Activities Phase One Phase Three Phase Two Phase Four

 

Did you know?
*	There is the same amount of water on earth now as there was when the earth was formed. The water you drink from your tap could be the same water that dinosaurs drank millions of years ago!!
*	If 100 litres represents the world's water, less than 1/2 a teaspoon of it is fresh water available for our use.
*	One third of the world's population is already facing problems due to both water shortage and poor drinking water quality.
*	Global water consumption has risen by almost tenfold since 1900.
*	The Snowy River has been reduced to about 1 % of its original flow.

For more amazing water facts

Phase One

Resources (available to download)

Data Template	Usage Record Sheet	Water Use Estimation Guide
Template (.xls)	Record Sheet (.pdf)	Estimation Guide (.pdf)

 

Quiz.

No.	Question	Answer
1	Name the driest continent on Earth.
2	What percentage of all the water in the world is fresh water?
3	Approximately how many litres of water does the average Melbourne household flush down the toilet?
4	What is made up of more water - chickens, potatoes or tomatoes?
5	What is the chemical composition of water?
6	How many litres of water does it take to process a hamburger, french fries and a soft drink?
7	How much of your body is made up of water?
8	Which country has more water per capita than any other nation?
9	How long can a person live without water?
10	By how much does water expand when it freezes?

Answers ( no peeking until finished)

Discussion:

Why Save Water?

The amount of water used in an average Australian home is increasing. This is a problem because we do not have an unlimited supply of water. We need to look at ways of reducing the amount of water we use in the home.

What do we use water for?

Study the graph and consider how Australians use their water.

 

What percentage of Australia's water is used by households?

Explain how the other areas of water consumption would contribute to the goods and services used every day in your household.

Could these be considered as indirect household uses of water.

Ask your family if they would like to be involved in a survey about water consumption. Because this takes a week, involves every member of your family, you'll need to have all members of your family on side.

Now, list all the direct ways you use water at home.

Which of these do you think consume the most water?
Why?
Which do you think use the least amount of water?

So that we can compare water usage between households and schools the information you collect must be entered onto the spreadsheet provided. Look at the spreadsheet now so that you know what information you need to collect.

There are many ways that you can measure how much water you use at home. You could take a reading of your water meter at the beginning of the week and then again at the end. If you subtract the first reading from the second, you will get a reading of how much water has been used in your household for the week. But this will not tell you how you used the water.

As a class, discuss ways in which you can collect data on water consumption in your house.

Problem	Clues/Activities
How can you measure water usage in the shower? How can you measure how much water is used if you brush your teeth with the water running? How can you measure water consumption if you wash dishes with the water running? How much water does one toilet flush use?	Turn on the shower. Place a 5 litre bucket under the shower head. Time how long it takes to fill. (e.g. 20 seconds: 5l/.2 = 25l/min) Now you try!
How can you measure the amount of water used in appliances such as a washing machine? How about the dishwasher?	Do you have the Appliance Guide? This might give you the answer. You may be able to measure the water coming out of your washing machine. Does this account for all the water used?
How can you measure water use in your garden? Are there any dripping taps?	First you will need to determine the different ways you use water in the garden. You could consider using a similar method of measurement to the shower.

Phase Two

How Much Water Do You Use?

Keep a log of water consumption for a week

Students will need to keep a record of water use for each area. A record sheet is included in the resource box above. Cut out the relevant parts and place them in the appropriate room of the house. Students should explain to their household members that they must mark the sheet each time they use water. Remember that for things such as showers, family members should mark down the number of minutes.

In some cases students will not be able to measure the exact amount of water used. Instead they should make an estimate. A water use estimation sheet is included in the resource box above.

At the end of the week, students should calculate (in litres) how much water has been used in each area and enter the information onto the spreadsheet attached to this project.

Fill in the remaining information on the spreadsheet and e-mail it to gay.djumas@abs.gov.au

Remember: Except for your personal details, all information that you supply to the project will be published on this web site.

Phase Three

Students will need to view the data on the web site to analyse similarities and differences between populations. They could develop graphs of comparisons between city and country populations or between southern and northern populations to see if students can develop a hypothesis about the influences on water consumption. Brainstorm other comparisons and test them against the hypothesis.

Students can work in groups to develop strategies to help reduce domestic water consumption. Students can use these links to assist with their idea formulation.

As a result students could:

Phase Four

During the project students will have the opportunity to make links with other participating schools. This will be facilitated via a mailing list created and maintained by myinternet for the project. Teachers can subscribe to the list remotely or by request.

Links

www.savewater.com.au - Australia's leading source on water conservation.

Yarra Valley Water: Water School - Wide range of facts relating to water use for all levels.

Getwise - Outlines the water cycle and all it's components. People's use of water is very useful.

EPA: Office of Water - Water Facts of Life (pdf. file)

Suburban Water Systems - Water Facts

Water - the role of WATER in the life and culture of this planet