1. science
2. ecology
3. pollution

Lesson 2 | Pollution
Student Labs and Activities
Page
Appropriate For:
Launch Lab
26
all students
Content Vocabulary ELL
27
all students
Lesson Outline ELL
28
all students
MiniLab
30
all students
Content Practice A
31
AL
AL
AL
Content Practice B
32
AL
OL
BL
School to Home
33
Key Concept Builders
34
Enrichment
38
Challenge
39
Skill Practice
40
all students
AL
AL
AL
all students
AL
AL
BL
all students
Assessment
Lesson Quiz A
42
AL
AL
AL
Lesson Quiz B
43
AL
OL
BL
Teacher Support
Answers (with Lesson Outlines)
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
AL Approaching Level
T4
OL On Level
BL Beyond Level
ELL English-Language Learner
Teacher evaluation will determine which activities to use or modify to meet any ELL student’s proficiency level.
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Name
Date
Launch Lab
Class
LESSON 2: 15 minutes
How do air pollutants move?
Small particles of pollutants can be transported by air movement. Once a pollutant is in the
air, how far can it travel?
Procedure
1. Read and complete a lab safety form.
2. Use a tape measure to determine the
distance from your desk to the lab
candle. Record your measurement in
the Data and Observations section below.
3. As soon as your teacher blows out the
candle, start a timer.
4. Stop the timer when you smell the
blown-out candle. Record the time
below.
Data and Observations
1. Divide your distance from the lab candle by the time it took you to smell the blown-out
candle. How fast did the smell move? Show your work above.
2. Compare your results with students in different parts of the room. Why do you think
the speeds varied?
3.
Key Concept How do you think the movement of the smell from the blown-out
candle is similar to the movement of a pollutant in the air?
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Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Think About This
Name
Date
Class
Content Vocabulary
LESSON 2
Pollution
Directions: On each line, write the term from the word bank that correctly replaces the underlined words
in each sentence.
acid precipitation
global warming
occur
ozone layer
photochemical smog
pollution
1. Air pollution caused by sunlight interacting with waste
gases from the burning of fossil fuels can irritate the
respiratory system.
2. Contamination with harmful substances affects air, water,
and land resources.
3. When oil spills happen, sea life can be harmed.
4. Soil and plants can be harmed by rain that forms when
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
waste gases from automobiles combine with moisture in
the air.
5. Climate change may occur due to the increasing average
temperature of Earth.
6. Most UV radiation does not reach Earth because it is
blocked by the part of the upper atmosphere that contains
a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms.
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Name
Date
Class
Lesson Outline
LESSON 2
Pollution
A. What is pollution?
1. The contamination of the environment with substances that are harmful to life is
known as
.
2. Most pollution is caused by
, but
disasters also cause pollution.
B. Air Pollution
1.
pollution can cause many health problems, especially
problems, for people.
2. The
in the upper atmosphere protects life on Earth by
preventing most harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, given off by the Sun, from
reaching our planet.
3. Air pollution from chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons
(
), used in refrigerants, air conditioners,
and spray cans, started to destroy the
4.
.
5. The scientific observation that Earth’s average surface temperature is increasing is
called
.
a. The possible effects of global warming include
ecosystems,
to
in flooding and droughts, and a rise in
level.
b. The main cause of global warming is an increase in
(CO2); this gas is released when
gases, including
people burn
.
6. Acidic rain or snow that forms when waste gases from automobiles and power
plants combine with moisture in the air is known as
a. Sulfur dioxide
and
with
28
.
from coal-burning power plants
oxide gases from car and truck exhaust combine
to form acids.
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is a kind of air pollution that forms when sunlight
reacts with waste gases from the burning of fossil fuels.
Name
Date
Class
Lesson Outline continued
b. Acid precipitation
soil and water, kills
, including trees, and damages buildings.
C. Water Pollution
1.
pollution comes from many sources, including
agriculture, industry, and people’s homes.
2. City
often empty directly into local waterways; if
people pour wastes, such as old
and motor oil, into the
storm drains, water
can result.
a. Cities have
treatment plants to
wastewater draining from people’s homes.
b.
from industries and
has
pollutants; some of these harmful substances may remain in the water after it has
been
pollution.
, contributing to
3. Water flowing over the land is called
; it can pick up
many different
, including pesticides, herbicides,
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
, and oil from roads.
D. Land Pollution
1. Litter is one form of
pollution; aside from littering,
people cause land pollution through farming, industrial practices,
and
.
2. The farming practice of irrigation causes salt to build up in the
, which is a very harmful form of
land
.
3. Many industries and mines produce
wastes; improper
storage of these wastes can contaminate
and can
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and water
or destroy entire ecosystems.
29
Name
Date
MiniLab
Class
LESSON 2: 20 minutes
How fast can you turn a sand castle into sediment?
Runoff can move sediment into streams. Sediment blocks stream flow, clogs the feeding
structures of animals, and decreases the amount of light for aquatic plants. How does the
flow of water affect rates of sedimentation?
Procedure
1. Read and complete a lab safety form.
2. Use a foam cup to build a sand castle
in a plastic container. Measure its
height with a metric ruler. Record
the data in the Data and Observations
section below.
3. Fill a spray bottle with water. Adjust
the tip of the bottle so it sprays a mist.
4. Using a timer, spray your sand castle
for 30 s. Measure and record the height
of your sand castle.
5. Read just the tip of the spray bottle
so it sprays a stream of water. Then
rebuild your castle with fresh sand and
repeat step 4.
6. Rebuild your sand castle with fresh
sand. Poke three holes in the bottom
of the foam cup with a pencil. Put
your finger over the holes and fill the
cup with water. Repeat step 4, letting
water run out of the holes onto your
castle.
Data and Observations
1. Evaluate Which trial caused the largest change in the height of the sand castle?
2. Model What natural events could each of your trials represent?
3.
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Key Concept How might these natural events affect the quality of water resources?
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Analyze and Conclude
Name
Date
Content Practice A
Class
LESSON 2
Pollution
Directions: On the line before each statement, write the letter of the correct answer.
1. Pollution can come from natural events such as
A. using CFCs.
B. driving cars.
C. erupting volcanoes.
2. Harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is absorbed by
A. CFCs.
B. ozone molecules.
C. acid precipitation.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Sunlight reacts with waste gases from the burning of fossil fuels to form
A. greenhouse gases.
B. chlorofluorocarbons.
C. photochemical smog.
4. Global warming can lead to
A. deforestation.
B. climate change.
C. ozone depletion.
5. Used motor oil should be
A. disposed of properly.
B. poured down a storm drain.
C. purified in a sewage treatment plant.
6. Water that flows over land is called
A. runoff.
B. salt water.
C. wastewater.
7. Habitats can be disturbed or destroyed when resources are removed from the
ground during
A. mining.
B. refining.
C. purifying.
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Name
Date
Class
Content Practice B
LESSON 2
Pollution
Directions: On each line, write the term that correctly completes each sentence.
1.
is the contamination of the environment with substances
that are harmful to life.
2. Ozone is a molecule composed of
3.
oxygen atoms.
from the Sun can cause cancer and cataracts and can
damage crops.
4. The ozone layer has been damaged by compounds called
.
5. Sunlight reacts with waste gases from the burning of fossil fuels to form a type of air
pollution called
6.
.
is the scientific observation that Earth’s average surface
temperatures are
is acidic rain or snow that forms when waste gases from
automobiles and power plants combine with
8. Wastewater must be
in the air.
before it can be released back into the
environment.
9. Litter is a kind of
10.
pollution.
used to kill weeds can flow into streams and harm aquatic
organisms.
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Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
7.
.
Name
Date
Class
School to Home
LESSON 2
Pollution
Directions: Use your textbook to respond to each statement.
1. Human actions such as mining and burning fossil fuels can cause pollution.
Define pollution in your own words.
2. Air quality can be affected by ozone loss, photochemical smog, global
warming, and acid precipitation.
Describe how photochemical smog is formed and explain the effects of the ozone that
is present in photochemical smog.
3. Most scientists agree that global warming is related to rising levels of
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
atmospheric CO2.
Identify three possible effects of global warming.
4. Water pollution occurs when chemicals, wastes, and agricultural products
enter the water supply.
Identify three sources of wastewater. Tell what type of pollutants each likely contains.
5. Land pollution has many sources such as agriculture, industry, and mining.
List the types of chemicals used in agriculture that can cause land pollution.
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Name
Date
Key Concept Builder
Class
LESSON 2
Pollution
Key Concept How does pollution affect air resources?
Directions: On the line before each statement, write T if the statement is true or F if the statement is false. If the
statement is false, change the underlined word(s) to make it true. Write your changes on the lines provided.
1. Pollution is the contamination of the environment with substances that are
helpful to life.
2. The ozone layer prevents most harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching
Earth.
3. In the 1980s, scientists warned that the ozone layer was getting thicker.
4. In the lower atmosphere, ozone is a pollutant that can harm plants and animals
and can cause lung damage.
nitrogen follow the same general trend.
6. Global warming can cause the sea level to drop.
7. Greenhouse gases trap heat from the Sun, helping to keep Earth warm.
8. Gases produced by burning renewable energy resources create acid precipitation.
9. Acid precipitation can form when nitrous oxide gases react with moisture in the air.
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Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5. Data indicate that Earth’s average temperature and increases in atmospheric
Name
Date
Class
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Pollution
Key Concept How does pollution affect air resources?
Directions: Complete the concept map with the correct term or phrase from the word bank in the space provided.
Some terms or phrases may be used more than once.
acid precipitation
caused by burning fossil fuels
caused by CFCs
global warming
increase in Earth’s average surface
temperatures
precipitation that is more acidic than
normal
photochemical smog
thinning of ozone layer
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Effect of
Pollution on Air
Resources
ozone
depletion
brownish
haze in the air
caused by an
increase in
greenhouse
gases
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Name
Date
Class
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Pollution
Key Concept How does pollution affect water resources?
Directions: Answer each question in the space provided.
Question
Answer
1. What are some sources of water
pollution?
2. What happens to water
pollutants that enter storm
drains?
3. What kinds of harmful materials
does wastewater from showers,
sinks, and toilets contain?
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. To safeguard health, what is
done to wastewater?
5. Is all wastewater treated before
being released back into the
environment? Explain.
6. What is runoff?
7. How can runoff become polluted
by chemicals?
8. What can happen when runoff
carries too much sediment into
streams?
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Name
Date
Class
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Pollution
Key Concept How does pollution affect land resources?
Directions: On each line, write the term from the word bank that correctly completes each sentence. Each term is
used only once.
agricultural chemicals
aquatic organisms
farms
fossil fuels
land
litter
ore processors
plants
pollutants
restored
Foam containers, plastic bags, aluminum cans, and glass bottles that are dumped along
roadsides are types of (1.)
. This is one source of
(2.)
pollution. Other sources include homes,
(3.)
, industry, and mines. Farmers use
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
(4.)
to help (5.)
these chemicals can become (6.)
grow. However,
if they are used in excess or
if they are disposed of improperly. If they flow into streams, they can harm
(7.)
. Many industrial facilities such as oil refineries and
(8.)
produce toxic wastes. In addition, mining of
(9.)
and minerals can disturb or destroy habitats. After
the materials have been removed from the ground, the area can be
(10.)
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, but it is still difficult to replace the original ecosystem.
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Name
Date
Class
Enrichment
LESSON 2
Buffering Against Pollution
In the 1930s, huge dust storms swept
through the Great Plains in the southwestern
United States. The thick clouds of dust
were a result of the erosion of once-fertile
farmland. The erosion was caused by poor
farming techniques and an eight-year
drought in the area. Overtilling and
overgrazing, combined with the drought,
eroded the fertile topsoil.
Erosion and Pollution
Grass waterways and grass hedges can
be used to prevent erosion in areas that
have heavy rainfall. By building grasscovered pathways at the lowest level of a
patch of farmland, farmers can divert
rainfall to these pathways, away from their
crops. Because the waterways are covered
by grass, topsoil from them does not easily
wash away. Grass hedges go further,
trapping sediment from runoff as water
flows through them. In addition, the
hedges slow the pace of runoff, reducing its
physical effects on the land.
Forest buffers can be natural or
managed. A managed forest buffer has
three zones. The first zone, extending at
least 4.5 m from a stream, consists of
native hardwood trees. The second zone
measures at least 6 m wide and contains
conifers, hardwood trees, or shrubs. The
third zone, a grass pathway, lies between
the second zone and the crop field. All
three zones filter sediments and chemicals
from runoff.
Buffers provide benefits beyond
controlling farm runoff. Grass buffers can
be harvested as feed for livestock. They can
be used to control erosion on construction
sites and in urban recreation areas. Zone
two of forest buffers can be harvested for
timber or other forest products.
Applying Critical-Thinking Skills
Directions: Answer each question or respond to each statement.
1. Analyze Buffers alone cannot replace wise farming methods. Explain why.
2. Predict Without any buffers in place, where do you think farm runoff would end up?
What do you think the effects of this runoff would be?
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Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Erosion also can contribute to pollution.
Erosion caused by storm runoff can carry
chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides, and
herbicides, into surface water. Scientists have
found that natural wetlands filter much of
the possible contamination resulting from
agricultural runoff. Farmers plant areas next
to waterways in their fields with native
plants rather than crops. The two main
types, forest buffers and grass buffers,
capture much of the sediment and chemicals
that normally drain off farmland in
rainwater.
Grass and forest buffers also help control
nitrate levels in the soil and groundwater.
The buffers’ roots encourage the growth
of bacteria in the soil. These bacteria eat
nitrates and other chemicals deposited
by fertilizers into the groundwater. They
convert the nitrates into atmospheric
nitrogen, thereby reducing nitrate levels.
Reducing Runoff
Name
Challenge
Date
Class
LESSON 2
Sources of Pollution
If you can use your finger to point to a source of pollution, such as a pipe discharging
industrial waste into a stream or a smokestack emitting black smoke, then that is classified
as point source pollution. If pollution is evident in a stream, but you cannot point to or
identify a specific source, then that is called nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source
pollution occurs mainly from runoff of rain or snow picking up pollutants on the surface
and then finally depositing them in streams, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers.
Write a Letter to the Mayor
You have been named by the mayor to an important committee to study the problem of
nonpoint source pollution in your city. Each member of the committee has been assigned
the duty to identify at least five nonpoint source pollution problems and make
recommendations for controlling each problem.
Research your topic and take notes in the space provided below. Then compile your
results in a letter to the mayor that details the problems you have identified and presents
your recommendations for controlling them.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Research Notes:
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Name
Date
Skill Practice
Communicate
Class
LESSON 2: 60 minutes
How can you communicate about pollution?
You have read about different types of pollutants in this chapter. Now it’s your turn to
communicate what you have learned. A public service announcement (PSA) is like a
commercial that explains an important issue.
Materials
stopwatch
computer
Learn It
Communication of ideas is an important part of the work of scientists. A scientific idea that
is not reported will not advance scientific knowledge or the public’s understanding of
science. Scientists often communicate their ideas in presentations.
Try It
1. Read and complete a lab safety form.
2. Choose a pollutant you read about in this chapter or a different pollutant in which you
have an interest.
3. Research your pollutant. Find out as much as you can about how it is produced, how it
enters the environment, what problems it causes, and how its effects can be reduced.
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Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Write a 1-min script for a PSA that communicates the information you gathered in step 3.
Name
Date
Class
Skill Practice continued
5. Practice your script until you feel comfortable speaking it before a group. If recording
equipment is available, record your PSA.
Apply It
6. Present your PSA to your class.
7. Take questions from the class. Ask your classmates what they learned. Record their
comments.
8. Critique your PSA. Did the class understand the message you were trying to
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
communicate? How could you improve your presentation?
9.
Key Concept How does the pollutant you researched affect natural resources?
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