IOWA 4-9 SCIENCE PROJECT
TEACHER GUIDE for: THE DISAPPEARING PAPER TRICK Julie Render
Candi Kilburg, editor
ECOLOGY.466 Grade 4-6
CONCEPT OBJECTIVE:
Through this activity, the students will observe and investigate what happens
to pieces of a paper sack when exposed to dirt, water, and weather.
PROCESS OBJECTIVE:
Students will use the skills of observing, recording, experimenting, and
measuring in this activity.
TEACHER NOTES:
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that Litter walk ECOLOGY.465 precede this cycle.
Small dishes to use during exploration may include a heavy duty zip lock
bag, plastic liter pop bottle containers, Petri dishes to 4 3/4" aluminum
pie plates or plastic boxes. The containers must be able to hold water.
These can be obtained by the teacher or brought in by the students a few
days before the Exploration begins.
Dirt may be brought in to put in one of the small dishes if no outdoor digging
and burying is permitted. The second small dish is only needed for indoor
burying. Outdoor burying is highly recommended.
Pond or creek water should be used if possible, rather than drinking water.
Popsicle sticks (possibly with one end sharpened) or garden plant markers
that can be written on with magic marker are useful to hold the pieces of
sack in place outside.
If students have not had prior experience with constructing a matrix for
a data sheet, this would be important to explain before the actual hands-on
exploration begins. A sample data sheet is attached, in the event that students
have not had sufficient experience to let them do it on their own.
This unit may last a few weeks or a few months, depending on weather conditions
(wet weather will speed the breakdown of the paper) and interest of the
students.
MATERIALS:
2 clear glass beakers or jars
water
4 squares of toilet paper
1 facial tissue
Per pair of students:
four 3" square pieces cut from a standard paper grocery sack
1 or 2 small dishes
dirt
4 sticks
permanent marker (can be shared), and pencils
2 Student Activity Sheets
metric ruler
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: to be used if Litter Walk ECOLOGY.465 was completed:
Ask the students to share with the class some of the items that they found
on their litter walk. Write these on the board. Ask the students to categorize
items such as candy wrappers, cigarettes, newspaper, and McDonald's sacks.
(PAPER) They will discover that paper makes up the majority of the litter
they found.
Next discuss, "What do you think happens to the paper litter that is
left outside?" Possible answers: "It gets soggy.
It falls apart. It gets dirty. The wind blows it around."
If the students think that the paper falls apart, you might then ask them
how long they think that would take. Would all paper fall apart at the same
rate? This will lead to the next step.
Have two beakers of water in front of the class for demonstration. Ask what
they think will happen to a piece of toilet paper and to a facial tissue
when you put each of them into a beaker of water. Drop each in their separate
beakers and have students describe what is happening to them. They will
note that the toilet tissue seems to be disintegrating more rapidly than
the facial tissue. (This may be a time to discuss what would happen if people
use a lot of facial tissue in a septic system.)
Ask students to think about what happens to paper litter in the environment.
Brainstorm some of the factors involved in breaking it down into soil. (Possible
responses: rain, snow, sunlight, dirt, fire, cars running over it.)
EXPLORATION:
Challenge students to share what they think will happen to the brown paper
grocery sack if it is left out in the open or buried in the ground.
Then take the students outside and allow them to bury their sack or stake
it to the ground in a low traffic area, if outdoor digging is permitted.
If outdoor digging is not permitted set up a burying situation in the classroom
using the plastic zip lock bag or the liter bottle containers. Paper exposed
to the weather may be staked down.
Paper exposed to pond water may be put in a container in the
room.
Observing, measuring, and recording should take place daily.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Brainstorm ideas from students as to what they think will happen to the
paper pieces in the dirt, pond water, and when exposed to the weather. Get
a consensus from the class as to how long they think it will take for the
paper to break down. (Introduce BIODEGRADE: this is the process of breaking
down and BIODEGRADABLE: is a characteristic of the product to break down
and become part of the earth) Write their prediction on paper and post it
in the room. Be certain to check the paper periodically and record their
observations. Discuss results with students. What have they observed and
how can they explain the observation? Explain reasons is it important to
have materials that are biodegradable?
APPLICATION:
1. Test which material biodegrades faster: paper grocery sack or the so-called
"biodegradable" plastic bags that are offered at the grocery store?
(available at HyVee and SunMart)
2. Design an experiment to test the effect of dirt, pond water, and weather
on various disposable non-food items from fast-food restaurants. (i.e.:
styrofoam boxes, waxed drink cups, paper hamburger wrappers, foil-backed
hamburger wrappers, straws, napkins)
3. Test the effect of adding lime to the dirt that your paper is buried
in.
4. Conduct a survey of adults to find out if they would be willing to sort
various types of household waste (plastic milk jugs, aluminum cans, etc.)
for recycling. Follow up by collecting some of these items and arranging
to have them taken to a recycling center.
EVALUATION:
Perhaps the best evaluation will take place by watching the students as
they conduct their experiments during the exploration phase of the cycle.
The construction of their data sheet and the information recorded on it
are also good indicators of how well they are understanding the concept.
Student Activity Sheet
The Disappearing Paper Trick
Name______________________________________________________________
Partner___________________________________________________________
Fill in the matrix below with the measurement and observations of the condition
of each piece of paper. Be sure to record the date on which your data is
collected.
Date | #1 (Dirt) | #2 (Water) | #3 (Weather) | #4 (Control)|
=================================================================
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|________|____________|____________|______________|_____________|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|________|____________|____________|______________|_____________|
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|________|____________|____________|______________|_____________|
| | | | | |