I.P.S. “ F.S CABRINI “ TAAnno scol. 2009/10

ISTITUTO PROFESSIONALE DI STATO“ F. S. CABRINI “

a.sc. 2009/10

COMENIUS 1.1 “ RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS THROUGH SCIENTIFIC

KNOWLEDGE”

WATER SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY

The purpose of this educational activity ,based on visual and operational approaches, was to arouse interest and curiosity in the students to make them understand how nature should be lived, studied and experienced working on the field with the tools and scientific data (in the classroom and laboratory and on the textbook)

THEORY BOX PROPERTIES OF WATER

• It 'a good solvent that can dissolve many ionic compounds facilitating all biochemical reactions. It has a thermoregulatory function for the body and environment (it makes the climate mild and helps to maintain constant body temperature) due to its high specific heat

•It has a high boiling point (in the absence of hydrogen bonds the water bubbles at 100 ° C but to several tens of degrees below zero and at room temperature would be reflected to the vapor state) acts as insulation from the solid state has lower density of liquid water, and when the temperature drops below 0 ° C ice forms on the surface, creating a blanket that insulates the water below allowing the life of aquatic organisms

WATER LABORATORY 1• To see if our students are able to

perceive a different taste between tap water and bottled water we gave them the opportunity to show their skills by organizing a tasting "in the dark" of two brands of mineral water and tap water.

• The pupils were invited to taste water from anonymous bottles, since the only tool for analyzing was their taste. Students gave a score (from 6 to 10) and the results were tabulated in the table

ALUNNI

15%

18%

67%

AMATA

ACQUA RUBINETTO

S.MARIA DEGLI ANGELI

Water:How much water do you use in your home during a

year?• A survey was made into

some classes to calculate the average consumption of water for domestic use. For the recording of data the students have completed a questionairre to define not only the type of family and place of residence but patterns related to the use of common household and personal hygiene.

• The students have monitored the weekly consumption of water through the meter reading it from the month of November to January.

In the first six weeks the quantity of water consumption related to the normal needs of family life was recorded.

• In the next six weeks we recorded the quantity of water consumption related to a more rational use, by applying some rules set by the handbook for saving water.

N° componenti

famiglia

N°vani N°lavaggi

in lavatrice

a settimana

N°lavaggi in

lavastoviglie

a settimana

N°docce

a settimana

N°bagni

a settimana

Presenza

di un

giardino

Consumo

medio

giornaliero

di acqua

in litri pro

capite

5 13 9

7 15 2 si 572

4 6 8

7 16 7 no 332

4 7 10

0 6 0 no 275

3 5 5

0 7 6 no 253

5 6 8

0 0 10 no 190

5 7 5

7 10 0 no 180

5 3 4

0 11 0 no 150

4 4 5

0 4 0 no 107

4 5 4

0 6 0 no 70

3 3 3

0 4 0 no 40

DATA

Campione

Consumo idrico in litri

25 % 65

15 % 123

35 % 172

15 % 287

10 % 571

Campione Risparmio idrico

14 % 12 %

21 % 37 %

29 % 44%

7% 56 %

7% 68 %

22 % 0 %

DATA• We observed that the

average daily consumption of 195 litres is very close to the average daily consumption of Italian people which is of 180-190 litres.

• It was noticed that 15% had a consumption equal to 1 / 3 of the national average, 50% is approaching 10% while for some families water consumption is actually three times higher.It is noted that 80% of housewives saved an average of 94 litres of water each per day.

CONCLUSIONS• The analysis of the results

obtained shows that we were able to achieve our objective because 79% of families sampled learnt water savings.

• We believe we have contributed significantly to create awareness that water is a precious resource and as such must be respected and not waste

Is the water quality good all year around? Taste, smell, colour, micro-organisms (bacteria, amoebas)?

Who guarantees us the quality of the water that comes into our homes?

• Drinkable water is regulated by Presidential Decree n.236/1988 and legislative decrees n.31/2001 and n.27/2002, according to European Directives, which have imposed very strict requirements.

• The regulations governing drinkable water impose limits on the presence of toxic substances ;this is the case of two pollutants: arsenic and manganese.

• Water from aqueducts has already taken with the DL 31/01.

• “ No water, even if taken directly from the source, may, by law, be defined and be used for drinking water supply, if it contains bacteria, ammonia or nitrogen compounds”.

• This is because in the seas, lakes and rivers, considerable quantities of waste are downloaded every day : when pollution reaches the underground aquifer, it could pollute the water we all drink. If it is contaminated by harmful substances must be purified to become potable.

• . The purification is achieved by holding the water in large tanks so that the majority of substances are deposited on the bottom and then appropriately filtered. After these treatments, it should be sterilized to kill germs that may still be present.

• Especially chlorine is used for this purpose

Study visit to the Apulian Acqueduct

• A long story of one hundred year: in 1906 the works of the largest aqueduct in Europe were begun, one of the largest in the world. Today, the FPA has a network of 15 thousand kilometers, supplying 237 municipalities, serving four million people and has a cumulative reach of over 19 thousand liters per second On 22 March, in the World Water Day,the apulian acqueduct celebrated the first centenary.

• Our water is supplied to us dall'AQP. Every day, chemical and bacteriological laboratory staff by the region Apulia, check the purity of the water we drink. They take samples from the sources, wells, from public fountains, analyze them in the eight central and peripheral laboratories (Bari, Taranto, Brindisi, Lecce, Foggia,

• Vieste, Matera and Potenza), and those ones present at the five plants potable (Fortore, Sinn, Pertusillo, Montalbano Ionic and Camastra

• From the data supplied to us by the laboratory in Taranto of AQP we see that our water is as good as mineral water.

Visit to the Palace of Apulian Acqueduct AQP Bari (11/02/2010)

• The building, located in Via Cognetti, in Bari, with its imposing structure symbolizes the great enterprise that brought water in Apulia.• Designed by Ing. Cesare Brunetti it is embellished by precious furnishing and by the works of D. Cambellotti.• A true museum of water where each element is linked to this molecule.

• • Arches, channels, waves are the main theme of the shapes of decorative ceilings, handles, wall frescoes ... ... ... ... ... ... ....• antique photos, vintage instruments and the careful reconstruction of a chemical laboratory of the early 30's, bring visitors back in time.

Historical instruments• A chemical laboratory of the early 30s has been rebuilt on

the ground floor with antique photos and old instruments

How is waste water treated? Visit to the Center for Water Treatment "Bellavista" Ta

(27/02/2010)• The Centre is made up of a set of ponds in which, through

physical, chemical and biological processes ,contaminants are removed from wastewater coming from the industrial area of Taranto

Primary wastewater treatment

• Primary treatment: it is used to remove from water these pollutants that can be removed by physical processes (grilling, sand etc)• The waste material is sent to landfills • Secondary

• It provides a significant contribution to the slurry of oxygen for the growth of microorganisms that break down organic matter. The oxygen is released through turbines or porous tubes immersed in tanks and fed from compressors

The water after purification• After treatments , the

water, now free of contamination, is poured into the sea

Treatment of other sludge The excess sludge undergoes

treatment for dehydration and drying, and it is removed from the landfill.

Affection on environment?

Chemical analysis of Mar piccolo waters

The training was born from the need to understand the impact of waste waters coming from industries .So

we collected information from the "natural environment" of our territory: the sea of Taranto

• The Mar Piccolo can be called a "lake sea" due to both the conformation and the contribution of surface freshwater hypogean .

• It is rich in salts that make the environment highly eutrophic and with biogenetic capacity.

• Furthermore, the water temperature, ranging from 14 ° C to 29 ° C, allows a continuous production of plankton that feeds the various levels of the food chain.

The dominant feature of the Mar Piccolo is the presence of several systems for rearing mussels that is favoured by environmental conditions thanks to the numerous underwater springs, the” citri”,

The purpose of this teaching/ learning experience was to make

students understand how knowledge of chemical - physical parameters on the abiotic component of our marine environment is crucial for the understanding of the distribution of the biotic component.

The main physical-chemical parameters of seawater

OBJECTIVES:• Arouse the interest of students.• develop scientific skills• develop skills of observation of

a phenomenon starting from physical contact with their environment

METHODOLOGY : simple laboratory experiments

that can also be made in the ordinary classrooms

CONTENTS: Monitoring of environmental

parameters of water in Mar Piccolo

PHASES OF WORK : (Little Sea at about 200m from shore) elemental analysis of a sample of sea water

• Dip a bottle for 30'''Empty quickly soak for 3' to reach thermal equilibrium

• Immerse the thermometer and measure the temperature

• Immerse the bottle, take a sample from the surface, take it immediately in the laboratory and test within 24 h

• Determine :pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients

METHODS USED

• Measuring pH with pH meter whose principle is based on determination of the fem between a glass electrode and a reference electrode immersed in the solution to be measured. You must read three times and average values.

• Measurement of salinity with a conductivity: Conductivity measures are specific to the determination of ion in solution, revealing the total salinity. That parameter was determined by immersing a conductivity cell Conductivity in the sample and reading the values as mS / cm

Temperature measurements at sea, with the mercury thermometer

RESULTS The measured

temperature is equal to 18.8 ° C.

The pH value was equal to 8.13

The value of conductivity is 49.5 mS / cm dissolved oxygen value is equal to 4.7 mg / l value of 'N ammonia is <1 mg / l N.

The value nitrous is <0.5 mg / l of nitrate value is <1 mg / l

Referente del progetto : Ada . A. Iannotta

•M. Lo Savio, •M. Schirano, , •A.Greco, •F. La Neve, •L.Laterza. •L. Cusumano,,

•Classi:•I A O.CB •IB O.G.B•II A O.CB•II B O.C.B•II B O.G.B•II C EAT,•III A O.C.B•IV A T.C.B •IV B T.C. B•VD T.S.T•III A O.C.A.