What comes to mind when you hear the word pollution? Have you heard the term runoff? What do you think it means?

Bell Work: 9/9/14What comes to mind when

you hear the word pollution?Have you heard the term

runoff?What do you think it means?

Special Report!How did the video describe storm water runoff?

What are some technologies environmental engineers have designed to help reduce pollutants in runoff?

While this report focuses on the Charles River in Boston, how might this issue affect the citizens of Nashville that use the Cumberland River as their water source?

Don’t Runoff ChallengeEngineers are people who design and improve

technologies in order to solve problems or meet needs in their communities, such as preventing pollution from contaminating local waterways.

Challenge: How can we keep polluted runoff out of a clean river? Pollutants can travel directly into bodies of water where they become concentrated and more dangerous. Your challenge is to design a model city to help prevent runoff. Your design will enable cities like Nashville to prevent water pollution while creating a more “green” city.

ASK• Restate your

problem• State what

you already know

• List any limitations or controls

Essential Questions to ponder…

Can we analyze and evaluate the impact of

man’s use of earth’s land, water, and atmospheric

resources?

StandardsSPI 0707.7.7 Analyze and

evaluate the impact of man’s use of earth’s land,

water, and atmospheric resources.

City PlanningWhat do you notice about the surface of this model?

How does this surface contribute to the runoff problem?

City SnapshotsBoston, MA Los Angeles, CA

City SnapshotsChicago, IL Atlanta, GA

What do you notice about the surfaces of these cities?

How do you think these paved surfaces are similar to the foil in our model?

PollutantsDo you remember any pollutants from the video or have you seen any in real life?

Think-Pair-Share

City ModelModel Pollutants Actual PollutantsFood Coloring

Dish soap

Sprinkles

Plastic sequins

Crushed charcoal (powder)

Vegetable oil

Decide with your team what real pollutant the model pollutants represent…

Use a Post-It Note to “tweet” about the following question:

What do you think the impact would be of adding green roofs to all the buildings you see?

Tweet a response…

Bell Work: 9/10/14Read the article “Green

Roofs”.How does green roof

technology help reduce runoff?

How could this type of technology be used on your

model city?

Don’t Runoff ChallengeEngineers are people who design and improve

technologies in order to solve problems or meet needs in their communities, such as preventing pollution from contaminating local waterways.

Challenge: How can we keep polluted runoff out of a clean river? Pollutants can travel directly into bodies of water where they become concentrated and more dangerous. Your challenge is to design a model city to help prevent runoff. Your design will enable cities like Nashville to prevent water pollution while creating a more “green” city.

ASK• Restate your

problem• State what

you already know

• List any limitations or controls

Essential Questions to ponder…

Can we analyze and evaluate the impact of

man’s use of earth’s land, water, and atmospheric

resources?

StandardsSPI 0707.7.7 Analyze and

evaluate the impact of man’s use of earth’s land,

water, and atmospheric resources.

City ModelModel Pollutants Actual PollutantsFood Coloring

Dish soap

Sprinkles

Plastic sequins

Crushed charcoal (powder)

Vegetable oil

Decide with your team what real pollutant the model pollutants represent…

City Pollution ChartThe placement and amount of

pollutants decided on today will be what is used as you test your own

city models in later activities…

Our Model City…The foil tray represents a river of clean water that flows near to the city.

Imagine:When it “rains” on our model city, what do you predict will happen? Why do you think so?

What happened?

What you are seeing is runoff. How do you think this runoff might affect our model city?

Engineering Green RoofsPart I:Engineer a model building at least 23

centimeters (9 inches) highMaterials for building structure: 40 index cards,

30 cm (1 ft.) of foil, and a roll of tape1 cup of water will be added to your rooftop (none

may run off); your building must support the weight of the saturated green roof.

Part II:Engineer a roof for the building that reduces

runoff by absorbing waterMaterials for roof: soil, gravel, moss, and sand

Imagine: Research Green Roofs by ExperimentingMake a plan with your team to test the

different types of green roofs.What will be your control factors and

variables (independent and dependent)? How will your control group be different from your experimental groups?Record these in your STEM notebook

You can earn up to $500 for detailed and accurate data.

ReflectWhich natural material do you

think works best to reduce runoff? Why do you think so?

Use a Post-It Note to “tweet” about the following question:

How can your team work together to engineer an urban landscape made of buildings, roads, and open spaces that will keep polluted runoff out of the clean river?

Tweet a response…