Environmental Impact: Comparing Industries

Environmental Impact: Comparing Industries Book Cover
Environmental Impact: Comparing Industries is a SEPUP module designed for use in grades 6–12. The module contains a series of 8 activities that provide approximately 3–4 weeks of instruction.

This module focuses on chemical formulas, chemical reactions, and properties of chemicals. Having an industry in your community can lead to positive and negative outcomes. In this module, students investigate these through a scenario in which they imagine they are residents of an island who will vote to allow a factory to be built. Students engage in hands-on explorations of two industries—mining and chemical manufacturing—and read about gasoline production. These explorations provide the students with an understanding that all industries have common needs: obtaining raw materials, manufacturing a product and safely disposing of wastes. Students are assessed on their ability to use evidence and identify trade-offs.

Each module includes a Teacher’s Guide containing reproducible student pages and a kit containing the equipment required to conduct the activities with five classes of 32 students. The Teacher’s Guide provides specific strategies to facilitate and assess student learning.


Overview

This module focuses on chemical formulas, chemical reactions, and properties of chemicals. Having an industry in your community can lead to positive and negative outcomes. In this module, students investigate these through a scenario in which they imagine they are residents of an island who will vote to allow a factory to be built. Students engage in hands-on explorations of two industries—mining and chemical manufacturing—and read about gasoline production. These explorations provide the students with an understanding that all industries have common needs: obtaining raw materials, manufacturing a product and safely disposing of wastes. Students are assessed on their ability to use evidence and identify trade-offs.

Each module includes a Teacher’s Guide containing reproducible student pages and a kit containing the equipment required to conduct the activities with five classes of 32 students. The Teacher’s Guide provides specific strategies to facilitate and assess student learning.

Shown below is the table of contents for the teacher’s guide, which contains reproducible student pages.

Introduction

Module at a Glance

Guide to the Module

Activity 1: Industries in Communities
Investigation: Debating the Rating

Activity 2: Investigating Chemical Reactions
Investigation: A Factory of Chemicals

Activity 3: Producing Copper from Ore
Investigation: Producing Copper

Activity 4: Evaluating Copper Production
Investigation: A Risky Business?

Activity 5: Making Gypsum
Investigation: Gypsum for Jobs

Activity 6: Using Properties to Identify Gypsum
Investigation: What is the White Solid?

Activity 7: Evaluating More Industries
Investigation: Finding Facts

Activity 8: Choosing an Industry

Investigation: Preparing for the Election

Appendix A: Materials
Appendix B: Background
Appendix C: Assessment
Appendix D: Glossary