How to Use

This is your chance to explore water and water quality, and there are four sections to help you do it..

The Basics

Want to know more information about water? Head to the basics section and get the scoop on water.

Experiment

Here is your chance to experiment and test some samples for yourself. Check your water sample against some water quality guidelines and see if they make the cut.

Challenge

Now it's time to apply all your knowledge. Complete the challenge and see how you stack up.

Test Yourself

Think you know it all? Test yourself to see if you are the real deal! You have three questions to answer, but if you're feeling brave you can add some more.

If you're ever unsure of what a word means, check out the definition in the glossary! You can also click on any highlighted word to take you straight there.

Overview

Water Quality provides students an opportunity to explore a science topic in their own way, at their own pace.

The four sections of the tool have been designed to guide students through the process of understanding water quality and let them put that information into practice. Students will gain knowledge of the topic by reading the basics, experimenting without consequence to learn the techniques, applying their knowledge to solve a challenge, and assessing their knowledge with a self-test. A comprehensive glossary also lets them check definitions at any time along the way.

This tool provides a way to teach the elements of the science unit, but also puts science into perspective with real world examples, challenges students to use technology to further their understanding of science, and engages them with a wide range of activities.

Curriculum

Grade 8 – Fresh and Salt Water Systems

SLE #1 – Describe the distribution and characteristics of water in local and global environments, and identify the significance of water supply and quality to the needs of humans and other living things

SLE #4 – Analyze human impacts on aquatic systems; and identify the roles of science and technology in addressing related questions, problems and issues.

Concentration

The amount of a solute, chemical, or pollutant in a specified amount of solvent, air, water, soil or other medium.

Contaminant

A substance that causes harm and renders water unfit for its intended use.

Freshwater

Water that has a much lower solute concentrations than the ocean, or water containing less than 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids of any type.

Parts per Million (ppm)

The number of "parts" by weight of a substance per million parts of water. This unit is commonly used to represent pollutant concentrations. One milligram per liter of water is approximately equal to a ppm.

Potable

Water that is suitable for drinking.

Salinity

A quantitative measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given volume of water.

Solute

Any solid material that is dissolved in a liquid (the solvent).

Solvent

The liquid, usually water, in which solutes are dissolved; a substance that dissolves other substances, thus forming a solution.

Turbidity

A measure of cloudiness or opaqueness in the water. Turbidity is measured in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).

Water Quality

The chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water, usually in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose.