the educaiton staff at the state arboretum of virginia · 2. draw several arrows along the stream...

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PreK-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm The State Arboretum of Virginia

www.virginia.edu/blandy

A Blandy Experimental Farm Program

Water Wonders Pre Trip Information: What to expect: Students will learn some indicators of water quality, and then will work in teams to collect measurements of several of these indicators in Lake Georgette and/or Lake Arnold, including dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and examining macroinvertebrates. Your students might get their feet wet, but we don’t anticipate that any of them will land fully in the water! Pre‐trip Activities:

In order for your students to get the most out of their trip, please complete the included watershed address worksheet (page 2) with the students before they come. Local and regional maps are needed for this activity.

o www.mapquest.com can find any map given a zipcode, and those maps do include the names of many streams.

o www.topoquest.com is a free resource for topo maps, which may be valuable for some students. Both of these sources offer a print option if computer access is a problem.

If your students have not worked with topographic maps, you may want to try the Cooper River watershed activity (pages 3‐5) as a pre‐program “warm‐up”. The following basic rules of topographic map reading are helpful:

o Contours are spaced at equal intervals of elevation (in this activity, the interval is 20 feet) o The closer the intervals are spaced, the steeper the slope (elevation is changing quickly) o Water always flows downhill (even if downhill is north!)

Post‐Trip Activities:

Pages 6‐10 also have some post‐program activities that will enhance the learning of your experience here.

We truly look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions, feel free to call us at (540) 837‐1758 x 242. Sincerely, The Educaiton Staff at the State Arboretum of Virginia

http://www.mapquest.com/

http://www.topoquest.com/

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What’s Your Watershed Address?

A watershed is defined as all of the land that drains into a particular body of water. The watershed for a small stream is much smaller than the watershed for the Pacific Ocean. Do you know what your watershed address is? Let’s work it out! First, let’s start with your physical address and “zoom in” to where you live. Fill in the blanks below: Planet: ________________________________ Hemisphere: ________________________________ Continent: ________________________________ Country: ________________________________ State: ________________________________ County: ________________________________ City/town: ________________________________ Neighborhood: ________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ Family name: ________________________________ Your name: ________________________________

Now, let’s “zoom in” on our watershed address. In our case, the water ends up in the Atlantic Ocean. Fill in the blanks using regional maps until you find out where all of the water that falls on your land goes. The list has been started for you.

Atlantic Ocean . flows into the… Chesapeake Bay . ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________

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___________________________

Cooper River Watershed Map Activity

Topographic maps are invaluable tools for scientists who want to study the landscape. They show the “lay of the land”, and therefore are helpful for scientists who want to

know which way water flows.

Objective: To use the map of the Cooper River to determine the direction of water flow.

Directions:

1. Place an “H” on the highest point map. Place an “L” on the lowest point. 2. Draw several arrows along the stream indicating the direction that water is

flowing. (Little hint: Water flows downhill!)

3. Circle the spot on the stream where there is likely to be a waterfall. Explain how you know.

_______________________________________________________________ 4. Beginning at each of the small squares marked on your map (there are four), draw

a line indicating which direction rainfall would flow from that point. One has been done for you as an example.

5. Notice where there is some point-source pollution (pollution that originates from

a single source, like a factory). Consider the direction of water flow;

a. Will sampling at A show pollution? _____ b. B? _______ c. C? _______

6. Why is it important to have multiple data collection sites along a stream?

_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

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Copyright 2008 PreK-12 Programs at Blandy Experimental Farm

The State Arboretum of Virginia www.virginia.edu/blandy

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Cooper River Watershed Map Activity

Teacher Page – Answer Key

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Post‐Program Activity Ideas

Your class learned about water and water cycles today and how to test for water quality. You may want to use the accompanying activity to enhance and extend their visit to Blandy Experimental Farm by discussing water consumption.

Water is one of our most precious resources. And though our earth may be over 70% water, most of this is saltwater and not potable. Actually, less than 1% of the water on earth is available to use; the rest is frozen, salty or just not accessible. In this activity, students will monitor their own water use and then brainstorm and discuss ways to conserve water in their school and homes. Use the attached Student Sheets (pages 8‐10).

1) Have the students write down their estimated daily water usage predictions on the sheet. You may want to show different sized containers of water (1 gallon, 5 gallons, 10 gallons, etc. Fish tanks are useful as visuals). You can also choose to share with them water usage information from different countries using the enclosed table (page 7) to help them make a prediction.

2) Have the students watch and record their water consumption on their chart for one day. They will do so by counting the number of minutes and number of times they use water in the ways listed on the chart. They may have to “guesstimate” for activities not listed on the chart, such as water used in food preparation.

3) Once they have calculated their daily water consumption, compare their predictions to their actual usage. Use this time to discuss conservation methods and ways the students could conserve water both at school and home.

4) The following day, have students calculate their usage again and compare it to the previous day. Once they were aware of their usage, did it decrease? You may want to have students determine as a class how much water the school could save by using some simple conservation practices.

Extensions:

Have students draft a letter to the superintendent outlining ways in which the school system could conserve water. Students could research the cost of water‐saving fixtures, such as toilets, and provide the school system with a cost analysis.

You could also have students chart their water use for a whole week and then graph the results. Have them calculate their average daily usage.

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Use the chart on page 7 to discuss difference in lifestyles and water usage of different countries.

1 Data are derived from WRI (1996). Values have been converted to US units. Table Source: http://www.aag.org/hdgc/www/intro/units/unit1/worksheets/wksheet1‐3.PDF

http://www.aag.org/hdgc/www/intro/units/unit1/worksheets/wksheet1-3.PDF

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My Water Usage: Name:

Predict how much water you use in the course of a day: ___________

Using the given chart, estimate your water usage throughout one day. You may have to “guesstimate” for activities not listed on the chart, such as water drank or used for food preparation.

Many water fixtures (such as toilets) will have the water usage imprinted on them. Others will have the water usage written on packaging or owner’s manual. If possible, find the exact water usage information before estimating based on the chart below.

ACTIVITY GALLONS USED (conventional)

GALLONS USED (water saving)

Toilet Flushing 5 ‐ 7 gallons per flush 1½ ‐ 3½ gallons per flush

Shower (water running) 7 ‐ 10 gallons per minute 2 ‐ 4 gallons per minute

Bath (Full tub) 36 ‐ 50 gallons (conventional)

30 ‐ 40 gallons(conventional) 40 ‐ 80 gallons(whirlpool)

Laundry Machine (full load)

60 gallons top loader 42 gallons top loader

Dishwasher 15 gallons normal load 7½ ‐ 10 gallons normal load

Dish washing by hand 30 gallons tap running 10 ‐ 20 gallons tap running

Shaving 20 gallons tap running 2 ‐ 5 gallons tap running

Brushing Teeth 10 gallons tap running 2 ‐ 3 gallons tap running

Washing Hands 2 gallons tap running 1 ‐ 2 gallons tap running Table source: www.wssc.dst.md.us/service/waterusagechart.cfm

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Name: Chart your Water Usage (Day 1): Date: _________________________ Please Note: You will not necessarily do all of these things in a day.

Activity Number of times activity done per day

Number of Gallons Used

Brushing Teeth

Washing Hands

Showering

Flushing the Toilet

Bath

Dishes

Wash Laundry

Other (specify):

Other (specify):

GRAND TOTAL

List 5 specific ways in which you can conserve water:

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Name:

Chart your water usage (Day 2): Date: ______________________

Activity Number of times activity done per day

Number of Gallons Used

Brushing Teeth

Washing Hands

Showering

Flushing the Toilet

Bath

Dishes

Wash Laundry

Other (specify):

Other (specify):

GRAND TOTAL

By what percentage did you reduce your water consumption (if at all?) ______ List 3 more ways in which you could conserve water:

the educaiton staff at the state arboretum of virginia · 2. draw several arrows along the stream...

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