Wyland Oyama

Guided Inquiry Activity Sheet

10/13/2015
Topic How Oil Spills Impact Scientific Research
Grade: 8th
Subject: Nature of Science/Biology
Standard: SC.8.N.4.2
Question: What is the most effective way of removing oil from water?
Materials: (per 2 person group)

1 Small Square Tupperware Bin

Water
2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 ft. Yarn
1 Small Aquatics Net
1 Post-it Note
1 Spoon
(recommended) 1 plastic solo cup for trash

Estimated time for completion: 30-40 minutes

Instructions:
1. Take your small square Tupperware bin and fill it halfway with water.
2. Put 2 tbsp. of oil on top of the water. Take care not to disrupt the oil;
otherwise you will have to wait for the oil to resurface before starting the
activity.
3. Without moving or touching the Tupperware bin, use each tool individually
and write down the pros, cons and approximate oil removed (in a percentage)
for the tool on your given worksheet. Take note of its effectiveness in
removing the oil from the water. If necessary, use the provided solo cup to
dispose of any oil you remove. If any oil was taken out, replace it before
moving on to the next tool (the teacher will have extra oil at the front if
necessary). The order of tools used should proceed as follows ( 5 minutes
per tool):
Yarn
Net
Post-it note
Spoon

4. On a separate sheet of paper, complete the discussion questions at the end

of the worksheet. Each answer should be at least 4-5 sentences.
Guided Inquiry Activity Sheet

TOOLS:
Pros

Cons

Approximate
Amount of Oil
Removed (%)

Yarn

Net

Post-it Note

Spoon

Discussion Questions:
1. Decide with your partner which of these tools should be mass produced to
solve problems like oil spills out in the ocean. Use your data to explain why
you chose this.
2. How would you improve one of the tools to be more effective at removing oil?
3. What two tools do you think would work best if used together? Repeat the
experiment using the two tools in conjunction that you have chosen. Explain
your method and include how much more oil was removed than using each
tool independently.
4. If you could add a tool to the list, what would you choose and why? How
would you use it to be more effective than the existing tools?
5. One strategy we use to quickly remove oil spills from the ocean is to set it on
fire and burn it away. Though this has a negative effect on our environment,
some believe that removing the oil this way is less harmful than letting it
wash to shore or sit in the ocean, and is much more cost effective than
finding a greener solution. Use your data to defend one side of this particular
argument.
6. How do your findings demonstrate how the political, social, or economic
concerns of oil spills affect science, and vice versa?