Microplastics
Microplastics are now everywhere - they're even been found in Antarctic snow. Scientists are investigating possible risks to human health. In this activity, students come up with ideas to stop microplastics from getting into our oceans. They use their knowledge of mixtures, and the enquiry skill of 'choosing a method for an experiment.
It's designed to fit into an 11-14 unit on substances and particles. We call it 'Act' because it's a real scientific challenge to put curriculum knowledge and enquiry skills to use. It's ideal as a 'performance assessment.
There are two parts to the activity
1) Challenge (15-30 mins): an introduction and discussion - which can also be done at home. The resources:
- Challenge presentation
- Student sheets (SS1-2)
2) Perform (30-60 mins): students prepare their solution to stop pollution. The presentation can become a 'performance assessment' for the topic. The resources:
- Perform presentation
- Perform student sheets (SS3-4)
See the teachers' guide for details on how to run the activity.
Microplastics is a resource developed for the CONNECT project, funded by the European Commission.