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Students will have the opportunity to work in groups and investigate the effects of an “oil spill” in a water body. In a simulated “ocean” (a pan of water), students will drop a small amount of oil into the water and see the effects and interaction. In an introduction to the workshop, students discuss sources of pollution and oil contamination in water bodies – from point sources (tanker spills) and non-point sources (vehicle run-off). A brief discussion on preventing and cleaning up oil contamination will lead into the activity, in which the students will use a variety of materials to see what method works best for recovering the most oil from the water. Students will develop a proposal explaining which materials and procedures work best for cleaning up an oil spill. Students will also create a presentation to share their proposal.

title "Oil Spill Simulation" 2024 by STEMToolkit Administrator
under license"Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike"

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Jaime Hitz

Teacher Resource

Activity Sheet

Scaffolded Activity Guide

Building Background Knowledge Videos

Oil Spill Simulation

Created May 23, 2024 by STEMToolkit Administrator

Name: ________________________________________

Oil Spill Simulation

Task: Your engineering firm has been contracted to investigate the best way to clean up an oil spill. Your group must use a $100,000 budget to clean up the most oil from the simulated spill as possible. Use this activity sheet to record your material and budget use. This sheet will help to inform the development of your proposal for which materials and procedures would work best for cleaning up an oil spill.

Fill out the following worksheet with your material order requests, and calculate the total cost and the remaining budget

Type of Material	Cost	Quantity	Cost x Quantity	How effective was the item?
spoon	$3000 x =
Q-tip	$6000 x =
Cotton Ball	$8000 x =
Dish soap (1tbsp)	$15000 x =
Coffee filter	$2000 x =
Pipet	$4000 x =
	*_______________________Total Expenses =**
	Remaining Budget =

What material(s) was most effective at removing the oil? Why?
How does oil affect feathers and other animals?
What effect would an oil spill have on an ecosystem?

Remixed from "Oil Spill Simulation" by Jamie Hitz

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Subject:: Environmental Science, Life Science, Biology, Numbers and Operations
Level:: Upper Primary, Middle School
Material Type:: Activity/Lab

Standards

PA.Math.CC.2.1.4.B.2

Pennsylvania Core Standards for Mathematics

Grade 4

Learning Domain: Numbers and Operations

Standard: Use place-value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

PA.SCI.3.3.12.A8

Pennsylvania Standards for Science and Technology and Engineering Education

Grade 12

Science Domain: Earth and Space Sciences

Topic: Earth Structure, Processes and Cycles

Standard: Examine the status of existing theories.Evaluate experimental information for relevance and adherence to science processes.Judge that conclusions are consistent and logical with experimental conditions.Interpret results of experimental research to predict new information, propose additional investigable questions, or advance a solution.Communicate and defend a scientific argument.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

PA.SCI.3.3.B.A8

Pennsylvania Standards for Science and Technology and Engineering Education

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Earth and Space Sciences

Topic: Earth Structure, Processes and Cycles

Standard: Compare and contrast scientific theories.Know that both direct and indirect observations are used by scientists to study the natural world and universe.Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.Formulate and revise explanations and models using logic and evidence.Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.Explain the importance of accuracy and precision in making valid measurements.Examine the status of existing theories.Evaluate experimental information for relevance and adherence to science processes.Judge that conclusions are consistent and logical with experimental conditions.Interpret results of experimental research to predict new information, propose additional investigable questions, or advance a solution.Communicate and defend a scientific argument.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

PA.SCI.3.3.PK.A7

Pennsylvania Standards for Science and Technology and Engineering Education

Grade PK

Science Domain: Earth and Space Sciences

Topic: Earth Structure, Processes and Cycles

Standard: Ask questions about objects, organisms, and events;Participate in simple investigations to answer a question or to test a prediction;Use the five senses and simple equipment to gather data.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.3.5.ETS1.1

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 3-5

Science Domain: Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Topic: Engineering Design

Standard: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

CCSS.Math.Content.4.NBT.B.4

Common Core State Standards Math

Grade 4

Cluster: Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic

Standard: Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm. (Grade 4 expectations in this domain are limited to whole numbers less than or equal to 1,000,000. A range of algorithms may be used.)

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)