IOWA 4-9 SCIENCE PROJECT

TEACHER GUIDE for: Air Pollution Doug O'Riley
Edited by Steve Bartlett
ECOLOGY.592 Grades 5-9

CONCEPT OBJECTIVE:

For students to realize that our air is not pure and that there
is much more in air than just gas.

PROCESS OBJECTIVES:

Observation, classifying, exploring, recording, predicting,
inferring, investigating, valuing.

TEACHER NOTES:

The students should be instructed to place their slides in a
variety of places where the slides are safe from being disturbed
for 24-48 hours.


Materials:

-microscope slides (10 slides per student)
-petroleum jelly
-masking tape
-hand lens
-microscope


Exploration:

Give the students the microscope slides, petroleum jelly and
masking tape. Have them prepare the slides for collection as
follows.

Day 1

1. Wrap the tape around the end of the slide and initial it.
2. Coat one surface with petroleum jelly.
3. Have them place the slides in a variety of places for 24-48
hours. Be sure to tell them to pick safe places where the slide
will not be influenced by passing humans.
4. Have them write the location on the tape.

Day 2 (or 3)

Analysis of slides: Have the students explore their slides for
materials that may be stuck on top of the jelly. Have them use
their microscopes and hand lenses. Have them record any
discoveries that they make and try to hypothesize where they came
from.


Concept Development:

Introduce words like pollution, pollen, soil, spores, lint,
fibers, synthetic, natural and particulate matter. Have the
students compare slides to determine what the air was like in
specific areas.

Some probing questions:

1. Were some areas more polluted than others? Why?
2. Predict good places to collect a large quantity of material
on the slide.
3. What could be done to cut down the amount of material in our
air?
4. What conditions would cause the amount of particulate matter
to change over a period of time?


Application:

1. These students should learn about air pollution so that they
may in some way decrease the amount particulate matter in the
air.

-make posters to educate others
-monitor their home environments
-decrease the amount of pollution that they cause.

2. Research various diseases to discover health problems
associated with air pollution.


Evaluation:

1. Prepare slides in the same manner and ask students to try to
predict where they were placed for collection based upon the
amount and types of material on the slides.

2. How could the amounts and types of pollution been prevented
or minimized?