Environmental Changes in a Watershed _ Smiths Station High School

Environmental Changes in a
Watershed
Overview:
The purpose of this lab is to examine
how environmental changes affect
the health of a watershed and to
predict the effect of human activity
on the watershed. The question you
want to answer is, “How do
environmental changes affect both
living and nonliving things in a
watershed?”
Procedure:
Step 1: Prepare for the project.
a) Read through this guide before you
begin, so you know the expectations for
this lab.
b) If anything is not clear to you, be
sure to ask your teacher.
Step 2: Open the virtual lab.

, Step 3: Observe how nonpoint
source pollution enters and flows
through the watershed.
a) Read the introduction to this part of
the lab. Press the “Start the lab.” button
to start the virtual lab.
b) Drag the acid rain clouds from the
tools panel onto the watershed model.
(Note: Acids in rain form when chemicals
from cars, factories, and power plants
that produce electricity are released into
the air and combine with other
chemicals in the air. Acids, in this case,
are considered pollutants.)
c) Press the “Play” button to start the
animation.
d) Observe how acid rain enters and
flows through the watershed.
e) Press the “Pause” button to stop the
animation.
f) Press the “Reset” button to restart
this part of the lab if you need to.