Lesson 2: A Day in the Life of Bottled Water
Students will find out how natural resources like oil are used to bring bottled water to their school.
OBJECTIVE
Science Goal: Students will learn about natural resources and fossil fuels.
Math Goal: Students will use math skills to solve a series of word problems.
MATERIALS
A Day In the Life of Bottled Water Lesson Printable 2 (PDF), pen or pencil
DIRECTIONS
1. Ask: Raise your hand if you drink bottled water. Do you recycle the bottles when you are finished? Do you think that new plastic bottles can be made from recycled bottles? (No, but they are used to make fleece and carpets). Discuss whether there is another way you can get water. Instruct students to raise their hands if they feel drinking bottled water is an environmentally wise choice. Count the number of hands in the air and write it on the board so you can refer to it later in the lesson.
2. Explain that a natural resource, oil, is used to make plastic, including plastic water bottles. A natural resource is something found in nature that is valuable to humans, such as forests, wildlife, or water.
3. Tell students they are going to explore the life cycle of a plastic water bottle. On the board, sketch the following steps, discussing each as you move along:
•Oil is extracted from the ground and sent to a refinery to be converted into petroleum.
•The petroleum is shipped to a factory to be made into plastic bottles.
•The empty bottles are sent to the water source to be filled.
•The bottled water is shipped great distances to stores all over the world, where it can be purchased.
•The empty bottle is either put in the trash or recycled.
Using the Printable:
4. Ask: What do you think are some of the environmental costs involved in creating water bottles? On the board, make a list that includes items such as:
•Extracting oil from the ground can contaminate water supplies and disrupt wildlife.
•Transporting bottled water contributes to global warming and air pollution.
•Throwing away empty plastic water bottles (instead of recycling them) sends plastic to landfills where it takes 500–1,000 years to biodegrade.
5. Ask: Since oil is a fossil fuel with limited supply, is there a wiser way to use oil than in the manufacturing of water bottles? Using oil to provide energy to homes and cars could be a wiser choice.
6. Distribute A Day in the Life of Bottled Water Lesson Printable 2 (PDF) . Instruct students to solve the math problems alone or in pairs. Review the answers as a class.
7. Ask: Has your opinion about bottled water changed? Why or why not? What are some alternatives? Discuss the benefits of carrying a reusable, refillable water bottle as an easy and effective way to reduce plastic waste.
8. Ask: Would you drink tap water? Why or why not? (negative answers may include taste and worries about cleanliness. Explain that tap water in the United States is tested every day to make sure it is very clean and safe, but it can sometimes still taste funny. This funny taste may come from the chlorine that is added to kill the bacteria or from metals that are picked up from the pipes along the way. Many people use water filters to get rid of this funny taste so that they can enjoy the clean tap water that comes straight to their homes without creating more plastic trash and harming the environment.
Extending the Lesson to Home:
1. Ask students to look at their results from the Tracking Your Trash Activity Printable 1 (PDF).
2. Distribute The Plastic Plan Activity Printable 2 (PDF) and help students create a plastic-waste-reduction action plan to implement at home.
3. Ask students to help their families follow through on their action plan. Provide students with a new copy of Tracking Your Trash Activity Printable 1 (PDF) to track the results of the action plan for one day. Have students bring back the results to share.
Answers to Lesson Printable 2:
1. a) 2,900 miles b) 20,300 gallons c) $81,200.00
2. a) $30.00 b) $20.00 c) 4 times
ARTICLE
UNIT PLAN
ONLINE ACTIVITY
