Time Required: 220 minutes
In The Engineer, students will:

  1. Observe a demonstration and create a pie chart to show the amount of freshwater and saltwater in the hydrosphere. 
  2. Identify the impact that oil spills can have on Earth’s spheres.
  3. Design and test two devices that would help manage an oil spill. The devices will a. prevent the spread of oil, and b. remove the oil from the water once it has been contained.
  4. Analyze and interpret data from the oil spill cleanup challenge.
  5. Reflect using the data to determine how their designs met the challenge.
  6. Complete a poster presentation.

      

Standards
5-ESS2-1
Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. [Clarification Statement: Examples could include the influence of the ocean on ecosystems, landform shape, and climate; the influence of the atmosphere on landforms and ecosystems through weather and climate; and the influence of mountain ranges on winds and clouds in the atmosphere. The geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere are each a system.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to the interactions of two systems at a time.]
5-ESS2-2
Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, ground water, and polar ice caps, and does not include the atmosphere.]
5-ESS3-1
Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment.