Study tips
There was a lot to take in in this lesson. Understanding and being able to evaluate the issues and potential solutions is crucial.
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Go through and make your own notes.
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Create a table. One colum should have "Issue" the next should have "how we can measure this, the next should have "solution" and then a final column to weigh out the positive and negatives of each possible solution.
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Write down key terms and learn the definitions.
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Create a large mind map. Think about how you can link all the issues together.
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Create a poster communicating these issues to the general public and things they can do to help the environment.
How can we monitor the impact on the environment?
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Lichens can be used as biological indicators. Lichen are living organisms that grow on things such as rocks or trees that are very exposed. In places like these lichen can easily absorb rainwater with nutrients which helps them survive. Certain chemicals will dissolve in rainwater and when lichen absorb this it can affect them. Some lichen are more affected by pollution than others so the presence, or lack of presence, of certain lichen can indicated how polluted the air is. Crusty lichens will be able to survive in polluted air. Leafy Lichens can only survive in air with up to a small amount of pollution. Bushy lichens are not able to survive in any polluted air at all. In a place with no lichen at all, it is highly likely that the air is heavily polluted with sulphur dioxide.
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There are also organisms which can be used to detect water pollution. In clean water Stonefly Nymph and Mayfly Larva are able to survive. In moderately polluted water you may find organisms such as Bloodworms. In highly polluted water there may be Red-Tailed Maggots. And in very highly polluted water there will be no living organisms at all.
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We can use pH sensors to collect readings of the pH in an area which can indicate the pollution level.
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We can use oxygen sensors to collect readings of the oxygen levels in an area which can indicate the level of pollution.
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By measuring the pollution in an area, we can use mathematical modelling to analyse the recordings and predict the effects of the pollution level.