A Lesson Plan on Density (STS Approach) Year Level - Fourth Year High School I.

Objectives After this lesson, the students will be able to 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Explain the effects of kitchen wastewater to the river environment. Quantify own (home) contribution to the river pollution problem. Describe the nature of kitchen wastewater. Formulate a plan on how to minimize pollution load in the kitchen wastewater. Take action on selected river problems.

II. Subject Matter Wastewater from homes greatly contributes to river pollution in the community. Students will use investigative skills to determine nature of the problem and their own homes contribution to the problem. Using science concept of density, explain the nature of the kitchen wastewater and formulate a plan on how to minimize its contribution to the problem. A. Reference materials: 1. Malone, Leo, and Theodore Dolter. Basic Concepts of Chemistry. 8th ed. p.84 88. 2. Berrero, Francisco, et. al. Earth Science, Geology, the Environment, and the Universe. p. 222 242. B. Materials: Video on river pollution Computer and internet access Used oil from kitchen - cup A pack of spaghetti sauce - small pack available in supermarket Dishwashing liquid Cooked rice - cup Tap water 1 cup Any transparent container that can hold at least 4 cups liquid Beaker

III. Procedure A. Engage 1. Ask students to imagine a river they would like to have near their homes, how would it look, smell, sound, taste and feel? What activities would they like to do in the river? 2. Then, let them describe the last river they have seen. 3. Show river video.

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B. Invitation 1. Initiate discussion about the river located within the community, focus on the ff: exact location description of the river and its surrounding areas how the river and its pollution affect the lives of community members various aspects of the river that would be of interest to the students to study 2. Let the students group themselves with no more than 5 members per group. 3. From the discussion about the river earlier, let each group select an area of interest to study. 4. Let the students decide the details of their study; give examples or suggestions to guide the groups. 5. Expected output is any of the following: a) investigative report to shed light on the river problem and its causes, b) project / activity that will alleviate the problem. 6. With the students, agree on the timetable and the rubrics for evaluation. C. Exploration C.1 Field investigation 1. Together discuss possible activities to undertake, sources of information/data, key persons, 2. Give some time off for the students to conduct their study with your guidance. C.2 Classroom activities 1. Explain. Let the students discuss the effects of kitchen wastewater on the river environment. Recall the river video and relate this to the topic. 2. Calculation of household wastewater volume. Let the students calculate the volume of wastewater generated by their households. There are two ways of calculating wastewater generation. Students may choose the method to use. Total volume wastewater = water consumption x 0.8 (This is the rule of thumb: wastewater volume is equal to 80% of water consumption. Water consumption is taken from MCWD bill) Total volume of wastewater = no. of persons per household x estimated water consumption per person (Water consumption per person is estimated by listing down the daily activities of a person that generates wastewater and estimating the no. of times this is done in a day. This is multiplied by the volume estimate of the wastewater per activity. Ex. flushing of toilet uses up about 8 - 12 liters of water. Brushing of teeth consumes about 0.5 1 liter of water.

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3. Description of the nature of the kitchen wastewater. Let the students list down the pollutants (substances other than water) that may be found in their kitchen wastewater. Review concept of density. Predict how many layers may be formed when the wastewater is placed in a tank to settle undisturbed for a few minutes. Based on what they know in Chemistry about the identified pollutants, let the students predict what will happen to the pollutants. Let the students perform the following simulation activity. Prepare soap water by mixing a small amount of dishwashing liquid and 1 cup water in the beaker Transfer this to the transparent container. Add the used oil, sauce, cooked rice and remaining water into the container. Mix gently for 5 seconds. Allow the mixture to stand undisturbed for 10 minutes Observe the mixture and record your observations. Guide the students by asking the following questions: What did you observe? How many phases can you distinguish? Can you describe them? (color, state, quantity, etc.) What do you think are each phase made of? Do the observations match the predictions made earlier? 4. Formulation of wastewater treatment plan. Based on knowledge of Chemistry processes (filtration, decantation, evaporation, distillation) and the description of the nature of the kitchen wastewater above, formulate a plan on how to separate the layers of pollutants from the wastewater so that a cleaner wastewater is disposed from the household. Guide the students. D. Proposing Explanation / Solution 1. Let each group present the results of their investigative study and their proposed explanation / solution to the identified problem on river pollution. 2. Next, let them present the results of the calculation of the total volume wastewater from their households and their proposed wastewater treatment plan. Let the presentations be done through role playing. Possible scenarios: Senate investigation, presentation to investors to invite them to finance your plans, International Summit presentation, etc. If possible, let the students dress up for their part. Each presentation is given at most 20 minutes only. 3. After the presentations, compare volumes from different households. Add all the volume to get the total volume generated by the households represented in the class. Try to get also the average wastewater volume per person by dividing the total volume with the total no. of persons in all these households.

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E. Taking Action 1. As a class, agree which of the proposed actions presented by the groups will the class undertake 2. Prioritize these actions based on agreed criteria which the class will formulate. Ex. Timeframe, Required resources, Importance, the degree of difficulty to undertake. 3. For the first action to be taken, let the students discuss and agree on the a) details, b) assigned responsibilities, c) timetable, and d) success indicators to monitor. 4. Let the assigned students monitor the agreed activities on the specified dates, using the agreed success indicators. Let them submit a report to the teacher within 2 days after each monitoring date. 5. Discuss in class the submitted monitoring report and let the students assess their performance whether they are on track or not, and whether they are getting their desired results. F. Assessment The report, presentation, calculation of wastewater volume and formulated plan to mitigate pollution problem will be assessed by the teacher based on agreed rubrics.

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