The Aftermath: Oil Spill Cleanup Background: Attention-We need your help!!

An international release of oil has been spilled into a body of water as an attack on the United States. The spill is extremely harmful to our environment. It is heading on the currents toward a major desalination plant and could potentially destroy our water supply. We need to act NOW! How can we fix this problem? Challenge: You will be given several materials, form hypothesizes, and test which materials would work the best to clean up the oil/prevent the oil from reaching shorelines. You must design a technique that will clean up oil spill and eliminate the threat of a water supply cutoff. Due to the speed at which the oil is polluting the environment and reaching the shoreline, you and your group will only have 1-2 minutes to try each cleanup solution. Criteria: Your cleanup plan must: You will be testing your solution on 4 different types of potential oil spills. See some evidence of controlling the spill/ eliminating the spill in a 1-2 minute time window Attempts need to be recorded in a data sheet to see what plan of action works the best Be written up afterwards and reported to a group of BP engineers (your classmates) Materials: Each group (3-4 engineers) will be able to choose from the following: 4 flat aluminum pans 1 ball of string 4 droppers 1 box of drinking straws 4 makeup applicators 4 sponges Paper towels 1 quart of motor oil

2 bags of cotton balls 1 box of plastic spoons 2 nylon stockings 1 box of plastic gloves 1 small bag of cat litter 2 large trash bags 6 plastic milk jugs 2 bottles of salad oil

The Aftermath: Oil Spill Cleanup Members of group:_______________________________________________ 1. What potential problems could you run into while trying to create a solution to eliminate or control the oil spill?

2. Hypothesize: What materials do you think will help eliminate the spill (remember--Must be able to be controlled in a 1-2 minute time frame)? What materials wont work?

a. Draw some possible solutions to the oil clean-up before trying them out in class.

3. You will get 3 attempts (each 1-2 minutes long) to find out a solution to control and/or eliminate each oil spill (4 total). Fill out the following data sheet as it applies to your trials. Material Used Clean-up %Removed Comments Time Light Oil Heavy Oil With Detergent With Turbulence Evaluate your solution: Would BP engineers choose your solution to control/eliminate the oil spill? Why or why not? What modifications could you have made to improve your solution?

Please make a diagram of your solution so engineers can see exactly how it works. Include every material used.

Rubric: Oil Spill Cleanup

Criteria Assessed
No evidence 0 Attempts to meet criteria but shows limited understanding 1 Meets some/most of criteria with room for improvement 2 Meets all criteria

Portfolio
Student stated a problem. Student brainstormed more than 1 idea. Student accurately drew a diagram of their solution Oil Cleanup Criteria Materials were used effectively. Cleanup plan showed progress in 1-2 minutes. Cleanup write up was clear and easy to understand. Oral Presentation Student speaks and presents data with clear understanding. Speaks clearly and uses proper eye contact. Speaks with intent to persuade.

Rubric: Oil Spill Cleanup

Room for improvement. 1 Creating a solution. Little or no effort was shown. Portfolio was unorganized and showed little or no effort. Student showed little to no understanding of Satisfactory effort. 2 Used materials and designed solution with satisfactory effort. Portfolio was filled out completely with great detail. Great effort shown. Student showed improved understanding but did Excellent Work!!! 3
Used materials successfully with great effort.

Comments:

Portfolio

Portfolio filled out completely. Above and beyond effort. Student showed great understanding and

Understand and Comprehension

activity and did not meet the criteria.

not meet criteria.

what improvements could be made.

Standards addressed (middle school): Design and conduct a scientific investigation. Design a solution or product. Implement a proposed design. A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, boiling point, and solubility, all of which are independent of the amount of the sample. Evaluate the effect of human population on air, water, and land