Attachment 1

Addicted to Plastic Study Guide

1. Why does every bit of plastic ever created still exist? (Excluding the small amount that

has been been incinerated.)

2. The Oceans are becoming a “Plastic Soup”. In the North Pacific Central Gyre, 1000 miles from North America, there is the largest _______ _________ of all the oceans.

3. There are _______ Gyres, which are areas in the oceans there the wind currents create a swirling motion in the water. The swirling waters “suck in” garbage from the surrounding ocean waters. The Central Garbage Patch, in the North Pacific Central Gyre, is the approximate size of which continent?

4. Only ½ of all plastic floats. List 5 types of floating plastic debris.

1.

2.

3. 4,

5.

5. How long will styrofoam float for?

6. According to the Plastic Advisory Council, _________________ is the key to ending

Plastic Pollution.

7. Of all the ocean’s plastics, ____________ comes from the land, while only __________ comes from the fishing industry.

8. Resin beads, which are used to produce produce plastic products are washed down sewers and drainage pipes, eventually ending up in the oceans. They are confused with plankton (food) by fish and sea life sea animals. In recent studies, the ratio of plastic to plankton in the Pacific Ocean was measured. It was discovered that there is ___________ more plastic than there is plankton in the ocean.

9. For 100 years, chemists have looked for replacements for natural materials. Plastics were produced en masse during World War Two. After the war, people were tired of rationing and doing without consumer products, and plastics were being introduced more and more into American life. A “throw away society” was being formed. List three positive aspects of plastic.

1.

2.

3. 10. List and describe three new products of the new Plastic Age.

1.

2.

3. 11. By the year 1979, there was more plastic being produced than _____________. 12. Back in the Central Pacific Gyre, jellyfish and planktonic organisms come to feed.

These fish filter about ½ the water column through their bodies every day., making them excellent indicators of plastic ingestion. They have discovered through studying these ocean organisms have shown that plastic being digested attracts oily pollutants such as _____________________ and _________________.

13. ______________% of the ocean plastic is absorbed by “nerdles” (plastic pellets) are

eaten by fish. Essential Information: Bio - Accumulation: The food cycle that takes plastic from the oceans to humans is quite simple: Smaller fish eat plastic pellets, they are eaten by larger fish, who are eaten by larger fish, who are eaten by humans. Bio-Accumulation occurs when small amounts of plastic is digested by organisms at each level of the food chain. 14. In Holland, Dr. Jan Van Franeker studies animal ingestion of plastics. He has

discovered that there is foam, plastic bags,and hard plastic in _________% of sea birds.

15. Dr. van Franeker has also found that the plastic found in the gut of these birds is more

harmful for their ________________ ________________ then the large pieces lodged in them. In other words, the poison is more harmful than the blockage or cutting found with large pieces of plastic.

16. In Japan, Dr. Hideshige Takada has found that there is ________________ times more

poison in the resin pellets found washed up on the beach then there is in the surrounding ocean waters.

17. Only 40% of all plastic is recycled. Why is it impossible for anything to biodegrade in

landfills? 18. Record how people in various locations are recycling plastic and making money doing it.

Then write a complete essay with the thesis statement “Plastic can be recycled at a profit by producing _________________ “

19. Create a political cartoon showing what you see as the most dangerous aspect of

Plastic Pollution.

Permanent Address: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/ocean-plastic-trapped-in-gil

Ocean Plastic Particles Could Get in Gills

Scientific American July 28, 2014 |By Christopher Intagliata Sea creatures eat plastic dumped in the ocean, but they also might be accumulating plastic by sucking up tiny particles with their siphons and gills. Christopher Intagliata reports there are now at least five major garbage patches in the world's oceans, and much of that trash is plastic. But last month researchers said they can only account for one percent of the plastic they'd expect to find in the oceans. So, where'd the rest of it go?Well, animals eat some of it. Plastic has been found in turtles, seabirds, fish, plankton, shellfish, even bottom-feeding invertebrates. Theres another way sea creatures might be accumulating plastic: by sucking up tiny plastic particles with their siphons and gills.Researchers added common shore crabs—Carcinus maenas —to tanks of seawater containing millions of tiny plastic particles, just 10 microns in diameter. After 16 hours, all the crabs had plastic lodged in their gills. And the particles stuck around for up to three weeks, too. The results are in the journal Environmental Science and Technology . [Andrew J. R. Watts et al, Uptake and Retention of Microplastics by the Shore Crab Carcinus maenas ]The longer plastic sits in an animal, researchers say, the better the chances it will travel up the food chain. Meaning all our plastic waste could come back to bite us—or rather be bitten by us."Of course we eat mussels whole, without the shells. But we're potentially eating plastic, if they're from a site where there's plastic present." Lead researcher Andrew Watts, of the University of Exeter. "We

don't know how much plastic we have in our stomachs… chances are we do have some."

—Christopher Intagliata [The above text is a transcript of this podcast. ]

Attachment 2

Plastic is forever -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plastic creates toxic pollution at every stage of its existence: manufacture, use, and disposal. Plastic is a material that the Earth cannot digest. Every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists, including the small amount that has been incinerated and has become toxic particulate matter.

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Plastic poisons our food chain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the environment, plastic breaks down into small particles that attract toxic chemicals. These particles are ingested by wildlife on land and in the ocean, contaminating the food chain.

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Plastic affects human health ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harmful chemicals leached by plastics are present in the bloodstream and tissues of almost every one of us, including newborns.

Disposable plastics are the main source of plastic pollution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consumption of disposable plastics—bags, bottles, straws and so forth—has spiraled out of control. These items are used for seconds, hours or days, but their remains last forever.

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Plastic recycling is not a sustainable solution to the crisis ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most of our plastic waste is landfilled, downcycled, incinerated or exported to other countries. Recycling of plastic is costly and does not stem the production of virgin plastic product.

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Plastic pollution is not only in the ocean --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The amount of plastic pollution in the ocean is expanding at a catastrophic rate, but there are similar concentrations of plastic in the desert, in every community around the world, in our homes and in us.

Attachment 4

Days One and Two Student Instructions (Copy this instruction sheet as your daily warm-up)

You are preparing your first piece for display at our School

/Community Plastic Pollution Awareness Fair, which means this display will be part of your your Unit Exam.

1. Go to:

http://naturalsociety.com/recycling-symbols-numbers-plastic-bottles-meaning/ Read through information on “The 7 Types of Plastic” and “ The Bottom Line”

2. When finished, you will be asked questions from the reading for an assessment score when you pick up your Graphic Organizer form.

3. NEATLY fill in your Graphic organizer (this will be included on your display)

4. Go to www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org , click on “Learn”, then click on “Common Misconceptions”, read all three sections.

5. When finished, you will be asked questions from the reading for the rest of your assessment score when you pick up your Project 1 Rubric

6. Using plastic samples collected previously, and information from Natural Society and Plastic Pollution Coalition, create a visual display on the Basics of Plastic Pollution.

7. Clean up your workspace during the last 5 minutes of class.

Attachment 5

7 Categories of Plastic

Recycling Code #

Definition of this Recycling Code #

Samples of this Recycling Code #

Recyclability of this Code #

#7

# 6

#5

# 4

# 3

#2

#1

Attachment 6

Instruction and Grading Rubric Plastic Pollution Awareness Fair

Display One: Basic Concepts, Common Misconceptions

Daily Instructions: ● After reading “Common Misconceptions About Recycling”

(www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org), create a graphic representation of the three Common Misconceptions. including (a) Titles, and (b) basic summaries of each.

● Collect your chart and graphic organizer from previous lessons. If they are not neat and easy to read, consider re-working them.

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Attachments 3 / 11

Rubric

Exceeds Meets Below Failed to Expectations Standards Average Meet Standards Project is Neat and Easy to Read Information is 0-2 Errors 3 Errors 4 Errors More than 5

Vital and Error Errors

Free

Decorative,and Each Section 1 Section is 2 Sections are More than 2

Creative while is creative and plain or off plain or off sections

are Remaining On Decorative topic topic plain or off

Topic topic

Decorative,and Each Section 1 Section is 2 Sections are More than 2

Creative while is creative and plain or off plain or off sections

are Remaining On Decorative topic topic plain or off

Topic topic

Attachments 3 / 10

Basic Misconceptions of Plastic Pollution

Attachment 8

The Scientific Method 1.Observe 2. Question your observations 3. From questions, form a hypothesis

4. test your hypothesis 5. analyze your data 6. draw conclusions 7. share your results

remember to record your experiment, step by step, using these 7 steps of the scientific method in your lab journal (or data sheets). Your experiment should be easy to duplicate using the

information from your lab journal, including the same results!

Attachment 9

Standard Lab Report Template

Title: • Write a descriptive title. Anyone who reads your title should be able to tell what your experiment is about. Name, date and name of partner: Introduction/Background Information: • Include your preliminary observations as well as any background information about the subject. • Address the specific questions presented with each individual lab for guidance. • Use your textbook as a source for this section. Question/Problem: • What question are you trying to answer? Hypothesis: • Write a statement that says what you are testing and what you expect the outcome to be. • Include reasoning behind why you think this will be the result. Variables: • What is the independent variable? This is the variable that you are manipulating.

• What is the dependent variable? This is the responding variable or what changes during the experiment. You are measuring this. • What are your controlled variables? These are the variables that you will be keeping constant throughout the experiment. Materials: • List all items used in the lab. Experimental Design/Procedure: • Write out in list form the steps you took to complete the experiment. • Your procedure should be written with enough detail so that anyone else could repeat the experiment .• Include any figures that may help your readers visualize what your experimental set-up may look like. Results/Data: • This is your data section where you include data tables and graphs of your data when applicable. • All tables and graphs should be titled and labeled appropriately and include units of measurement. • Graphs should be properly scaled with the dependant variable on the y-axis and the independent variable on the x-axis. • Graphs should take up a whole page of graph paper so they are easy to read. • A caption should be included with any graphs that explain what the reader is seeing in the graph (this is not where you analyze the graph!) Conclusions:

Refer to each individual lab for specific questions to address in your lab report. The minimum requirements for a conclusion include:

● Restate hypothesis and question and state whether hypothesis was supported by results or not.

● Infer or explain results by restating your data and giving logical explanations of these results. Draw conclusions based on the data obtained through your experiment.

● List three procedural errors in the experiment and how they could have affected the results. Describe what you would change if you did the experiment again.

Human errors are not the same as procedural errors. ● Describe any experiments that are related to this experiment that

may be pursued in the future

Attachment 10

Research Assignment Topics and Questions

● For this assignment, you will chose a research topic from the list below. Have your topic

approved before beginning work on your paper or project. (You may find a topic on your own with prior permission from your instructor)

● Read through your article, take notes, and dig deeper for higher level information, either in print or implied. Use links or keywords from your reading to find more specific, complete information in other sources. Do not forget to cite your sources Remember, these are only a few articles, you may choose your own article with Teacher approval!

Research Topic Links:

www.5Gyres.org/education_and_exhibits/ (Go to Curriculum Materials drop-down) Sources and Solutions 5 Gyres Understanding Plastic Pollution 5 Gyres The Midwest is largely Underserved With Regard to their Impact on Plastic Pollution www.whoi.edu/.../plasticsarticle Plastic in Our Oceans (written by Kimberley Amaral) www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org (Go to News drop-down) Go to Surfrider Foundation Coastal Blog Plastic Soup News (blog) Plastic Pollution a Problem in The Great Lakes (posted July 2, 2013, by Sharon Hill)

Attachment 11 Research Questions:

1. When was your article first published, and who is its author?

2. Discuss the key points of your article. You should have a minimum of 4 key points.

3. Write as if you were the author of your article(s). What moved you to write this article?

4. What questions did you want answered in your first article that you had to find in a second (or third) article? Were you satisfied with the answer you found? Explain why or why not.

5. You are speaking with someone who is not educated in Plastic Pollution. Explain why it’s an important field of study, using factual information you have garnered from this unit.

Attachment 12

Interview Questions These are questions that should give you a start when writing up your interview. Remember that some questions may not be relevant for all interviewees. After learning all you can about the interviewee, you will realize that you need to edit some questions and even eliminate others. You will then need to write your own questions. This will come naturally as your interview progresses. You will want to record your interview rather than try to remember or take notes as your conversation goes on. REMEMBER TO THANK YOUR INTERVIEWEE, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH HIS/HER OPINIONS! You will be using this information to write a blog entry, newspaper article, a speech, a Visual Art piece, or a Creative Writing story, poem or other writing.

1. Who are you interviewing? What is their field of expertise?

2. Why did you choose this person to interview?

3. Does this person feel Plastic Pollution is something worth studying?

4. How has this person worked to curb Plastic Pollution?

5. Does this person support a ban on plastic shopping bags? If not, do they have another idea to keep these bags out of the landfills?

6. Discuss the basic concepts of Plastic Pollution, explain them if your interviewee

is unfamiliar with them.

7. If your person is not familiar with the term “Sustainable” explain it, then ask them to brainstorm with you on how to keep the local environment a sustainable one.

8. Discuss with the interviewee ways to get and keep people interested in Plastic

Pollution.

9. Ask your person if they are familiar with the term “Plastic Soup”, if not please explain it to them. Together, brainstorm how to keep plastic out of the oceans and lakes.

10. Ask if there is anything they would like to leave you with, then thank them again!

.