Teacher Notes Water Pollution
I.
Freshwater Pollution – introduction of chemical, physical or biological material into water
that lowers the quality of the water and affects organisms that use it. (Putting anything in the water that harms
humans or wildlife)
a.
Point pollution
– comes from one place (pipe) something you can point to. Ex. Faculty, tanker. - Easy
to control
b.
Nonpoint pollution – comes from many places (can’t point to the polluter)
ex. Runoff from lawns, streets. farms, etc.
Hard to control.
c.
Pathogens –
bacteria, viruses or parasitic worms that can cause disease
d.
Bioaccumulation
– where organisms store toxins or pollutants in their fat
e.
Biomagnification
– where the amount of toxin in the body increases as you go up the foodchain.
f.
Artificial or cultural eutrophication – where artificial plant nutrients (food like nitrates
or phosphates) get in the water and cause excessive growth of algae. When the algae dies, it decomposes, which
uses cellular respiration, sucks the oxygen out of the water and causes fish to
suffocate
Use these notes to complete Cornell Notes.
Watch the film "Troubled Waters" and record examples of each one of the bolded points in the notes.
Answer the following questions:
Strange
Days on Planet Earth: Troubled Waters
1. What
organism is Scientist Tyrone Hayes searching for in the wetlands?
2. What deformity is being seen in the
organisms collected?
.
3. The pattern that Hayes sees in regards
to the deformed animals is that the
abnormalities occur when the frogs are
in water containing _______________, a
common herbicide used for crops.
4. Why is the beluga whale called the
“canary of the seas”?
5. Scientist Robert Michaud believes that
_______________ ________________are
the cause of the Beluga Whale’s
cancers.
6. True / False
If
two chemicals are not toxic by themselves, together they are also not toxic.
7. True / False
The
number and combinations of chemicals is something that humans do not have to
worry about.
8. What
was the potential cause of the unhealthy levels of sperm in men?
a. Industry and factory pollution
b.
Air pollution and greenhouse gasses
c.
Poor water treatment systems in rural towns
d. A cocktail of farm chemicals
9. Name
3 sources of chemical exposure we can find right in our own homes.
10. How do these chemicals make their way out of
our homes and into the world where
they can affect wild plants and animals
like the leapord frog and beluga whale?
11. What chemical is contaminating the fish in
Lake Hartwell, Georgia?
10. True / False
In
Lake Hartwell, as you go up the food chain the concentration of mercury is
diluted as the fish get bigger.
12. What is Meager using to extract the toxins
from the lake?
13. Water flows into __________________ zones
where the chemicals may cause the
breakdown of entire ecosystems.
14. What types of things can runoff of modern day
farm fields?
a. Herbicides b. Insecticides
c.
Fungicides d.
Nitrogen Fertilizer
e.
Manure f. All of the above
15. What chemical is believed to be the cause of
the outbreaks of the crown of thorns
starfish?
16. Where does the chemical causing these
outbreaks come from?
17. Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the great
triumphs of ______________ production, but it
has
____________________ consequences.
18. What is farmer Vince Vitale doing to help
“sop up” his farm chemicals before they
are washed into his stream and get
carried out in to the costal waters?
19. What strange looking fish is being tagged in
order to find out where open ocean
animals
spend their time and possibly come into contact with pollutants? And what do these big fish eat?
20. Water’s
path may twist and turn but the destination is always the same.
Where is that destination?
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