OBJECTIVES

                ACTIVITY 1:
                        Students will::
               qualitatively analyze and compare the inorganic ion content and pH of varied local sources of drinking water
               develop an understanding of potable water and the importance of safe drinking water standards

                ACTIVITY 2:
                        Students will:
                Use their research skills to develop understandings of groundwater resources and the impact of human activities and
                    forces of nature on them.
                Develop their own explanations of concepts relative to groundwater resources.
                Demonstrate an understanding of aquifers and the interaction of hydrology and geology by constructing a visual
                    representation such as a diagram.

                ACTIVITY 3:
                    Students will:
                Search Internet databases to collect, organize, graph, and analyze data on state groundwater uses.
                Read, summarize, and discuss news articles about the effects of merchant power plants on the volume of groundwater.
   

                ACTIVITY 4:
                    Students will:
                Build and observe a physical model of a groundwater system.
                Discover the relationships between the forces of nature and human activities that impact the amount of groundwater.
                Construct a flow diagram of the groundwater system to visualize the effects of  multiple variables on the system.
                Construct a simple STELLA model of the groundwater system and make predictions about how changes in the variables 
                    affect the amount of groundwater.

                ACTIVITY 5:
                    Students will:
                Examine the recharge and the drawdown of an aquifer.
                Analyze the relationships between forces of nature and human activity and their effects on an aquifer.
                Use Computational Science modeling tools to investigate groundwater relationships.
                Consider the effects of saltwater intrusion and merchant power plants.
                Evaluate the validity of a Computational Science model.

                CULMINATING ACTIVITY:
                    Students will:
                Apply conceptual understandings of groundwater to a novel situation.
                Work in groups to develop a rationale for groundwater policy formation, write a state groundwater policy proposal, and
                present the proposal to an audience.