Clean Water and Sanitation

In this lesson, students further their knowledge of redox titrations while examining the pressures that contamination and climate change put on access to clean water.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students observe a field scientist testing the dissolved oxygen content of the Hudson River and generate questions. 

Step 2 - Investigate: Students apply the Winkler Method as a tool for assessing the health of bodies of water and identify the stresses placed on water sources by climate change. 

Step 3 - Inspire: Students explore Sustainable Development Goal #6 and consider what steps they can take to protect the drinking water in their communities.

Positives

• Redox reactions and the Winkler Method are taught in a context relevant to students’ lives.

• Students learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

• This lesson can be combined in a unit with SubjectToClimate’s Desalination Exploration lesson.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should have an understanding of stoichiometry and titrations.

• Students should have some familiarity with redox reactions. Specifically:

• Assigning oxidation numbers

• Oxidation vs. reduction

• Oxidizing vs. reducing agents

• Balancing redox reactions

• Students will need a device in order to conduct research.

Differentiation

• The practice problems on the Student Document can be tailored for the age group or class level as needed.

• Research activities can be conducted individually or in groups.

• Students can present their projects to the whole class, in small groups, as a gallery walk, or make and post video recordings.

• Students can calculate their own water footprints or research access to water in different regions and compare and contrast the results.

• Students can research how the Winkler Method is being used as a tool to address access to clean water.

The lesson is an advocacy tool for SDG 6 and will stretch students' ability to understand water quality, quantity, accessibility, the spatial distribution of water, what water sanitation entails, how water is sourced, the impact of climate change on water quality, and how it could be addressed. It also allows students to learn basic technique in water quality assessment, management, and how to compute water footprint. All materials used in the lesson are factual, engaging, and well-sourced. On that account, this lesson is recommended for classroom use.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

Supporting Standards

• English Language Arts
  • Speaking & Listening (K-12)
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, qualitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
• Science
  • PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
    • HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.