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Equipment
2 - 5 gallon buckets
18 liters of water
1 - 1 L beaker
Graduated cylinders of various sizes (10 mL, 50 mL, 100 mL, 250 mL, 500
mL, 1000 mL)
1 - Transfer pipette (1.0 mL with 0.1 mL graduations)
Calculators or computer with Excel or other spreadsheet software
2015 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Environmental Sustainability Activity 2.1.1 Global Water Distribution Page 1
Alexandra Hernandez
Procedure
1. NA
2. Look at all of the different sources of water shown on Table 1 below. Place a
checkmark in the last column next to what you think are the three most
common sources of human drinking water.
3. Calculate Percentages and Proportions - These calculations can be done
using a calculator and the chart on the next page or using the Excel
spreadsheet 2.2.1.A Global Water Distribution Excel.xlsx.
A. Using the data for each type and amount of water on Earth,
calculate the total water percentage of each type of water source
and record your calculations in Table 1.
B. Calculate the percentage of each freshwater (non-saline) source
compared to the total fresh water and record your calculations.
C. For the scaled-down water model in which 18.00 liters (L) of water
represents all of Earths water, calculate the proportional volume in
milliliters (mL) for each type of water. Record these values in Table
1. Check to make sure that the sum of all these proportional
calculations equals 18.00 L.
D. Total the amount of water available for human consumption in the
18 L scale model and record this figure in your engineering
notebook.
4. Select Measuring Equipment
A. Research the internet on how to read liquid volumes using
laboratory equipment.
B. Look at the volumes of water to be measured in 18 L scale model
and determine which type of laboratory measuring tool, from the list
of equipment available, should be used to most accurately and
precisely measure that volume. Record your choice and reasoning
in Table 1.
5. NA
Alexandra Hernandez
Table 1: Global Distribution of Water
Data Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh
Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New York). http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html
Alexandra Hernandez
Conclusion
1 Explain why there might be differences between the calculated volume and the actual measured volume. What are
the potential sources of error in this activity? What could be done to minimize errors?
There might be differences between the calculated volume and the actual measured volume due to the fact that the
experiment my not be as accurate as the calculations or vice versa. To minimize errors, perhaps we couldve
attempted with various different tools rather than just graduated cylinders and pipettes.
2 Explain how you chose the correct volumetric measuring instrument, such as a beaker, a graduated cylinder, a
pipette, or a micropipette.
You could chose the correct volumetric measuring instrument by examining your data and deciding what different
proportions you need to gain accurate results.
8. How did your choice of different volumetric measuring instruments potentially affect the accuracy and/or precision?
Your choice of different volumetric measuring instruments could affect the accuracy/precision of your experiment
because if you were to choose a larger measuring device your results would be less accurate due to larger
estimations.
9. Considering the percentage of usable fresh water, what should we be concerned about when we use water?
Considering the percentage of usable fresh water, we should be concerned about the conservation and cleanliness
of water due to our results.
10. Describe at least three other factors that might make availability of fresh water for human consumption a challenge
in different parts of the world.
Factors that could make availability of fresh water for human consumption a challenge would be over population
(due to abuse of resources), natural disasters (because of dirtying the water), and water pollution.