Pollution Review

What might be the BEST question to ask to determine the source of pollution in the river?

• Where do the storm drains come from?

• What kind of animals live in the river?

• How many cars travel the road?

• What does the factory make?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Krista is doing a research project to determine the effects of a new factory on the quality of the air in the city and the water in the surrounding lake.  Below are a list of questions Krista has created to ask.  Choose the TWO BEST questions Krista should ask.

• Does the factory recycle?

• How much smoke does the factory create?

• How often does the factory get cleaned?

• Where does the factory dump their waste water?

• How many people work at the factory?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

What might be the BEST question to ask to determine the effect of pollution in the river?

• Who is responsible for cleaning up all of the trash?

• How long has the trash been building up in the river?

• Are there any animals who have lost their lives after eating plastic?

• Did this build up over time or is there a landfill nearby that is dumping plastic? 

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Heba is taking notes while doing research on the environment.  Below are her notes.

List A

Litter from surrounding park

Factory wastewater 

Chemical runoff from fertilizer 

List B

Blocks the sunlight so plants cannot grow

Makes the fish sick 

Turtles get sick and die 

What question could Herba ask to further understand the two lists she created?

• What are different types of pollution that impact local environments?

• What type of pollution will block sunlight for plants?

• Does exhaust from vehicles cause pollution?

• How do factories affect the environment?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

A student was collecting trash in the local park. He sorted and weighed the trash that he collected.

Which question could the student ask to determine which trash could cause harm or not harm the environment?

• Which trash can break down over time?

• Which trash is most used by humans?

• Which trash will smell the worst?

• Which trash weighs the most?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Rebecca looked out the window one morning and took a picture of what she saw. Rebecca looked out the window one morning and took a picture of what she saw.

• There is a lot of air pollution that could be from transportation and local factories. Plants and animals may struggle to survive with complications with breathing.

• There is a lot of air pollution that could be from chemicals spilled in the water. Plants and animals may struggle to survive with toxic chemicals.

• There is some air pollution that is from vehicles in the city. Plants and animals will be fine because air pollution is common in cities. 

• There are a lot of vehicles in the city that create a smokey effect, but it is not pollution since you cannot physically touch it.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

Cameron and his sister like to go fishing with their dad on the weekends. They fish at a lake that is downstream from a factory. One Saturday they went to the lake to go fishing and they found that the lake was full of dead fish and had a sign that said “NO SWIMMING.” Using your understanding of the impact of humans on the environment, which was the most likely cause for the dead fish and the “NO SWIMMING” sign at the lake?

• Too many people fished at the lake, so the fish lost their source of food which caused the fish to die.

• People threw a lot of trash into the lake, which made the fish die and the water unsafe for swimming.

• Too many people were swimming in the water, which made the water too dirty for the fish to live in. 

• Pollution from the factory upstream caused the fish to die and made the water unsafe for swimming.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

Victor has noticed that many of the roads in his town are covered with litter. Most of it is from fast food, including paper bags, and soda cups. What conclusion can Victor make about the impact the litter will have on the environment?

• The trash won’t be re-used or recycled.

• All the trash will make the town smell bad.

• Animals may think it is food and try to eat the trash.

• Wind may blow the trash in front of the cars, which could cause accidents.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

Bags of plastic trash are dumped into the ocean everyday. Which answer best explains the impact it can have on the environment?

• It will float around until it lands on a beach and it will be cleaned up.

• It will sink to the bottom of the ocean and it will not harm any living thing.

• It will be eaten by fish and will get microparticles of plastic inside of them.

• It will break down into the soil and sand and will not harm any living thing.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

 A fourth grade student took a survey to see how many families recycle at home. What tips can this student provide to families who do not recycle to help save local plants and animals.

• Recycling will allow families to reduce the amount of trash that will build up and harm the environment.

• All trash is buried and disappears into the soil over time, but recycling will speed up the process.

• The only way to recycle is to sort plastic from all other materials. 

• Reusing materials causes more pollution.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5