Observe and Measure Water

FOR THE FIRST TWO CLASSES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

Activities:

• brief introduction to some concepts of ecology (ecosystems, biotic and abiotic factors) to sampling techniques and experimental measurements, with particular focus on the importance of reproducibility of the experimental method;
  
• sampling of surface waters inside the Park;
• taking measurements (in groups) of some abiotic factors important for living beings (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH), underling the importance of using a precise methodology to take measurements that enables us to obtain “reliable” results;
• verification of the hypotheses formulated, based on qualitative observations with quantitative data and discussion of the results obtained.

FOR UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

Activities:

• introduction to the basic concepts of ecology and the correct procedures to perform a water sampling, with particular focus on the importance of reproducibility of the experimental method used for sampling surface waters within the Park;
• classical definition and meaning of pH;
• measuring pH in water samples using three different techniques, and comparison between qualitative, semiquantitative and quantitative techniques;
• short discussion on the meaning of the terms precision and accuracy and the meaning of instrumental calibration, an in-depth analysis of the “rigorous” definition o pH and introduction to the concept of activity, using a simple experiment.