Activities: "Stop Pointless Personal Pollution"

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

For Grades 6 - 8

Stop Pointless Personal Pollution! (Full Article)(PDF) (2 pp, 2.5MB)

Stop Pointless Personal Pollution! (Activity Sheets)(PDF) (12 pp, 744K)

Exercises:

Exercise I. Create an Adopt-A-Street Program in Your 'Hood'

Exercise II. The Superior Car Wash

Exercise III. A Suburban Bacterial Dilemma

Exercise IV. Phosphates in Your Water

Objectives:

This is a set of exercises based on some of the topics addressed in the accompanying article. They emphasize personal participation and creation of a program. In Exercise I, students are encouraged to take charge of their environment through an Adopt-A-Street program. Exercise 2 is a problem that uses math interpretation to lead students to think about a more water-conservative strategy for car washing. In particular, students are asked to work with fractions. The third exercise uses a case study to evoke thought and discussion among students about pet sources of bacteria in densely populated areas. The last exercise is a lab experiment that leads students into thinking about the effects of phosphates from household fertilizers and detergents on their waterways.