Grade level
Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
Developing and using models
Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
Cause and Effect
Stability and Change
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes
ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
After discussing how communities and civilizations in North America settle along waterways, students looked at maps and satellite images of our region to identify where large amounts of water exist and in what forms. In this activity, students considered different ways that water might move from mountains (where it exists in the form of snowpack) to central farms and coastal cities in our region for our use.
Students tend to identify two mechanisms by which water travels from the mountains to the valley: by rainfall and by gravitational flow of streams/rivers. Whereas Samples A and B emphasize rainfall, Sample C focuses on gravitational flow in streams/rivers, as represented by the natural waterfall and the man-made pipes. Samples D, E, and F represent both mechanisms.
Samples C, D, E, and F specify that a phase change must occur, identifying that the mountain's water in the form of snow (ice) must melt before it can move toward the valley. Sample E is the only one that further specifies how liquid water is transported into rain clouds through the process of evaporation.
It is interesting to note the differences in how students conceptualize the direction of the relationship in water transportation between farms and cities. In Samples A, B, and F, farmland serves as a node in water traveling from mountain to city. Note how in Sample B, farmers are perceived as the agents who collect and sell (bottled) water to cities, and in Sample F, water is transported to water towers and then flows through pipes in the city. The student Samples C and E conceive of two independent pathways from the mountain, the first to farmland and a second to cities. Sample D shows stream water flowing from the mountain to the city, and the city supplying additional water to farmers, in addition to the rainfall they receive.
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