Oil and Paint Contamination Activity

Grade 8 Earth and Space Science - Water Systems

Outcome WS8.1 Analyze the impact of natural and human changes to the distribution and characteristics of water in local, regional and national ecosystems.  (f) Identify possible personal, societal, economic, and environmental consequences of natural changes and human practices and technologies that pose threats to surface and/or ground water systems in Saskatchewan.

In this activity the students simulate an oil spill and attempt to clean it up; in the second half the students clean paint and oil from fur and feather samples with an assortment of cleaners.

Objectives:

• Students will experience on a small scale the effect of oil on an aquatic ecosystem.
• Students will understand that prevention is easier than clean-up when it comes to any form of water contamination.

Mini Lesson 1

Student learning: Students will see how oil reacts with water and other materials in the context of an oil spill.

Materials

• Clean motor oi
• Craft stick / feather
• 1 clear container (pyrex works well)
• Straw
• Mini marshmallows
• Spoon
• Cinnamon
• String
• Paper towel or cotton balls
  

Instructional Procedures:

1) Show students some motor oil in a clean container. Talk about how we are going to use this oil to demonstrate the effects of oil in our ponds, sloughs, oceans, etc.

2) Pour a little oil, slowly from about 1 cm above the surface, into a clear container containing water. You may choose to colour the water with food colouring to help see what is going on. Observe what is happening.
What is happening to the oil? (floats on the water and will slowly spread across the surface)
What conclusion can you draw about oil and water? (Oil and water do not mix.) Thinking about what you have seen, what do you think happens when oil gets into an ocean or slough?

3) Use string to try to corral the oil for containment. How could this be useful? This is called containment and is important because otherwise the oil will keep spreading out, creating a thinner and thinner layer, covering more and more surface area.

4) Dip craft feather/craft stick into the "mixture".
What happens to the feather/craft stick? (oil adheres to the feather/stick)

5) Add a few mini-marshmallows to the oil, representing wildlife. Observe what happens.

6) Using the straw, gently blow on the oil, representing wind and waves. What happens? Blow harder; again, what happens?

7) Observe the sides of the bowl. Oil should be sticking to the sides.

8) Sprinkle some cinnamon on the surface of the oil. Using a spoon, try to scoop the cinnamon off. Is this easy to do? Would it be useful on a large scale for a spill? This is called skimming and is used in conjunction with containment if the spill can be reached in time. It uses a boat that scoops or sucks the oil from the surface of the water.

9) Use paper towel to try to absorb the oil. How does it work? Are you able to absorb it all? Does the paper towel absorb water as well as oil? In a real-life application this is done using large sponges called sorbents.

10) Discuss how this activity relates to a real oil spill (ocean or slough). In a real-life spill there are many options or approaches used in oil clean up.

11) One litre of used motor oil can contaminate 1 million litres of water. Talk about the magnitude of the contamination when huge amounts of oil are spilled into the environment. Show pictures of a large oil spill. Discuss with the class the amount of energy, cost, manpower, etc. needed to clean up a spill.

*Teacher note* Great photos of several major oil spills

This lesson could be done as a lab activity individually or in small groups, or as a teacher demonstration.

Back to top

Mini Lesson 2

Student Learning - Students will gain first hand experience in cleaning up an "oil spill"

Materials

• Clear glass bowl
• Straw
• Water
• "Fun" fur
• Cotton balls
• Cotton swabs
• Cleaning supplies
• Newspaper
• Motor/vegetable oil
• Eye Droppers
• Feathers
• Acrylic paint

*Teacher Note* Cleaning materials could include dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, baking soda, mineral oil, paper towels, etc. Either choose which ones the students will use, or let them choose and rationalize their choices.
NOTE: If you want the students to choose their own cleaning supplies use Oil Spill Labf1, Paint_Spill Labf1, Paint Spill_Labfur1 and Oil Spill Labfur1. If you are choosing the supplies for the students use Oil Spill Labf2, Paint Spill_Labf2, Paint_Spill_Labfur2 and Oil Spill Labfur2.  Note that f1and f2 are feather labs, and fur1 and fur2 are fur labs.

Instructional Procedures

1) Review findings from mini lesson 1.

2) Divide students into groups (half the groups will need feathers, the other half will need "fur"). The feathers groups will be working on cleaning up marine birds affected by an oil spill or paint contamination and the fur groups will be working on cleaning up marine animals affected by an oil spill or paint contamination. This works out to 4 groups (oil-feather, paint-feather, oil-fur, paint-fur). Pairs or threes would work well.

3) Students will follow handouts to complete the activity.

4) Students will join together in like groups (feather/fur) and share their findings as to what worked well and what didn't in the clean up.

5) Bring all groups together and discuss all findings. Some of these clean up options may work but what would the impact be on the animals? Example: soap

6) Discussion - What can we do to avoid all the energy and work needed to be put into clean-ups? What organizations can help us? Think about proper disposal of oil filters, used oil, leftover paint, etc.

Additional Resources:

Spill Wordfind

Pictures of a variety of oil spills

The book Oil Spills by Madeline Klein Anderson, Franklin Watts, 1990 ISBN 0-531-10872-4 (for younger students)

 Back to top

Back to "For Saskatchewan Schools"