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Grade(s): (8)
Introduction: More than 60 million gallons of oil enter the oceans every year, but it is not reported on the news. That is because this oil seeps from oil-bearing rock layers into the ocean as part of a natural process. When tankers running aground spill oil, that is news, and currently these accidents deposit about 37 million gallons of oil into the ocean every year. The largest amount of oil entering the ocean through human activity is the 363 million gallons that come from industrial waste and automobiles. When people pour their used motor oil into the ground or into a septic system, it eventually seeps into the groundwater. Coupled with industrial waste discharged into rivers, oil becomes part of the run-off from waterways that empty into the ocean. All of this oil affects ocean ecosystems.
When an oil spill occurs in the ocean, the oil may spread across miles of open water and up onto beaches, littering them with tar balls. The intertidal zones — coastal areas that are the habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife-are often the most vulnerable. Animals may perish when the oil slicks their fur or downy feathers, decreasing the surface area so they are no longer insulated from the cold water. Or the animals may ingest the oil, then become sick or unable to reproduce properly.
Learner Objectives:
- The student will be able to predict the effects of an oil spill on a marine environment.
- The student will be able to establish a list of solutions to avoid unnecessary oil pollution.
Florida Sunshine State Standards: Science: SC.G.2.3.4 SC.G.2.3.3;
Math: MA.E.1.3.1
Competency Based Curriculum: Math: M/J-I-V-1-A/M/J-3-VI-2-A
Science: M/J-I-V-2-A
Materials:
Copies of Student Page
Additional Photographs or articles about oil spills
Activity Procedures:
- Introduce the topic of oil pollution and how it affects the global ocean. Make a pie chart to show the actual small percentage of oil (5%) that enters the ocean through oil spills. Then discuss oil spills with which students may be familiar, such as the spill off the coast of Rhode Island in January 1996 and the one in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. You may wish to check your library or online sources for magazine and newspaper articles about actual oil spill events, perhaps an incident that occurred close to your region to make the topic more relevant to students.
- Explain to students that crude oil is taken directly from its rocky source below ground or under the sea. It is often transported in huge tankers across vast distances to oil refineries. There the crude is distilled and refined into many familiar petroleum products. During the distillation process, petroleum is heated to extremely high temperatures to separate it into various components such as gasoline and kerosene. Students may not know that petroleum is used for waxes contained in petroleum jelly, lipstick, and many personal care products.
- After an initial discussion, administer Student Page http://educate.si.edu/resources. In this page students can use problem-solving skills to decide what strategies they would use if they were actually cleaning up an oil spill. They can work in small groups and brainstorm to come up with answers cooperatively.
Student Assessment:
Allow students to answer critical thinking skills questions assigned by the teacher.
- A team of scientists needs to determine whether the water in a large reservoir is safe to drink. How could they use the skill of making generalizations to help them? What should they do?
- What is your main recommendation(s) to solve the world problem of water pollution?
Assess student understanding of the importance of ocean resources by having them describe one way that a nation could prevent pollution in its waters.
Student problem-solving skills in cleaning up an oil spill.
Activity Extension(s):
- Allow students to identify and explain practices that they could implement at home to reduce water pollution (Health/Life Management Skills).
- Develop appreciation for the social and financial issues involved in controlling pollution by citing an example of a developing nation’s efforts to reduce water pollution (Social Studies).
- Encourage students to write a letter to a local newspaper recommending that a program for safely disposing hazardous wastes to prevent water pollution be implemented (Language Arts).
Home Learning Activity:
Design and create a poster that would inform the public about water pollution prevention.
Vocabulary: industrial waste, ocean ecosystems
References/Related Links:
www.epa.gov/teachers/curriculumwater.htm Environmental Protection Agency
www.nap.edu National Academy Press
www.wef.org Water Environment Federation
http://www.educate.si.edu/resources Student Page (Pollution Solution)
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html
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