What affects the quality of the air in my community?
| Investigating the air they actually breathe definitely motivates students in this chemistry unit, used in the Detroit Public Schools. To understand what the air they breathe is like, students examine how pollutants are created and investigate ways to reduce pollution. In the process they develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, and simulate or model the relationships they have discovered. | The curriculum has five phases, each designed to connect the driving question to students’ own experiences.
 | What are the visible signs of air quality? Students begin the Air Quality curriculum by exploring the “awful eight” sources of air pollution (carbon monoxide and toxins, for example). In a walk around their school, students observe local air quality and identify its pollutants. | | Did the rain do this? In this phase, students learn about the states of matter and simulate the chemical and physical properties of air. An acid rain experiment demonstrates the chemical changes that occur through combustion. |
| What is air, anyway? Through a series of experiments, students study the composition of air, the states of matter, the nature of pollutants, and how pollutants travel. | | How are pollutants formed? To answer this question, students investigate one of the major sources of air pollution—car exhaust—using pH sensors. In learning how gasoline changes to exhaust they gain further understanding of the relationships and processes involved in creating pollution. | | How does our air measure up? In the final phase of the unit, students learn how weather patterns affect the amount of pollution in their air. Their fully developed computer models help them test their hypotheses about the quality of Detroit’s air. |
| Students use Model-It to create their models. This program enables them symbolize their hypotheses about the quality of their air, measure and analyze the factors that contribute to it, and run simulations to demonstrate how air quality might change over time. The curriculum also makes use of the chemical visualization tool called eChem. You can download eChem here
| | Check here for hardware requirements. Contact Steve Best at 734-647-2975 or Deborah Peek Brown at 313-596-0113 to learn more about software and curriculum materials.
| Be sure to visit the Air Quality unit's Project Site, where you can read more about the curriculum and download curriculum lessons.
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