Title: Edible Aquifers Water Conservation & Education Department 502 Municipal Drive Lubbock, TX 79457 806.775.2586 806.775.3027 fax Grade Level: K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Objectives: For the students to understand the difference between groundwater and surface water. For the students to understand how human activity affects the watershed. For students to model to components of an aquifer and how it functions. For students to understand that all models have advantages and limitations. Materials: Ogallala Map model Aquifer depth models Felt board side view model Supplies per student Small plastic clear cup Ice Ginger Ale (colored blue) Scoop of sherbet Spoonful of chocolate sprinkles Spoonful of green sprinkles Spoonful of red sprinkles Straw Spoons for dispersing items Technology: PowerPoint TEKS: 7.1A demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and field investigations 7.3A use models to represent aspects of the natural world 7.3B identify advantages and limitations of models such as size, properties, and materials 7.8C model the effects of human activity on groundwater and surface water in a watershed Completion Time: 40 minutes 1 hour Advanced Preparation: Consumables need to be purchased beforehand. Storage/refrigeration will be needed for the sherbet and ice. An ice chest can be used in class to hold the ice and keep the sherbet from melting. The ginger ale will need to be colored blue with food coloring. Engage Begin by asking the students where Lubbock gets its water from. Lead into Lubbock s sources of water: groundwater-ogallala Aquifer (Roberts & Bailey counties) and surface water-lake Alan Henry. Mention that Lubbock s water supply has not always been that way. Lubbock had water right below the city, but eventually they sucked it basically dry. Also, water was taken from Lake Meredith, but with drought conditions the lake is low and Lubbock can no longer use that water. Use this point out that we must understand our water sources and how we can keep them (conserve).
Explore Discuss facts about the Ogallala Aquifer. It is the biggest aquifer in the world. It covers 225.000 mi2 under the earth s surface. It covers 8 states: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, new Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota. If it were full it would hold one quadrillion gallons of water 1,000,000,000,000,000. [Card Activity: kinesthetically representing one quadrillion] Discuss the number one reason the water is being depleted so quickly: agriculture. The aquifer is over the Breadbasket of the World and requires a lot of irrigation. In particular, the Lubbock area grows a large amount of cotton which requires a tremendous amount of water. Show models of aquifer depths. Discuss advantages and limitations of the models. Look at another model [felt board] and review the vocabulary associated with aquifers. Also discuss how humans pollute and contaminate the waters. Explain Have the students make a model of the aquifer. As they make their model, they should also sketch the model in their science journals. The sketch should be labeled with the components and colored appropriately. The layers are: (These are the order of how they go into the cup) 1. Cup represents the impermeable rock (bedrock) 2. Ice represents the permeable rock layer the water is trapped in 3. Ginger Ale (blue) represents the water 4. Sherbet represents the clay layer found in the soil 5. Chocolate sprinkles represent the dirt layer closer to the surface 6. Green sprinkles represent the grass and yard waste on the surface 7. Red sprinkles represent the contamination from chemicals 8. Straw represents the pipes that go down the wells 9. Mouth represents the pump which suctions the water out Elaborate Questions for Discussion: 1. What observations/results surprised you? 2. How did results compare among different aquifers? 3. What parts of the activity were most/least like what would happen in a real aquifer? 4. What happens if all the water is pumped out of an aquifer? 5. Do you think aquifers can experience drought? 6. What do you think might happen if you insert more straws (pumps) into your aquifer? 7. How long would it take to fill back up? 8. Do you think a contaminated aquifer can be cleaned? How? 9. How can we conserve and protect our groundwater?
Evaluate Vocabulary Assessment Ogallala Aquifer Assessment Research the history of the Ogallala, irrigation techniques, Brazos River watershed, etc. Vocabulary Aquifer (confined) underground body of water that has impermeable rock both above and below Aquifer (unconfined) underground body of water in which water seeps from the ground directly above the aquifer Aquitard layer of impermeable rock above an aquifer that causes it to become contained Conserve to protect and preserve a natural resource from wasteful use Contaminate oil, gasoline, and chemicals that pollute the water and make it unsafe Groundwater supply of fresh water below the Earth s surface Impermeable material that will not allow water to pass through it Landfill Leachate water that percolates through trash and garbage and into the soil and underground water Playa Lake round hallows in the ground that fill with water after rains, and help recharge aquifers Recharge replenish a water body of water or aquifer Runoff waste materials )litter, clippings, animal feces, etc) that are washed away into the water supply Sedimentation process in which layers of dirt, stones, sand form a solid layer at the bottom of a body of water Septic Tank a storage tank for sewage for homes that are not connected to the city sewage system Surface Water water that is stored on the Earth s surface Water Table the top of the saturated level of underground water Well a machine used to drill into the ground and pump water from the porous rock below Zone of Aeration area above an aquifer and water table, where all of the pores are without water Zone of Saturation area in an aquifer below the water table, where all of the pores are filled with water Websites The Groundwater Foundation www.groundwater.org USGS Water Science School www.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwaquifer.html Texas Water Development Board www.twdb.state.tx.us/groundwater/aquifer/major.asp Ogallala Aquifer www.waterencyclopedia.com/oc-po/ogallala-aquifer.html Literature Our Endangered Planet: Groundwater By Mary M. Rodgers (1991)
Literature (con t) Watershed Conservation By Pam Rosenberg (2008) Water: Why it Matters By Shona Bagai (2012) Water Conservation/Think Green By Saddleback Edu. Pub (2008) Conserving and Protecting Water: What you Can Do By Stephen Feinstein (2010) Card Activity Graphics Ogallala Aquifer depths Irrigation/Cotton Texas Aquifers Water Conservation & Education Department 502 Municipal Drive Lubbock, TX 79457 806.775.2586 806.775.3027 fax @2014 M. Waggoner Link Attachments
Edible Aquifers Vocabulary 1. Impermeable rock A. process in which layers of dirt, stones, sand form a solid layer at the bottom of a body of water 2. Zone of Saturation B. water that is found above ground 3. Sedimentation C. a storage tank for sewage for homes that are not connected to the city sewage system 4. Aquifer (confined) D. waste materials (litter, grass clippings, animal feces, etc.) that are washed away into the water supply 5. Drilling well E. rock that does not allow water to flow through 6. Landfill leachate F. a machine used to drilled into the ground and pump water from the porous rock below 7. Surface water G. forms of water that fall from the clouds: rain, snow, sleet, etc. 8. Playa lake H. areas of the surface that allow water to penetrate and refill aquifers 9. Aquitard I. underground body of water that has impermeable rock both above and below 10. Aquifer (Unconfined) J. oil, gasoline, and chemicals that pollute the waters 11. Contamination K. area in an aquifer below the water table, where all of the pores are filled with water 12. Zone of Aeration L. area above an aquifer and water table, where all of the pores are without water 13. Septic tank M. typically drilled on personal property to supply water to a specific home; the depth is near the top of the water table 14. Groundwater N. water that percolates through trash and garbage and then into the soil and underground water
15. Runoff O. water that is found below the ground 16. Water table P. layer of impermeable rock above an aquifer that causes it to become contained 17. Recharge zone Q. underground body of water in which water seeps from the ground directly above the aquifer 18. Ogallala aquifer R. round hallows in the ground that fill with water after rains, and help recharge aquifers 19. Water table well S. the top of the saturated level of underground water 20. Precipitation T. the largest aquifer in the world
Edible Aquifers Test 1. How big is the Ogallala aquifer? A 225,000 mi 2 covering 10 states B 15 billion mi 2 covering 8 states C 225,000 mi 2 covering 8 states D 15 billion mi 2 covering 10 states 2. Why is the Ogallala aquifer being depleted so quickly? A People are wasting too much water showering, washing, and flushing toilets B Too many people are living in large cities above the aquifer C There is a major drought happening D Agriculture uses a majority of the water for irrigation 3. Why is the aquifer depth lower in the Panhandle of Texas? A Irrigating cotton requires a lot of water for the many farms in the area B Amarillo does not share the water with Lubbock C the area is uphill, so less water can make it to the region D the area lost water do to a large earthquake many years ago 4. The Ogallala aquifer can hold how many gallons of water? A 1,000,000,000,000,000 gallons B 1,000,000,000,000 gallons C 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons D 1,000,000 gallons 5. Which city does the Ogallala NOT supply water to? A Idalou B Lubbock C Amarillo D San Antonio 6. Which is a natural recharging zone? A playa B pool C well D tank
7. Water pumped from the Roberts and Bailey County well fields travels to Lubbock? A by truck uphill B piped uphill C piped downhill D by truck downhill 8. In the box below, draw and color what the zone of saturation would look like in an aquifer. 9. How can a cow, truck, and factory contaminate the groundwater? 10. Why should we conserve our surface and ground waters?
Texas Major Aquifers
Texas Minor Aquifers
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