Chemical Education Today
Reports from Other Journals
News from Online: Water, Streaming Chemistry by Janice Hall Tomasik
Finding resources online can be a bit like a meandering river. Sometimes the river takes you through valleys full of the lush fruit of information, at other times it trickles into a stream that is muddied by extraneous or incongruous content. Still other times the river is so torrential it cuts through the bedrock of our perceptions to leave us with new understandings and ideas. The river can be hard to contain in some points, just as online content can be hard to confine to a single category. Let’s see where the information river takes us today as we search for the Earth Day theme, water. Please keep your hands and objects inside the raft at all times, and enjoy the ride. The Chemistry of Water Since my background is in chemistry, let’s start small—at the molecular scale of water. Travel to “A Closer Look at Water” by the Biology Department of Northland Community and Technical College in Minnesota for a short slide show illustrating hydrogen bonding and polarity of water http://programs. northlandcollege.edu/biology/Biology1111/animations/hydrogenbonds.html. For an introduction to the hydrogen bond and classical mechanics in the context of molecular modeling see the article at http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Jan/ abs147.html. A discussion on water pressure, Boyle’s Law, and water tanks is in the article, “Where Did the Water Go? Boyle’s Law and Pressurized Diaphragm Water Tanks” at http://www. jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2007/Mar/abs425.html. Build a three-story high water barometer to study pressure, vapor pressure, phase changes, etc. as in this study at http://www.jce. divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Mar/abs414.html. The experiment at http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/ Chem_p021.shtml describes an activity to measure how the surface tension of water changes with added salt or added detergent. Go to http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/ Sep/abs1337.html to find out how to construct small-scale and inexpensive apparatuses that show the electrolysis of water. And for a 3-dimensional phase diagram of water, stop by http://www. jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Mar/abs414.html. Water Quality Now let’s move to a slightly larger scale. Go to the Environmental Protection Agency’s site on water at http://www.epa. gov/water/. Here you will learn about a myriad of water-related topics including the Clean Water Act Analytical Test Methods, wastewater management, wetlands, oceans, and watersheds. The EPA provides classroom activities for grades 9–12 at http:// www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/teachers_9-12.html, information for students at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/kids_9-12.html, and watershed training modules for adult learners at http:// www.epa.gov/watertrain/.
Travel to the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program at http://toxics.usgs.gov/ and learn about their research on environmental contamination and their work to improve characterization and management of contaminated sites. Speaking of sites, get real-time geographic site data on daily stream flow conditions state by state or for the whole nation at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt. Check out the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education at http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/updates/index.html; the issue at http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/updates/119/index.html deals with integrating universities’ knowledge and student servicelearning into community-based watershed management. Check out an article about water purification using aspen wood to remove pyrene from storm runoff at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/07/010720093547.htm. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to see these Journal of Chemical Education Classroom Activities: Water Filtration at http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/Issues/2004/Feb/ abs224A.html and Acid Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ On My Lake at http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/Issues/2003/Jan/abs40A. html (with correction at http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/ Issues/2003/Apr/abs386_1.html ). The non-profit group Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) at http://www.earthforce.org/section/ programs/green/aboutgreen seeks to empower young people to learn about water quality in their local watersheds. Purchase low-cost water quality monitoring kits through their catalog at http://www.earthforce.org/section/programs/green/catalog and visit their hands-on center at http://www.earthforce.org/section/ programs/green/handson for ideas on using the kits to test water samples in your area. Directions for building your own solar-powered water desalination device are at http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/ project_ideas/EnvEng_p022.shtml. Water, the Environment, and Society Now we’re ready for water at the global scale. Did you know that if we compared our Earth’s water supply to a gallon, freshwater would make up only 4 ounces (or 3 percent)? Check your water knowledge at Water Wise: A Well of Facts at http:// usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0399/ijge/gj-07b.htm. The NBC Nightly News Series “Thirsty Planet” at http://www.msnbc.msn. com/id/20862243/ is a report on the world’s reliance on water, and the current challenges for keeping the Earth’s water sources unpolluted. A list of average water consumption for daily activities can be seen at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20945830/. (Did you know a bath takes an average of 15 to 30 gallons, while an average 8 minute shower takes 20 gallons?). Calculate your water footprint—the total volume of freshwater used to produce foods and services that you consume—at http://www.
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 2 February 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
185
Chemical Education Today
Reports from Other Journals
Take a tour of a virtual watersaving home at H2Ouse.org, the Water Saver Home Web site. It was developed by the California Urban Water Con s e r v a t i o n C o u n c i l u n d e r a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
waterfootprint.org/index.php?page=cal/waterfootprintcalculator_indv. Find tips to reduce your water consumption at http:// www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20945503/. Or go to http://wateruseitwisely.com/100ways/index.shtml to find the best ways to reduce water usage where you live. Visit a virtual water-saving home at http://www.h2ouse.org/ to learn about the various appliances and features that save water the best, along with water facts for average households. Take your younger students through the Water Science for Schools Web tutorial at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/index. html to learn about water basics, the water cycle, and topics that include urbanization and the water system, ground water quality, and watersheds. Read the United Nations World Water Development report at http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/index.shtml for a series of assessments of the world’s freshwater resources and tools to implement sustainable use of our water. Then go to “Water Rights and Wrongs” at http://hdr.undp.org/external/ hdr2006/water/index.htm for a summary of the 2006 Human Development Report on Water by Young People from Around the World. And read the Keele University Economics Report on the Water Poverty Index at http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ec/ web/wpapers/kerp0219.pdf; this index indicates the degree to which water scarcity impacts human populations by taking into account socioeconomic and water availability factors.
to http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1994/doucet_ pond.html. Learn about the limnic eruption phenomenon by reading about the research of George W. Kling of the University of Michigan at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gwk/research/ nyos.html. Also read the transcript of “Killer Lakes”, a BBC Science and Nature production at http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/ horizon/2001/killerlakestrans.shtml. Have you ever wondered where the largest lake is? How about the largest island in a lake on an island? Or the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island? Go to http:// www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm to find these and other facts. But you don’t think our planet is the only one with water features, do you? NASA’s page at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/mgs-20061206.html lets you read about the possibility of water on Mars! Additional Instructor Resources To wind down this exciting voyage, let’s not forget about some other instructor water resources available. Make sure to check out Water on the Web at http://www.waterontheweb.org/. This site is targeted towards high school and college students and instructors; you’ll find great curricula and suggested activities there. The Environmental Literacy Council’s page on water at http://www.enviroliteracy.org/category.php/14.html will provide additional resource links, including their page on hydroelectricity at http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/59.html. Check out the Water Education for Teachers site at http://www.projectwet.org/ for K–12 resources and workshop information. Well, our Web water travels are over for the time being. Remember our world’s water resources are a precious commodity. I hope you will join us in our efforts to educate the world about conserving our water and in making clean water available to everyone around the globe. Now it’s time for you to surf ! Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Feb/abs185.html Abstract and keywords
Lakes and Rivers and Oceans, Oh My!
Full text (PDF) with links to cited URLs and JCE articles
Let us not forget the inhabitants of natural water and water features on this Earth. For an inquiry-based lab in which students examine the microorganisms in samples of pond water go
Janice Hall Tomasik is a graduate student in Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706;
[email protected].
186
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 2 February 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
Chemical Education Today
http://programs.northlandcollege.edu/biology/Biology1111/ animations/hydrogenbonds.html http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Jan/abs147. html http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2007/Mar/ abs425.html http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Mar/ abs414.html http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/ Chem_p021.shtml http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Sep/ abs1337.html html http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2004/Mar/ abs414.html
Water Quality http://www.epa.gov/water/ http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/teachers_9-12.html http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/kids_9-12.html http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/ http://toxics.usgs.gov/ http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt http://www.ucowr.siu.edu/updates/index.html http://www. ucowr.siu.edu/updates/119/index.html http://www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2001/07/010720093547.htm http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/Issues/2004/Feb/ abs224A.html http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/Issues/2003/Jan/ abs40A.html http://www.jce.divched.org/HS/Journal/Issues/2003/Apr/ abs386_1.html http://www.earthforce.org/section/programs/green/ aboutgreen http://www.earthforce.org/section/programs/green/catalog
http://www.earthforce.org/section/ programs/green/handson http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/ EnvEng_p022.shtml
Water, the Environment, and Society http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0399/ijge/gj-07b.htm http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20862243/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20945830/ http://www.waterfootprint.org/index.php?page=cal/ waterfootprintcalculator_indv http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20945503/ http://wateruseitwisely.com/100ways/index.shtml http://www.h2ouse.org/ http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/index.html http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/index.shtml http://hdr.undp.org/external/hdr2006/water/index.htm http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ec/web/wpapers/kerp0219.pdf
Lakes and Rivers and Oceans, Oh My! http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1994/doucet_ pond.html http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gwk/research/nyos.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/killerlakestrans. shtml http://www.elbruz.org/islands/Islands%20and%20Lakes.htm http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/ mgs-20061206.html
Additional Instructor Resources http://www.waterontheweb.org/ http://www.enviroliteracy.org/category.php/14.html http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/59.html http://www.projectwet.org/
All sites accessed Nov 2007
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 2 February 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
187
World Wide Web Addresses
The Chemistry of Water
