Water What-ifs
Teacher Tutorial

This tutorial will introduce you to the basics of water quality and the skills necessary for testing water samples. The use of LaMotte test kits and Texas Instruments' CBLs and probes will be demonstrated. Water quality is an important environmental issue and testing the different parameters helps us to see the effects on a system. Water quality testing brings together skills and concepts of chemistry, biology, and environmental science while laying a foundation for discussion of societal issues.

After completing the water quality testing tutorial you should be able to

• accurately assess water quality with the use of chemical test kits and, if available, CBL probes.
• demonstrate understanding of the importance of water quality testing.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• outline the steps necessary in typing in a web address, accessing a web page, adding data to a form and submitting the data electronically.
• outline the steps necessary to access the water quality data which is available on the Water What-ifs web site.
• describe how this data can be used for inquiry lessons in the classroom.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• explain what pH is measuring and how it is determined and recorded.
• interpret pH levels and determine their meaning with the use of the LaMotte pH test kit.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• describe how different factors are affected by the fluctuation of temperature levels in an aquatic ecosystem.
• interpret temperature readings and explain how to convert from the Fahrenheit scale to Celsius.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• explain the purpose of measuring dissolved oxygen levels and describe how it is determined and recorded.
• interpret dissolved oxygen levels and analyze their meaning using LaMotte Dissolved Oxygen kits.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• explain the reasons for measuring nitrates and phosphates and describe how they are measured and determined.
• interpret nitrate and phosphate levels and analyze their meaning using LaMotte Nitrate/Phosphate test kits.

A fter completing the tutorial you should be able to

• explain how the interpretation of a macroinvertebrate survey is related to water quality.
• interpret a macroinvertebrate survey and determine the water quality of the aquatic ecosystem.

Once you have completed the mini-workshops, test your knowledge with the Water Quality Post-test. Once your completed post-test is submitted, you will receive a password which will give you and your students complete access to all areas of the Water What-ifs web site. Thanks for taking part in this research project on water quality.