Introduction: "Exploring Aquifers"
Time Frame: Two 45-minute class periods
Grade Level(s): 6th-12th
Academic Question(s):
- What is groundwater?
- Where are the major Texas aquifers located?
- Why are these aquifers located where they are?
Objective:To identify the location of 9 major aquifers in Texas
Key Terms: substrate, porosity, permeability, groundwater, zone of saturation, water table, and dissolution
Lesson One: "Geology of Aquifers"
Time Frame: Five 45-minute class periods
Grade Level(s): 6th-12th
Academic Question(s):
- What are the parts of an aquifer?
- How much water does an aquifer hold?
- Are all aquifer water usable?
Objective(s):
- To identify the major components of an aquifer
- To learn to measure water storage in an aquifer
- To evaluation water quality in an aquifer
Key Terms: water table, zone of aeration, zone of saturation, bedrock, carbonate, impervious layer, confining layer, artesian springs, sinkhole, faults, permeable layer, water bearing layer, contributing zone, recharge zone, confined zone, storage capacity, salinity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), estaurine, parts per million (ppm), serial dilution, desalinization
Lesson Two: "Water Flow in Aquifers"
Time Frame: Two 45-minute class periods
Grade Levels: 6th-12th
Academic Question(s):
- How does water move through an aquifer?
- What ways does water enter and leave the aquifer?
- How much time does water spend in an aquifer?
Objective(s):
- To understand the movement of water through an aquifer
- To understand how and why water storage in an aquifer changes over time
Key Terms: cohesion, adhesion, capillary action, Pascal's principle, Bernouli's principle, bouyant forces, specific gravity, diffuse recharge, sinkholes, losing streams, well pumps, artesian wells, residency time
Lesson Three: "Watersheds and Aquifers"
Time Frame: Five days of 45-minute class periods
Grade Levels: 6th-12th
Academic Questions:
- What is a watershed?
- How does water move across a watershed and into an aquifer?
- What are the origins, amounts, and quality of water in a watershed?
Objectives
- To understand what a watershed is
- To understand the relationship between a watershed and an aquifer
Key Terms: aquifer, watershed, topography, recharge zones, and drought
Lesson Four: "Water Uses of Aquifers"
Time Frame: Two 45-minute class periods
Grade Levels: 6th-12th
Academic Questions:
- Who uses aquifer water?
- What human activities depend on water in an aquifer?
- What plant and animal species rely on aquifers?
- How does groundwater compare with surface water for use?
Objectives
- To understand the importance of aquifers to living things
- To understand the importance of aquifers to the water supply of Texas
Key Terms: aquifer, municipal use
Lesson Five: “Threats to Aquifer Water”
Time Frame: Three 45-minute class periods
Grade Levels: 6th-12th
Academic Questions:
- What is the impact of pumping on aquifers?
- How does pollution impact aquifers?
- How do droughts impact aquifers?
Objectives
- To understand the movement of water through an aquifer
- To understand the threats to water quantity and quality within an aquifer by human activities
- To understand the threats to water quality and quantity within an aquifer by non human activities
- To understand the relationship between a watershed and an aquifer
- To understand the importance of aquifers to the water supply of Texas
Key Terms: precipitation rates, municipal use, drawdown, subsidence, MTBE, contaminants, filtration, nonpoint pollution, droughts, rain harvesting
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