Teach Students The Importance of Efficient Waste Disposal
- Students reclaim waste that could harm the environment
- Students make decisions about complex issues involving trade-offs
- Requires one to two 50 minute class periods
Wastes from industrial processes sometimes contain toxic or valuable substances that can be reclaimed and then recycled or disposed of safely. Students will work in groups to reclaim copper from a liquid "waste" which contains dissolved copper chloride as well as measure the effectiveness of copper removal from three different metal replacement reactions. Students will then compare the cost, effectiveness and safety information for each replacement reaction to decide which metal is most efficient in the copper removal of the waste.
Ordering information: Materials Include Chemplates®, Aluminum washers, Iron washers, Zinc washers, Waste copper chloride solution, 15-mL drop control bottles, Plastic spoons, Dropper, Transparency: Wastewater Discharge Limits.