Driving Question:
How could Nanoscience affect the quality of our drinking water?
This unit focuses on connecting solutions and nanotechnology in a 10th grade chemistry class. This unit will highlight ideas related to concentrations, scale, properties of mixtures and solutions, and provide introductory information on nanoscience.
A description of the context and learners for "The Quest to Improve Water Quality Using Nanotechnology":
A description of the context and learners for "The Quest to Improve Water Quality Using Nanotechnology":
- Grade Levels: 10th Grade High School Students
- Courses: Chemistry, Environmental Science or 8th Grade Science
- Class Length: 80 minutes; Block-schedule classes
- Number of Students: 20-28 Students
- Gender Mix: Schools have approximately the same number of male and female students
- School Size: Berween 400 and 4,000 Students
- Community Profile: Rural and Small Town
- Socio-Economic Status: about 40% Free and Reduced Lunch Eligible Students
Rationale for Our Open-ended Driving Question
The driving question in this PBL unit will allow students to consider the problem at multiple levels, making it very open-ended. Because it asks about managing the quality of drinking water, students will be led to consider the following different avenues:
Furthermore, since our driving question also focuses on nanotechnology, students will be intrigued to consider several different routes:
By sparking these different questions using a very-open ended driving question, the possibilities of projects to be developed by the students are endless!
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- What makes water pure or impure?
- What types of substances should be in drinking water? Should not be in drinking water?
- What concentrations of substances should be in our water?
- What types of substances are in our drinking water? Nitrates, chlorine, iron, different bacteria?
- What drinking water are we considering? Treated city water? Well water?
- Is this water from the local community? A third-world country where clean drinking water is limited?
Furthermore, since our driving question also focuses on nanotechnology, students will be intrigued to consider several different routes:
- What types of nanomaterials can we use?
- How is nanotechnology currently used in water treatment?
- What properties or characteristics of nanotechnology are beneficial for water purification?
By sparking these different questions using a very-open ended driving question, the possibilities of projects to be developed by the students are endless!
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Keeping Our Students Focused
- The driving question will always be posted on the front board for students to see.
- Students will work in groups with assigned roles to encourage accountability.
- The teacher will be a guide, asking questions and encouraging students to explore content for themselves as it relates to the driving question.
- Student groups will keep an inquiry list that will serve as an additional anchor to the driving question. At the top of the list, students will write the driving question of the project so it is the focus of their efforts. This list will be modified and changed according to the research the students are doing, the information that they find, and the various strategies they use to answer the driving question.
- Students will keep their audience at the forefront of their mind as they work to understand nanotechnology, developing their tool in a refinement process that includes guest speakers and other experts related to the driving question.
- Checkpoints will be used throughout the unit to demonstrate student progress (examples: exit cards, entry events, research and proposals approved by instructor).
- Students will develop a personal connection to the problem by identifying one key aspect of the problem that they are passionate about. They will keep record (journal, blog, etc.) about what they are learning and how it ties to the particular sub-issue of their choice.
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Connection to Nanoscience
Throughout the school year, students will engage in activities to learn about topics such as classification of matter, chemical reactions, and solutions. Under the umbrella of the driving question, students will explore the connections between these topics and nanotechnology during the PBL unit. Each of these topics includes particles on the atomic scale and the nano scale. For example, classifying matter based on properties such as color, melting point, and conductivity can be explored on a nanoscale level to make discoveries of “size-dependent” properties. As students learn about solutions, they will see a relationship between surface area and volume as it relates to dissolution, and concentration.
By asking the driving question, students will apply the research and evidence from the labs and activities to show how nano-sized tools can help eliminate unwanted contaminants that are found in drinking water. Students will ultimately design a tool that will effectively accomplish this goal, and consider the implications of their design on a local and global scale.
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By asking the driving question, students will apply the research and evidence from the labs and activities to show how nano-sized tools can help eliminate unwanted contaminants that are found in drinking water. Students will ultimately design a tool that will effectively accomplish this goal, and consider the implications of their design on a local and global scale.
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Real-life Connections Outside of the Classroom
One of the basic necessities for survival is clean drinking water. However, according to the World Health Organization (2014), almost 750 million people do not have access to a clean drinking water supply. Many times, we take for granted our ability to obtain clean drinking water easily. And, even though we may believe our own water supply is clean, we may still be unaware that micro- and nano- impurities, such as bacteria, fungi and chemicals still exist in our water after treatment.
Our PBL unit focuses its attention on developing nanoscale methods to manage atomic level impurities in drinking water. Students will find several applications to the real world since water is consumed daily by billions of people. Specifically, our unit grounds it ideas in the following real-world ideas that exist outside of the classroom:
Once students develop their own nanoscale method to remove atomic level impurities from water, they can apply this knowledge to:
By completing our PBL unit, students will be able to discern what constitutes clean water, factors that pollute local as well as global water sources, and understand the clean-water shortage in third-world countries, which are the points that will really drive this project.
Reference: World Health Organization. (2014). Investing in water and sanitation: increasing access, reducing inequalities. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/139735/1/9789241508087_eng.pdf?ua=1
Reference: Nanotechnology in Water Treatment. (2010). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from http://www.highveld.com/molecular-biology/nanotechnology.html
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Our PBL unit focuses its attention on developing nanoscale methods to manage atomic level impurities in drinking water. Students will find several applications to the real world since water is consumed daily by billions of people. Specifically, our unit grounds it ideas in the following real-world ideas that exist outside of the classroom:
- Students can examine the impurities within their own as well as classmates’ drinking water
- Students can analyze differences in impurities between well-water and treated city water
- Fertilizers and other farming chemicals are often major pollutants in local water supplies in which students could determine and try to remove, specifically in rural towns. Likewise, pollutants from local industries may be contaminating local water supplies
Once students develop their own nanoscale method to remove atomic level impurities from water, they can apply this knowledge to:
- Determine methods to clean local water systems (streams, lakes, rivers, etc.) since they may contain harmful contaminants for swimming and recreation
- Develop low-cost, nanoscale cleaning methods for individual use in the case our clean water supply is hindered (i.e.- from a natural disaster)
- Develop low-cost, nanoscale cleaning methods to help purify drinking water efficiently in third-world countries to help 750 million people obtain clean drinking water
- Develop industrial uses for nanoscale water treatment
By completing our PBL unit, students will be able to discern what constitutes clean water, factors that pollute local as well as global water sources, and understand the clean-water shortage in third-world countries, which are the points that will really drive this project.
Reference: World Health Organization. (2014). Investing in water and sanitation: increasing access, reducing inequalities. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/139735/1/9789241508087_eng.pdf?ua=1
Reference: Nanotechnology in Water Treatment. (2010). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from http://www.highveld.com/molecular-biology/nanotechnology.html
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