02.

03 Water Quality Virtual Lab Worksheet

Student Name: Johnny Daugherty

Time Estimate: 90 minutes

Pre-Activity Questions:
Use information from the lesson and assessment introduction to answer these questions. Use
complete sentences.

1. Describe how scientists make inferences on whether water is polluted or not.

Scientists can look for cloudy water and determine if water is contaminated.

2. Imagine that a stream of water becomes heavily polluted over time. Predict how you
think the following properties would change:

· pH This will change because when it becomes more polluted, PH becomes less acidic.

· water hardness When the water gets polluted, the hardness of the water will increase/ it
will become harder.

· nitrate and ammonia levels This will increase from the polluted water.

Data: (make sure to include correct units)

Table 1 – Physical Properties

Non-polluted Industrial Agricultural Thermal

Runoff Runoff Pollution

Color Clear blue Somewhat clear Not clear and not a Barley any blue
lot of blue and hard to see

Turbidity none Partially A lot Way too much

 Temperature 20.0 C 21.0 C 22.5 C 32.0 C

Table 2 – Chemical Properties

Non-polluted Industrial Agricultural Thermal

Runoff Runoff Pollution

pH 7.6 9.0 8.6 6.6

Hardness 100 ppm 400 ppm 800 ppm 200 ppm

Ammonia 0.5 ppm 1 ppm 2 ppm 0.5 ppm

Nitrate 0 ppm 5 ppm 40 ppm 0 ppm

Dissolved 6.0 5.0 4.0 4.5

Oxygen

Table 3 – Stream Diversity

Non-polluted Industrial Agricultural Thermal

Runoff Runoff Pollution

Aquatic worm 1 5 4 2

Stonefly 6 0 0 4

Black fly 1 3 4 2

Caddis fly 3 1 0 2
 Lung snail 4 2 1 2

Fingernail clam 4 1 0 1

Gill snail 6 0 0 1

Crayfish 3 0 0 1

Carp 3 1 1 2

Trout 3 0 1 0

Total 34 13 11 17
Organisms

Analysis:
Review your data carefully to make inferences about pollution. Answer these questions in complete
sentences.

1. Identify the pollution type that caused the most change in stream diversity.

Agricultural runoff caused the most change in steam diversity.

2. Which pollution type caused the greatest change in pH? Did this pollution make the water
more acidic or more basic?

Industrial runoff had the greatest change in pH. This pollution made the water more basic,
because the more pollution, the less acidic.

3. What effect did thermal pollution have on water hardness? Explain why this occurred.

Agricultural runoff had the most hardness, when there was more thermal pollution, there was
more hardness, which resulted in less fish and insects in the ecosystem.

4. Which pollution type shows evidence of eutrophication. Explain your reasoning.

Agricultural runoff shows evidence of eutrophication, because there is less oxygen per mg.
5. Which pollution type resulted in the most hypoxic waters? Support this with evidence from
your data.

Agricultural runoff had the lowest oxygen, so it resulted in most hypoxic water.

6. Which aquatic species were not able to tolerate any of the pollution types in the stream?

The aquatic species that were not able to tolerate any of the pollution types in the stream
where The Crayfish, Stonefly, Caddis Fly, Trout, Fingernail Clam, and the Gill Snail.

Making Connections:
Use the lesson content and the results of your lab activity to answer the questions below
in complete sentences.

1. Were the pollution sources in the water quality lab point sources or nonpoint sources?
Explain your reasoning.

It is a nonpoint because it comes from a variety of sources instead of one.

2. Using what you know about macroinvertebrates, explain why some species increased while
others decreased.

Some species react differently to pollutants around them, So some may have left, or died
from the pollutant while others did not.

3. Read both questions below. Answer either one of your choice.

a. What effects, besides death, would you expect to see in aquatic species
exposed to thermal pollution?

I would expect to see damage in larvae or eggs when exposed to thermal

pollution.

b. Pick one of the pollution types in the simulation. How would this pollutant
affect human health?

4. Describe how a pollutant dissolved in surface water can enter an aquifer. Be sure to include
the water cycle's and groundwater's roles in this pollution.

It can enter the aquifer from a man made well. A well that reaches the aquifer. Pollutant that is
dissolved in surface water can enter the aquifer from the well.