Transcript How Much Garbage?

RECYCLING
BIOMASS
Is taking out the trash one
of your chores at home?
Sometimes the bags are
light, other times they’re
so heavy you have to drag
them to the dumpster.
Based on how much trash
is produced by your
family, what is your
hypothesis on how much
garbage Americans
generate?
How much garbage does a typical
American family of four generate in
one week?
A.
B.
C.
D.
About 20 pound
50 pounds
80-150 pounds
250 pounds
How much garbage is that for each
person for one day?
A.
B.
C.
D.
1 pound
3-4 pounds
Over 10 pounds
22 pounds
Americans generate about
190 to 200 million tons of
garbage a year. That is
enough trash to fill a
bumper-to-bumper convoy
of garbage trucks halfway
to the moon.
What happens to this
garbage? Sure, it goes in
the garbage truck and we
never see it again. But it
does go somewhere.
Usually, it goes to a landfill.
Then what happens to it?
Every day, leaves die and
fall off of plants. In the
Fall, many trees lose their
leaves. Grass is mowed in
yards. What happens to
all of this dead plant
material?
Why aren’t we up to our
necks in garbage, dead
plant material and dead
animals?
When living things die,
what happens to the
energy trapped in the
bodies of the organisms?
When we throw things
away, what happens to
the energy trapped in the
matter of those objects
when they end up in the
landfill?
Video Links
 http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX51
08735b1a6d7a60577051&t=Time-Lapse-Videos
 http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX74
670e63736750537c055d&t=Time-Lapse-Videos
 http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX7b
6a5f426f7f5d7d5a7059&t=Time-Lapse-Videos
Matter and energy cannot be created
or destroyed but they can change
forms. Everything on Earth is
recycled at one point or another.
Anything alive or anything that
used to be alive is called biomass.
Biomass can be decomposed by
bacteria and other microorganisms.
Once it is decomposed, some of its
energy can be put back into the
living system.
Think of everything you
throw away that can
decompose; fruit peels,
meat, bread, vegetable
matter etc… What happens to
all of that biomass? Is
there something you can do
with your non-meat food
scraps that can save space
in a landfill?
Filling the compost column
. Fill your compost column 2/3 full of “green”
materials. Shredding the material into
smaller pieces will quicken the process.
“greens” – green leaves, fruit or vegetable
scraps, grass or plant clippings enough to fill
2L bottle 2/3 full
 Fill the rest of your column with
“brown” materials. Shred into smaller
pieces for best results.
“browns” – dry leaves, straw, hay, or
sawdust enough to fill 2L bottle
1/3full
 Add soil to the bucket
 Mix everything up by hand
 Add pond water to moisten
Observation
Question
Hypothesis
write down what you think
will happen to the
material
Predict
write down how you think
it will happen.
Investigation
Collecting Data
 Using a thermometer, measure the
temperature of the middle of the column.
Record your measurements on the data
collection table.
 Smell the compost column by wafting air
from the top. Record your observation.
 Record a physical description (what it looks
like) of the column each day.
 Once all of the data is collected, plot the daily
temperatures as a line graph.
Fill in Day 1 info
You should have all of your
data
Plot the data as a line
graph
Observation
Write a summary of what
you saw during the
experiment.
Interpret the Data
What was happening in the
compost column
Circle the one that matches
your results
Complete the rest of the lab
handout after all data is
complete.