked to take the data that has been gathered and create visual graphs. This will provide easy methods of

quickly understanding the summary of their data analyses. In addition, the graphs that they are asked to provide show a temporal aspect, since many of these parameters are likely to change over time. Photographs of sites,

sampling, or other pertinent information may also be presented.

Relevance, Accuracy, and Integration of

Visual Elements

The graphs that the students are completing are certainly relevant to the data that has been actively collected in the field during this project. The graphs are inserted when analyzing and interpreting the data (Results and Discussion)

since this flows with the general parameters of the scientific method of showing results before the conclusion is completed.

Assignment Design Worksheet: Critical Thinking GEOL 1305 Environmental Science

Water Quality Assessment Project (Assessment Lab)

Course

Assignment Title

Assignment ID (to be assigned)

Criterion Design (How does the assignment ask students to perform in the manner

expected by the criterion?)

Explanation of Issues

The water quality analysis laboratory asks students to sample water from three to six times during the course of a semester and evaluate them for different environmental parameters (pH, temperature, etc.). Students are asked to

submit a paper with graphs based on their data collection efforts. The description of the issue or scope of the problem to be critically considered will

be stated by the students in the Introduction section of their reports, which includes which parameters they tested and under what environmental conditions.

Evidence The evidence that students are asked to gather regarding water quality will be

gathered into pre-typed data collection sheets that are included in their laboratory work packet. Additionally, other evidence of data gathering includes taking photographs of the site of water collection as well as providing

general descriptions of their ambient environment. This information will be included in their overall scientific data report that they are asked to submit.

Within this report, students will interpret and analyze this data.

Influence of

Context and Assumptions

Based on initial data collection results, students will be asked to interpret their

data after the completion of several visual graphs. Assumptions come into play by the students based on all available data; some of these assumptions may be

formulated based on parameter interactions (how temperature affects pH, for example). These assumptions will be based on and filtered through their own perceptions of their environment as well as compared to data gathered

through their literature search.

Student’s Position The position that a student might reach regarding the conclusions based on their water quality analysis will reflect the sum of all available evidence gathered. While some students may feel that some influences have caused the

data to manifest in the manner in which it has, other students could interpret the data differently. Variations in their interpretations of data will likely lead to students taking either one stance on an issue or another. As students compare

and contrast their data and conclusions, they will come to understand the complexity of environmental interactions and the variety of potential

explanations of a phenomenon.

Conclusions and Related Outcomes

The conclusions reached by the students from this water quality assessment exercise will reflect the total sum of data gathered in the field by the students. Graphs, pictures, and other visual displays and cues will be evidence that good

conclusions have been reached by the students based on general parameters that have been met during the course of their water investigation. Students

should be able to determine how their work clearly and logically relates to the field of study.

Assignment Design Worksheet: Empirical & Quantitative

Reasoning (EQR) GEOL 1305 Environmental Science

Water Quality Assessment Project (Assessment Lab)

Course

Assignment Title

Assignment ID (to be assigned)

Criterion Design (How does the assignment ask students to perform in the manner expected

by the criterion?)

Interpretation Data collected for this particular water quality analysis includes: temperature,

dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, clarity, Nitrogen concentration (NO3), salinity, turbidity, and phosphate levels (PO4). Data gathered by the students will be

comprehensively explain observed phenomena and will be graphed and then interpreted over a temporal range (during the course of the semester). This interpretation will lead to some general conclusions based on all available data.

Students will explain the trends in the data collected.

Representation After all data is collected in the field regarding water quality (parameters listed above), this data is visualized in several graphs and then analyzed. Even though not specified by the laboratory instructions, there will be many ways to represent this data through

bar graphs, line graphs, and other types of visual means. However, since the parameters will be tracked over time, line graphs will probably manifest as the most common. Data may be presented in tabular form and as qualitative observations.

Calculation or

Transformation

The transformation of data to graphs will be a fairly straightforward process of putting

the numbers into an Excel spreadsheet or other equivalent software package and then evaluating. There will likely be little calculation involved during the course of this water investigation since it involves collection, presentation, and interpretation of the

data. However, students will be asked to perform basic statistical analysis thorugh the calculation of the mean of the data.

Application/Analysis The application and analysis of data collected during the course of this investigation will lead to many broad conclusions. Students will have to provide an explanation of

their observations and judge which environmental factors will most affect the parameters. The analysis of this data will be processed both by the individual and by

the teams to which the individuals are assigned. Basic conclusions and summaries will be based on graphs and other visual cues completed during the project.

Assumptions Assumptions hypothesized during this water quality assessment are based on all available data gathered in the field throughout the course of the project. These

assumptions are likely to be based on environmental parameters and other conditions that can and will probably change on a temporal scale. For example, the weather and other atmospheric conditions are likely different from one day to the next and this

could influence data gathered from time to time.

Communication Communication aspects of this project not only include the data report that students are asked to complete, but also graphs and other visual aids that will also be created by the students and placed within the report. This communication tools will be

invaluable in understanding not only how the data was collected but the meaning and

true extent of changes in the water quality parameters that were gathered during the course of time.