Procedure
- Divide the class into groups of three. Provide each group
with one clear plastic cup 3/4 full of pea-sized gravel, one paper
cup with holes in the bottom, one paper cup with no holes punched
in the bottom, one paper cup 3/4 full of water, and one pump dispenser.
- Instruct the students to hold the 240-mL cup with holes in
the bottom over the cup containing the pea-sized gravel. Then
add the water contained in the other 240-mL cup. Ask the students
what they think the water simulates (rain).
- Explain to the students that rain enters the gravel and becomes
ground water. This process is called infiltration.
- Instruct the students to dig a hole in the center of the gravel.
Ask them what the hole simulates.
(Answer: A lake or pond.) Have students observe the connection
between the level of water in the lake and how it corresponds
to the level of water in the gravel.
- Add two drops of food coloring (to simulate pollution) to each
model lake. Have the students place the pump dispenser in the
gravel beside the lake and pump water into the paper cup with
no holes. Observe the color of the water in the cup.
- Have the students add small amounts of clean water to their
models while pumping. Continue to add clean water and pump out
polluted water until it becomes clear.
Interpretive Questions
- Where does the pollution pumped from the ground water come from?
Answer: The lake.
- How can pollution from a lake get into the ground water?
Answer: The water in the lake and the ground water are
connected.
- Was it easy to clean up all the pollution in the water?
Answer: No. It took a lot of water and pumping to remove
the pollution.
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