Pollution Review

What might be the BEST question to ask to determine the source of pollution in the river?

• Where do the storm drains come from?

• What kind of animals live in the river?

• How many cars travel the road?

• What does the factory make?

A student was collecting trash in the local park. He sorted and weighed the trash that he collected.

Which question could the student ask to determine which trash could cause harm or not harm the environment?

• Which trash can break down over time?

• Which trash is most used by humans?

• Which trash will smell the worst?

• Which trash weighs the most?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Krista is doing a research project to determine the effects of a new factory on the quality of the air in the city and the water in the surrounding lake. Below are a list of questions Krista has created to ask. Choose the TWO BEST questions Krista should ask.

• Does the factory recycle?

• How much smoke does the factory create?

• How often does the factory get cleaned?

• Where does the factory dump their waste water?

• How many people work at the factory?

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

Heba is taking notes while doing research on the environment. Below are her notes.

List A

Litter from surrounding park

Factory wastewater Chemical runoff from fertilizer

List B

Blocks the sunlight so plants cannot grow

Makes the fish sick

Turtles get sick and die

What question could Herba ask to further understand the two lists she created?

• What are different types of pollution that impact local environments?

• What type of pollution will block sunlight for plants?

• Does exhaust from vehicles cause pollution?

• How do factories affect the environment?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Air pollution is a problem for plants and animals in Georgia. What question could a student ask to understand air pollution further?

• Does littering cause damage to Georgia’s ecosystem?

• Can exhaust from a vehicle cause complications for the ecosystem?

• What will happen to the plants and animals in a lake if chemicals are dumped?

• How does construction with building new neighborhoods affect plant and animal homes?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Use the image to answer the question.

What might be the BEST question to ask to determine the effect of pollution in the river?

• Who is responsible for cleaning up all of the trash?

• How long has the trash been building up in the river?

• Are there any animals who have lost their lives after eating plastic?

• Did this build up over time or is there a landfill nearby that is dumping plastic?

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Cameron and his sister like to go fishing with their dad on the weekends. They fish at a lake that is downstream from a factory. One Saturday they went to the lake to go fishing and they found that the lake was full of dead fish and had a sign that said “NO SWIMMING.” Using your understanding of the impact of humans on the environment, which was the most likely cause for the dead fish and the “NO SWIMMING” sign at the lake?

• Too many people fished at the lake, so the fish lost their source of food which caused the fish to die.

• People threw a lot of trash into the lake, which made the fish die and the water unsafe for swimming.

• Too many people were swimming in the water, which made the water too dirty for the fish to live in.

• Pollution from the factory upstream caused the fish to die and made the water unsafe for swimming.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

Victor has noticed that many of the roads in his town are covered with litter. Most of it is from fast food, including paper bags, and soda cups. What conclusion can Victor make about the impact the litter will have on the environment?

• The trash won’t be re-used or recycled.

• All the trash will make the town smell bad.

• Animals may think it is food and try to eat the trash.

• Wind may blow the trash in front of the cars, which could cause accidents.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

Rebecca looked out the window one morning and took a picture of what she saw.

What could have cause this appearance and how could it impact animals and plants that live in the area.

• There is a lot of air pollution that could be from transportation and local factories. Plants and animals may struggle to survive with complications with breathing.

• There is a lot of air pollution that could be from chemicals spilled in the water. Plants and animals may struggle to survive with toxic chemicals.

• There is some air pollution that is from vehicles in the city. Plants and animals will be fine because air pollution is common in cities.

• There are a lot of vehicles in the city that create a smokey effect, but it is not pollution since you cannot physically touch it.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

A person driving a car throws a plastic water bottle out of the window. Will this plastic bottle affect the environment? Which answer and its explanation is the best to explain what might happen?

• It will affect the river because it will roll into the storm drain which leads to the rivers and streams. It will never break down or decompose.

• It will not affect the environment because it will be washed away by the rain into the storm drain which leads underground.

• It will affect only the land because it will stay on the road until someone cleans it up.

• It will not affect the environment because the bottle will break down or decompose.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS1-3