Mercury in the Environment Lesson Plan Objectives: 1. CONTENT: Review introductory chemistry concepts necessary for success in Advanced Chemistry - Anion, cation - Electron Configurations - Bonding - Types of compounds (molecular, ionic, organic) - Reaction types - Oxidation states and electronegativity - Stoichiometry - Concentration (+ new units ppm, ppb etc) - Processes for separating mixtures LAB: Introduce idea of a calibration curve and how it can be used to determine an unknown concentration 2. CONNECTIONS and APPLICATIONS: Explore connections between chemistry, environment and society and stress the importance of science literacy e.g. “naturally occurring doesn’t = harmless.” Introduce the social justice implications for chemicals involved in industrial activity – set the stage for later environmental justice focus. 3. PEDAGOGY: Establish structure and expectations for group work activities Plan for Day I 1. Pass out mercury related images to pairs of students and ask to observe and predict what the images share in common and what the topic of the day will be.
Transcript
Mercury in the Environment Lesson PlanObjectives:
1. CONTENT: Review introductory chemistry concepts necessary for success in Advanced Chemistry
- Anion, cation- Electron Configurations- Bonding- Types of compounds (molecular, ionic, organic)- Reaction types- Oxidation states and electronegativity- Stoichiometry- Concentration (+ new units ppm, ppb etc)- Processes for separating mixtures
LAB: Introduce idea of a calibration curve and how it can be used to determine an unknown concentration
2. CONNECTIONS and APPLICATIONS: Explore connections between chemistry, environment and society and stress the importance of science literacy e.g. “naturally occurring doesn’t = harmless.”
Introduce the social justice implications for chemicals involved in industrial activity – set the stage for later environmental justice focus.
3. PEDAGOGY: Establish structure and expectations for group work activities
Plan for Day I1. Pass out mercury related images to pairs of students and ask to observe and predict
what the images share in common and what the topic of the day will be. 2. Share out ideas, emphasizing that each individual’s contribution is important and
ask students to build on what they hear from one another.3. Once topic is identified as Mercury, ask what they already know about Mercury e.g.
Metal, liquid, density, last orbital is d, poisonous at low levels of exposue, cation, uses? Where found, etc.
4. Discuss connection between Hg and each of the images.5. Rearrange students into four new groups so that they are working with different
people in an “expert group” structure. Each group is assigned a packet of information with a set of questions to learn about and later teach a new group of students. Packets are composed of information from our binder + the powerpoint lectures + a few online resources.
Group 1: The Geological Origins of Mercury and its Relationship with California’s Mining Industry
a) When did the first major increase in mercury mining happen North America and why?
b) Where were California’s mercury mines located? c) Why do California’s waterways have mercury contamination? d) How is mercury employed in the gold mining process? e) How much mercury is estimated to have been lost to the environment
from gold mining operations? f) What is the chemical formula for the ore (Cinnabar) that contains
mercury?g) How is the mercury extracted from the ore?
Group 2 - Biomagnification of Mercury, Mercury Methylation and Remediation Efforts
a) What is bioaccumulationb) What is biomagnification? c) Where does mercury accumulate in the body? d) What do you predict about the size of Walleye fish compared to
Yellow Perch, based on the graph? e) Why do you think albacore tuna contains more mercury than chunk
light? f) Why do you think albacore tuna from the Adriatic sea has an
especially high concentration of mercury? g) How is methylmercury formed? h) Which is more toxic, inorganic mercury or methyl mercury? Methyl.i) What remediation methods are being studied for methylmercury?
j) Share in groups. Choose one thing that most stands out from what you heard from other members of the group.
k) Any concepts or questions confusing? Ppm etc.?l) Recap answers and go deeper.
Group 3: Uses of Mercury and Mercury Toxicologya) Where is the most mercury used in the U.S.? b) What are some of the more unusual uses of mercury, either historical or current? c) Of the heavy metals found in waterways, which three are the most toxic? d) True or false, Mercury in all of its forms is equally toxic? e) For whom is mercury exposure most hazardous?f) Why is mercury used in vaccines?g) What are the effects of mercury exposure? h) What is Dr. Karen Wetterhan’s story?
.
Group 4: Case Studies and Trends in Mercury Emissions and Regulationa) How was mercury used in the Chisso plant in
Minamata Bay? b) What were the first signals that the water was
poisoned? c) In what part of the human body does mercury appear
to accumulate in the highest concentrations (ppm = parts per million)?
d) What happened in Iraq? e) What trends are occurring in the mercury emissions
in different parts of the world? What you do think the reasons behind these are?
f) What do you think of the recent decision to uphold the block of a requirement to place a mercury warning on canned tuna?
6. Rearrange groups so that each new group has an expert to teach the key information from each packet. Experts teach each other.
7. Discuss salient points as a whole class and begin to connect aspects of packet to key chemistry concepts for review.
Plan for Day IIBegin problem set and in class activities in small groups.
“Felt hats were once very popular in North America and Europe; an example is the top hat. The best sorts were made from beaver fur, but cheaper ones used furs such as rabbit instead.
A complicated set of processes was needed to turn the fur into a finished hat. With the cheaper sorts of fur, an early step was to brush a solution of a mercury compound — usually mercurous nitrate — on to the fur to roughen the fibres and make them mat more easily, a process called carroting because it made the fur turn orange.” - http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mad2.htm
Lincoln had erratic behavior possibly linked to mercury poisioning due to mercury present in little blue pills he took for depression.
Distribute laminated images to students in pairs – ask to predict what the focus of the day will be and present.
Mercury – Hydrogyrum
What do you know about Mercury?
Distribute several articles/video clips to share with different questions and do an expert group round.
1. What is mercury?2. What is mercury used for? 3. How do we get mercury? How is it mined? 4. Where did it come from? How did it get into the bay?5. How does it get into fish?6. Why are we concerned only with certain fish?7. Why is mercury bad for humans?8. Why is it particularly bad for pregnant women, infants and small children?9. How do they decide how much is OK to eat?
Data on S.F. Bay versus other bodies of water?
Show mercurochrome, mad hatter, miner, fluorescent light bulb, dental filling, fisherman, warning signs, look at court ruling – natural vs anthropogenic. Write down thoughts.
Tell story.
Mercury – tell me what you know.
Origins – is it “natural” or man-made? Naturally existing, but pollution (high levels) caused by our activities.
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