The water module provides several visual and hands-on activities that teach students about the importance of water. Firstly, students are taught about the properties of water and the water cycle. Demonstrations illustrate the properties of water such as specific heat and cohesion. The Earth is presented as a closed system in which water is continually recycled. Secondly, students are educated about where fresh water comes from. An experiment with an aquifer illustrates how lakes and rivers are continually refilled, and also shows how pollution from underground storage tanks and leakage from landfills contaminates the water. A demonstration with a filter column shows how layers in an aquifer filter wastes from water, and shows the properties of water in action... Thirdly, students are taught about how run-off can contaminate our freshwater and affect the food web. This phenomenon is illustrated with a demonstration of how phosphates can cause algal blooms which prevent light transmission into rivers, lakes, streams, and even sections of ocean.

Grade Level: 4th grade - 8th grade

Where Taught: Either in the classroom (up to 30 students per session) or on the Bio-Bus (up to 15 students per session)

# Students: Up to 15 students, plus one observer

Time needed for presentation: 30-45 minutes

Georgia Performance Standards: 4th grade S4E3 a, b, c, d, e and S4E4 a, b, c, d; 5th grade S5E1 a, b, c; 6th grade S6E3 a, b, c, d

[fve]https://youtu.be/g14ZjujMu8g[/fve]

Module Description in PDF format