Objectives |
| Students will explain the importance of wetlands. |
ND Standards Addressed |
| SC Science Inquiry |
MN Standards Addressed |
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MB Standards Addressed |
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Time Requirement |
| 1 Hour |
Procedure/Outline |
| Cut a 2 liter soda bottle into two even section.
Turn the top section upside down to use as a funnel.
Place a coffee filter in the bottle.
Pour 250 ml of water in the bottle and time how long it takes to run through and how much you recover. (Use the other half of the bottle to catch the water and then empty it so it can be used again.)
Add a layer of gravel and repeat the procedure, timing how long it takes for the water to run through.
Add a layer of course sand and repeat.
Add a layer of fine and and repeat.
Add a small scoop of sodium polyacrylate and repeat.
Compare the amount of water and the length of time recorded in each trial.
Discuss the effect of adding more sediment and finer sediment for the water to flow through.
Discuss what the sodium polyacrylate represents (vegetation)and why vegetation is important to the control of runoff.
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Modifications/Adatption/Extensions |
| If time permits, students can pour "dirty water" through the apparatus and use a turbidity tube to evaluate the cleaning effects of the wetland. |
Assessments |
| Students will write a summary of the activity describing the effect of the layers and what they represent. |
Other Comments |
| This is an adaptation of "Washing Water" in the Healthy Water, Healthy People Manual. |
