ACTIVITY

Lab Worksheet

Hypotheses

Activity 1.

I think that removing water from the well will only slightly change the water level in the reservoir. A reservoir would have a mostly clay bottom which would make water transfer happen very slowly to the aquifer. I think removing water from the well will only slightly lower the level in the reservoir.

Activity 2.

Yes I believe some of the polluted water will enter the groundwater supply from the reservoir. It will be a slow leak into the groundwater supply but it will happen. The water soaked bottom of the reservoir will allow some water to enter the ground water supply.

Activity 3.

I think that both wells will have some pollutants in the water supply. Even though the well on top of a hill is above an impermeable layer the well draws water from below that layer. I think that the fertilizer will be present in both wells.

Observations

Activity 1.

The height of the water table lowered in both wells after removing the water from them. After 2 minutes both wells refilled but at a diminished volume.

Activity 2.

As soon as the pollutant was introduced into the reservoir section it started to spread out over the whole area contaminating all of it but becoming slightly diluted. Testing the wells every minute for 5 min I was able to see small traces of pollutant at the 4 minute mark.

Activity 3.

As soon as I started to simulate rain the Kool-Aid mixed with the water and ran straight into the pond. It mixed quite rapidly and soon contaminated the entire pond. Once I pulled out water from the pond you could see how polluted it was. When I pulled water from the uphill well it contained much smaller amount of the Kool-Aid pollutant.

Photographs

Activity 1.

Activity 2.

Activity 3.

Lab Questions

Please answer the following entirely in your own words and in complete sentences: Introduction

Background—What is important to know about the topic of this lab? Use at least one outside source (other than course materials) to answer this question. Cite the source using APA format. Answers should be 5–7 sentences in length.

During this lab we were exploring how groundwater and surface water interact. This is important because we need to be aware of what we are doing with the water we are using on a daily basis and how that might affect our clean water supply. “As the Nation’s concerns over water resources and the environment increase, the importance of considering ground water and surface water as a single resource has become increasingly evident” ( Winter, et al., 2011, para. 1). By realizing our groundwater and surface water are linked by one continuous loop via the Hydrological cycle, the importance of keeping our water clean is easy to see. If we pollute our surface water and let it reach our groundwater without being properly cleaned we will contaminate large portions of underground water extremely quickly.

Outcomes—What was the main purpose of this lab?

The main purpose of this lab was to see how groundwater and surface water interacted with each other.

Hypotheses—What were your hypotheses for the activities of this lab? Identify each hypothesis clearly, and explain your reasoning.

Activity 1. I think that removing water from the well will only slightly change the water level in the reservoir. A reservoir would have a mostly clay bottom which would make water transfer happen very slowly to the aquifer. I think removing water from the well will only slightly lower the level in the reservoir.

Activity 2. Yes I believe some of the polluted water will enter the groundwater supply from the reservoir. It will be a slow leak into the groundwater supply but it will happen. The water soaked bottom of the reservoir will allow some water to enter the ground water supply.

Activity 3. I think that both wells will have some pollutants in the water supply. Even though the well on top of a hill is above an impermeable layer the well draws water from below that layer. I think that the fertilizer will be present in both wells.

Materials and Methods

Using your own words, briefly describe what materials and methods you used in each of the activities.

Activity 1. I used a plastic container, clay bar, plastic tubes, sand, gravel, 3 straws, tap water, a permanent marker, a pipet, and a foam cup for this experiment. I made a model reservoir and aquifer split by the clay bar, the aquifer was filled with the sand and gravel and 2 plastic tubes were placed to act as wells in the aquifer. I filled the plastic container with water till it was approximately 2 cm above the clay bar, the top of the water represented the water table. I placed a straw in well 1 and placed my thumb over the other end to trap the water inside the straw. I then removed the straw and marked where the water level was. I then used the pipet to remove all the water from the well and stuck the straw back in an measeured the water depth as before and made another mark on the straw, this was to simulate a period of pumping from the well. I then waited 2 minutes and stuck the straw in a third time and made another mark. This experiment demonstrated the effects pumping water from the well has on the water table. I then repeated for the second well.

Activity 2. I was able to reuse my reservoir and aquifer model for this test as well. I drained the model and added a piece of aquarium tubing taped to the side of the reservoir making sure it was not touching the bottom. Then I added clean water to the reservoir until the water level was approximately 2 cm above the clay bar. I took some Kool-Aid mix and mixed it in a cup of water to act as a pollutant. I extracted the “pollutant with a 10ml syringe, connected it to the aquarium tubing in the reservoir and pumped it in. I observed what happened and waited 1 minute, then used a straw as before to check the water in one of the wells for the pollutant. I checked every minute for 5 minutes.

Activity 3. For this experiment I needed to reconfigure my model. I reused the plastic tray aquarium tubing and gravel. On the opposite side of the tray I added another piece of the aquarium tubing at the same depth. I then added sand on the bottom of the tray that was higher on one side then the other. I placed gravel on top of the sand while maintaining the grade I had set with the sand. I molded the clay into a small flat sheet and placed that on the high side of the tray and covered that with sand. At the low end of the tray I dug a small pond in the sand and gravel and filled it with water. I then sprinkled Kool-Aid mix on the area between the clay and the pond. I used the cup from earlier with holes in bottom and simulated rain over the area. I observed what with the Kool-Aid powder and saw it quickly seep into the pond. I waited 30 seconds and used the 10 ml syringe to remove the water from the pond. I then used the syringe to remove the water from the uphill well by connecting it to the aquarium tubing.

Discussion

Based upon the results of each activity, explain whether you accepted or rejected your hypotheses and why.

Activity 1 I accepted my hypotheses because I feel like the experiment showed the reservoir level changed only a little bit but the water in the aquifer showed a diminished volume. Activity 2 I accepted as well because the pollutants seeped thru the reservoir and could be seen in the well. Activity 3 same thing, I feel like the experiment validated my hypothesis.

What important information have you learned from this lab? Use at least one outside source (scholarly for full credit) to answer this question. Cite the source using APA format.

Answers should be 5–7 sentences in length.

I have learned the importance of making sure not to contaminate our ground water. If our surface water is contaminated it does not take long at all for those pollutants to make their way to our ground water. I also learned how wide spread a pollutant in one area can quickly spread to another area via the ground water. People need to make sure to do all they can to keep pollutants suck as oil, chemicals, excess fertilizer and other harmful substances out of our water.

What challenges did you encounter when doing this lab? Name at least one.

The biggest challenge for me was the size of the plastic container that came with the lab kit. I wish it would have been a little longer; I had a hard time trying to get everything laid out exactly the way I wanted it to be for activity 3.

8. How might a scientist use the information in this lab to identify and correct water issues in your community?

A scientist could use this understanding of the relationship between surface and ground water to help pinpoint the source of a pollutant.

Literature Cited

9. List the references you used to answer these questions. (Use APA format, and alphabetize by the last

name.)

Winter, T. Harvey, O. Alley, W. (2013, January 11). Ground Water And Surface Water A Single Resource. USGS. Retrieved from https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1139/