Alexa Leach Grade 10 Science Dr.

Hudson-Lamb Exploring the Water Cycle and its effect on the Environment

Table of Contents: LO1 Design Plan (pg 3) Forms of Communication: Practical Investigation (pg 4-7) o Aim o Hypothesis o Variables o Apparatus o Method o Diagram o Observation o Results o Analysis of results o Interpretation o Conclusion o Evaluation LO2 Constructing and Applying Scientific Knowledge (based on questions) (pg 8) LO3 Essay based on research and various ecological, indigenous and technological arguments to ensure sustainability continentally and globally (pg 9-11) Bibliography (pg 12) Rubric

LO1 Design Plan This experiment is used to determine the effect that rain has on soil that is bare and soil that is covered, with regards to the later effects on the rest of the water cycle. Place 2 2litre bottles and remove the top of them, placing a few equal amount of holes at the bottom of each bottle. Take the tops of the bottles and place them underneath the bottle, in order to catch any water that comes through the bottom. Place a small tube into the side near the top of each bottle and that into a beaker to catch the water that runs off the soil. Place an equal amount of soil into each bottle, one with covering and one with bare soil, making sure they both weigh an equal amount. Use about 6 cups of soil, more or less, as long as each has an equal amount. Take another plastic bottle and make holes at the bottom in order to form simulated rain. Hold the bottle above one of the bottles of soil and pour a cup (250ml) of water into the bottle so that it pours on the soil. Measure the amount of water runoff and measure the amount of water that has poured through the soil into the bottom. Repeat this step with the other container of soil and record your results. This will give a clear indication as to whether bare soil does in fact affect our water cycle negatively or not.

Scientific Investigation

Aim: To determine the effects of rain, and the water cycle on bare soil and covered soil in terms of runoff water and the amount filtered through and how this affects the water cycle afterwards.

Hypothesis: If you put simulated rain on various soils, covered and bare, then there will be more runoff water of the bare soil as there is no foliage to catch the water, as well as very little water will filter through the bare soil as most of the water has been washed away.

Variables Independent: Types of soil (covered and bare) Dependent: The amount of water runoff (ml) and the amount of water filtered through (ml) Constant: Same amount of soil in each bottle, same amount of water used as simulated rain, the same placement of the runoff pipe in relation to the soil level, same type and shape of bottles used, same type of soil used

Apparatus: 2 2 litre plastic bottles 1 small plastic bottle 2 rubber/plastic tubes (approximately 20cm) Sharp blade/knife to make holes and cut plastic 2 measuring beakers 2 cups of water (500ml) Large bag of soil Soil covering (mulch/dead plant matter)

Diagram of the apparatus as set up for the investigation (See next page) 4

Method: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Cut the tops off of 2 2litre bottles. Pierce several small holes in the bottom of each bottle Place the tops of the bottles at the bottom of each bottle Cut a hole near the top of the open side of the bottle and place the tube in there. Fill one bottle up with about 6 cups of soil and the other bottle with 5 cups of soil and a cup of ground covering (so each bottle has more or less the same amount in each and same height) 6. Place a beaker beneath each of the tubes 7. Take the small bottle and place holes in the bottom and hold over one of the soils 8. Pour a cup of water into the bottle and let the water drip onto the soil to simulate rain 9. Wait until all the water has poured onto the soil 10. Leave it to soak for 5 minutes 11. Measure the amount of runoff of water in the beaker 12. Measure the amount of water that has poured through the soil, to the bottom of the bottle 13. Record your results 14. Repeat steps 8-12 on the other container with soil Observation: Bare soil: There was a lot of runoff water and it ran off very fast, and the water was very dirty and had a lot of soil in the water. No water filtered through to the bottom of the bottom. Covered soil: There was about half as much runoff water as with the bare soil. The runoff water was also much cleaner than the bare soil, with little soil and dirt in the water. Some water did filter through the soil and collected at the bottom.

Results: Table showing the results of water filtration and runoff on bare soil and covered soil Amount of runoff water (ml) Bare Soil Covered Soil 224 138 Amount of water filtered through soil (ml) 0 11 Colour of runoff water

Dark brown (high soil content in water) Light brown (little soil in water)

Analysis of results:

Interpretation: The bare soil can replicate the soil that has been mishandled in real life. This can occur due to bad farming techniques, lack of nutrients in the soil or over grazing. This is very harmful to our water cycle as the lack of foliage creates mass runoff, which causes the nutrient-enriched topsoil to be washed away and also prevents water from sinking into the ground and transporting nutrients and collecting in order to form underground springs and waterfalls, which play a very important part in our water cycle as this is how the water is stored, cleaned and transported to dams and such.

Conclusion: I prove my hypothesis correct. Due to the lack of soil covering with the bare soil, most of the water drained off the surface of the soil (224ml), and with no foliage present, washed away a lot of the top soil with the water. Due to most of the water running off the top, very little of the water sank into the soil, transporting water and nutrients, and therefore no water was collected at the bottom of the bottle. Whereas with the covered soil, the foliage and dead plant matter on top of the soil, caused much less run off of the water (138ml), and then more water sank into the soil, creating water collecting at the bottom of the bottle (11ml), which in real life would be underground springs forming and transportation of nutrients in the soil.

Evaluation: I believe the experiment went very well. Although it may be a very simple experiment, the harmful effects can be seen in our everyday life and we need to help stop this from happening. In order for a more accurate test, I would have done several samples instead of just one. I would have also used several soil types, such as bare soil, mulch covered soil, desert soil, grass covered soil, etc. However, this experiment was simple, easy, and fair and had clear readings in order to draw many conclusions from it.

LO2 Constructing and Applying Scientific Knowledge

1.1 Water changing phases in a water cycle is a physical change as the chemical composition of the water is not changing. 1.2 The force of pressure which leads to energy and change in temperature determines the phase of water 1.3.1 Liquid in gas: evaporation (when water from a lake evaporates due to the sun into the atmosphere) 1.3.2 Gas in liquid: condensation (when it rains or snows) 1.3.3 Solid in gas: sublimation (dry ice) 2. In South Africa, water from the water cycle can be stored in many places, such as dams, reservoirs or underground, like in the Gariep Dam which is located on the Orange River between the Eastern Cape to the south and the Free State to the north, 30km north east of Colesburg for example. We can also store water in the Katse Dam in Lesotho which is an arch dam. We can also store water in Berg River Dam in Franschhoek in the Western Cape. 3. Lake Tahoe and Lake Superior are main water reservoirs of fresh water on earth. 4. The water crosses the land to get into the oceans by either underground springs or the water from lakes flow into rivers and the rivers or seas feed into the oceans. The water can also be evaporated and then rained down so that the water pours into the ocean. 5. The main source of energy in the water cycle is the sun and its solar radiation. 6. Transpiration is the process in which water vapor is lost through the stomata of the leaves of a plant. In general, transpiration is the exchange of gases or vaporization. 7. I think most of the transpiration on earth will occur in the Amazon due to the high temperatures, humidity, near water and as most plant life occurs there.

LO3

Water is one of the worlds most precious resources. It is the basis of all life on earth. Scientific and technological development has impacted on our environment, both negatively and positively. Looking back to our indigenous roots, we have the power to protect our water and ensure a sustainable way of living for generations to come. If we look to our indigenous people, such as the Khoi San, live in harmony with nature and our surroundings .They pose no threat our environment, wildlife or vegetation. South Africa however, has many cultural differences and viewpoints. But all of our indigenous people have one mindset, and that is to protect our land. Today we create dams and boreholes which destroy our environment in order to store water for drinking. The San are clever people, in order to store water they collect water from nearby streams and lakes and store them in ostrich shells and bury them deep below the sandy terrain. This keeps the water cool, clean and does not affect the vegetation surrounding them. Our native people treat water as a gift sent from their God. It seems that nowadays in modern society with technology involved, people take water for granted if they have ready access to it. What people fail to realize is that water is a renewable source if taken care of. The San believe that water is very valuable; they had to thank their God for it, and therefore performed rain dances to the Gods, proving how much they valued it. The San use very simple and basic methods in order to purify water. They either boil the water, which is more of a recent development, or they place the water in a container full of stones and let it filter through. This is the basis of the water purification we use today. Their knowledge formed the basis for the technological knowledge we have today. We need to use holistic approaches to looking after our water so that it can improve the quality of life for all humans. Many people do not have access to potable water and this method could be a chance to fix that problem. Distributing water throughout the world is a major concern. We have to create man-made dams and reservoirs, along with underground piping in order to transport water to the city and all the people living there. Sadly many places in the world do not have the money to build such large infrastructures or pipes as it can be very costly. Building such structures has its advantages and disadvantages. A project like this could be very good as it will provide potable water to more communities and create many job opportunities. This is very important as much of our country does not have basic resources like water, and we have an unemployment rate of over 25%. 9

However, in order for a project like this to happen, much of the natural environment will have to be destroyed and many people could lose their homes in the process. An example of this is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, in which dams and reservoirs needed to be built because people were living without water, and this in itself is morally wrong and a human rights infringement. However, many homes were destroyed in the process and many animals lost their habitat, posing a new moral threat. Science and technology has helped with human development as these people can now have access to potable water. It has impacted positively in that regard, but impacts negatively with regards to basic living for these people and the biological ecosystem around them. This has not only developed with regards to socio-economical development, as water transmitted disease potential like cholera, has been reduced. People have been employed and are benefitting our country. This applies to us in everyday life, not only with transportation of water to our households and our personal responsibility to conserve water, but to be aware of problems, such as the poisoning of our underground water due to mining. We need to personally take responsibility along with scientific and technological development and preserve the resources that we have left. Pollution poses a major risk to the sustainability to our water resources. Carbon emissions, waste products, amongst others have caused most of the water we could drink to become undrinkable. The problem now it is too late to repair the damage without paying large amounts of money. We can prevent this by happening, by placing filters on large factory towers. This is however very expensive and will not reverse the damage. New technological developments have combined hydro-electric plants, which produce electricity without harming the environment, and have placed filters onto them in order to purify water as it flows to sea. This is beneficial to many communities as they can now use that water for drinking. This process is however dangerous to our environment as fish may get caught in the systems and die. Many other ways environmentally friendly was of producing electricity have been implemented in South Africa, such as wind turbines, tidal turbines, solar panels, etc. Many of these are good for the environment as they produce electricity effectively without burning any fossil fuels. However, it can pose a threat to wildlife and most of these can affect the local communities negatively like wind turbines which make a lot of noise. It is very important for us to use these methods of making electricity, recycle, protect our water and wildlife and preserve a healthy environment as this makes way for sustainable living. By saving our natural non-renewable resources like coal, we will not only limit water pollution, but also save enough for our future

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generations. We need to use our available resources, like greywater for example, and use it in order to create a sustainable living in which we can keep our earth going for thousands of years. Our environment is degrading fast, and if we do not act soon, we will not even have a world to save. As mentioned in the information above, our water cycle plays a vital role in sustaining our earth and everyone who lives on it. We need to look to our indigenous people and the people who live off the land and see how we can provide a holistic approach to preserving our resources. We need to look at our local communities and economy so that we can incorporate our advancing technological and scientific developments in order to benefit our people and make the world a better place.

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References: Anderson, H. 2010. Dams in South Africa. Borehole Water Association (online). Available: http://www.bwa.co.za/Articles/DAMS%20IN%20SOUTH%20AFRICA. pdf Chieh, C. 2008. Phases Gas, Liquid and Solid. Waterloo Science (online). Available: http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c123/phases.html Donovan, P. 2010. Ecosystem processes: the water cycle. Managing Wholes (online). Available: http://managingwholes.com/eco-watercycle.htm Lesotho Water Project. 2011. International Rivers (online). Available: http://www.internationalrivers.org/africa/lesotho-water-project Phases and Equilibrium. 2009. ITL (online). Available: http://itl.chem.ufl.edu/2041_u99/lectures/lec_f.html Reed, D. 2009. Hydrosphere Atmosphere Interactions. University of California Museum of Paleontology (online). Available: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/dynamic/session4/sess4_hy droatmo1.htm The Remarkable Khoi and San people of the Past. 2010. Encounter South Africa (online). Available: http://www.encounter.co.za/article/49.html The Remarkable Khoi and San people, first know inhabitants of South Africa. 2008. South Africa Tours and Travel (online). Available: http://www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com/san-people.html The Water Cycle: Transpiration. 2011.USGS (online). Available: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycletranspiration.html

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