Today we extended our classroom work on watersheds with a visit to the Water Treatment Plant.
Kim & Kelly were our hosts and our teachers at the plant. Thank you, both! The students learned that after the screenhouse removes large objects from our drinking water, the next step is the addition of alum and a polymer to raw, screened water to help the filter tanks remove small particulates.
We saw the filter tanks up close, made models of the filter process and even used our own filters to clean up real water. We then tested for the proper pH using controlled quantities and color from the RCI (Red Cabbage Indicator). Just last week we learned to multiply any number by ten and when it comes to pH, multiplying by factors of ten allowed us to discover that lemon juice, with a pH of 2, is a million times more acidic than our drinking water! And that ammonia, with a pH of 13, is almost one hundred thousand times more base (alkaline).
Thank you for your support of our class and this learning opportunity. A really special thanks to parents (and extended parent) Colleen, Veronica, and Lili for being able to join us on such short notice. Next week... the Wastewater Treatment Plant!
Sincerely,
Mr Larrison
