For this activity you will need to bring in water samples from 2 streams which should have very different water quality. For our class, I used the Poestenkill in Troy and and a small stream that runs through more rural areas near Columbia High School. They will need at least 3l per stream. Water test kits were purchased from Ben Meadows. We used http://www.benmeadows.com/search/water+test+kits/9061/ LaMOTTE Water Monitoring Kit, refills ph, Nitrate, Phosphate, and dissolved oxygen, but I wouldn t recommend them. They are the add tablet and shake variety. Next time I would spend more and get something like http://www.benmeadows.com/search/water+test+kits/+- 44813/21495/ LaMotte individual Water Test Kits. I had 2 of each kit for a class of 30, working in groups or 2-3. I took the temperature at the site when I collected the samples. I also did the TSS as that takes a day to dry, but I brought in the filters and pump to demonstrate the process. The conductivity meter I also brought in from RPI. Below is the turbidity test. Each kit contained a card explaining what it was testing for and if high or low was bad and where it comes from, etc. Students were expected to read those to help answer the lab questions. Students were given 80 minutes to fill in the chart with data from their test kits and complete the follow up questions. Water Chemistry Lab Purpose: To analyze several chemical parameters of water samples from two streams to determine water quality. Procedure: Look at each sample bucket and form your hypothesis based on initial impression of the water samples. Then use the chemistry test kits to analyze the water samples. Each test kit comes with its own directions. Hypothesis: It is hypothesized that stream will have will have higher nutrient concentrations and therefore water quality, than stream. (Stream A or B, poorer or higher) Test Stream A Stream B Conductivity (μmhos) Turbidity (cm) Using Dot # ph Dissolved Oxygen (ppm or parts per million) Nitrate (ppm) Phosphate (ppm) Color
Smell Taste No, don t taste it! Presence of algae Presence of invertebrates Other Observations Total Suspended Solids (TSS) (mg/l) Temperature (C ) Conclusion questions: Use additional paper to fully answer each question. 1. Was your hypothesis accepted or rejected? How did you come to that conclusion? 2. Did all parameters you looked at support the same conclusion or were there some contradictory results? 3. Which stream is more Eutrophic? How do you know that? 4. What does turbidity tell you about the watershed around the stream? What other measurement on our list tells you the same thing? 5. In a nice clean, healthy stream, would you expect to see high or low dissolved oxygen levels? 6. Why would noting color, smell and other observations be important?
7. In our area of New York, would you expect to see a high or a low ph in most streams? What environmental problem allows us to make this generalization? 8. What is the number 1 cause of high conductivity? 9. Use the answers to your web search. Using your nutrient data, name a bug you might expect to see in each stream when we analyze the invertebrates from these streams.
The culminating lab! The day before this lab, take any interested students after school to help collect stream samples. Sampling methods are taken from: Guide to Aquatic Insects And Crustaceans. by Kami Watson-ferguson (ISBN: 9780811732451), published by the Izaak Walton League of America. These are great complete guides. You will need at least 1 per group. For sampling, minimum you will need buckets and a kick net (AKA dip net). With a meter tape, thermometer, spherical densitometer, you can spend quite a bit of time with the students in the stream. On the day of the lab, each group will need a basin, the book guide to aquatic insects, some forceps, and a tally sheet (below). They will ID as many bugs as possible in the 80 min class period. From the tally sheet, they will calculate 3 measures of water quality, as introduced and practiced in the data analysis lab. This lab is for them to put together all that they have learned from all the activities. Water Quality by Creepy Crawlies! (AKA: Aquatic Invertebrate Water Quality Assessment) Take a look in each bucket. These kick samples are from Stream A and B, same as the water chemistry lab. One Stream is the Poestenkill, which runs through down town Troy. The other is from a small stream of the Kinderhook watershed, located near the school. One of these streams is expected to have good water quality and the other, poorer water quality. Today you will: -Identify as many invertebrates as you can from each sample -Calculate EPT (Mayflies + Caddisflies + Water Pennies and riffle beetles/ total bugs counted) * 100% -Find the Genus Richness -Complete an SOS form to calculate SOS water quality rating. I hypothesize that Stream (A or B) will have more invertebrates that are (sensitive or tolerant) and will therefore have (better or poorer) water quality. Complete 2 SOS forms (1 for each stream). Calculate EPT and Genera richness for each stream. Explain which stream (A or B) is the Poestenkill, which is the Kinderhook and how you know that. Put it all together. This is your chance to show all you have learned about water quality! Show all calculations Stream A Stream B
EPT SOS Rating (Work will be shown on SOS form) Genera Richness Postenkill or Kinderhook How did you come to that conclusion? Don t forget about your water chemistry data. That is supporting evidence as well. (Use more paper to fully explain)
Glossary Term Definition
As you can see, many more activities can be added to this portfolio to accommodate any class. It is also suitable for a range of ages and grade levels. It is not only a lesson on biology and the environment but also teaches students how to think analytically, a skill needed for any science class. Costs for equipment can be minimal. A lot of kids really got into this and found it to be fun. A big change of pace from a typical High School Science lab.