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15.2: Lab 15 Procedures

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    PROCEDURE 1: REFLECTION

    1. Starting from when you wake up, create a list of all of the plastic items you use throughout the day. Then next to the item, put a star if the item is a single use container that would be thrown away after you’re done using it (such as a chip bag, yogurt container, etc.). Record your thoughts in the Answer Sheet.

    PROCEDURE 2: SYNTHETIC SAND

    In this activity, we will be looking at beach sand and what is commonly found in it. There are a lot of things that are in beach sand, some things are from animals and plants that live in the ocean or on the shore. Shells are hard material that some animals use to protect themselves. Plant pieces like seeds, sticks, and leaves are from land or water plants. Also, there are commonly protist materials such as seaweed. We can also find anthropogenic items (man-made) such as plastics, metals, glass, papers, and fabrics. Today we will be comparing two sand samples from local beaches: Torrance Beach and Seal Beach.

    Equipment we’ll need

    • Tweezers (4)- labeled oil, isopropanol, glycerol and water
    • 3 small beakers filled with either oil, isopropanol, or glycerol
    • Four sample collecting trays
    • 650mL beaker
    • 1 dropper bottle of acetone
    • Sand sifters/sieves
    • Sand samples from local beaches

    Part 1: Initial Observations

    1. Fill in the Answer Sheet to build an observational experiment.
    2. Walk over to the sand samples. Fill the sieve with 3 beakers full of sand then gently filter the sand back into the bucket. Avoid creating large amounts of dust.
    3. Transfer all items collected by the sieve into one of reusable sampling collecting trays.
    4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other sand sample.
    5. Record the initial identities and number of each item found in Table 1.
      1. If the group is unsure of an item's composition, ask for the professor’s opinion.

    Part 2: Plastic Materials Identification

    1. Fill the 650mL beaker with water.
    2. Choose a piece of separated plastic material and place it into the beaker of water. Be sure to fully submerge the item in the water and gently let go of it from the tweezers. Make sure not to introduce any bubbles that would cause the item to float. Note if the material sinks or floats.
    3. Based on if the item sank or floated, transfer the piece of material to the appropriate beaker based on the next step in Figure 1 flowchart below.
      1. For example, if the material sank the next step is to transfer the piece to glycerol testing if it sinks or floats in this solution.
      2. Use the specific tweezers to transfer into for each specific solution.
    4. Follow the flowchart until identification is reached. Record the results in Table 2 on the Answer Sheet.
    5. When finished with a piece of material, remove it from that beaker and place it on a separate reusable collection tray.
    6. Repeat steps 7 through 9 with all of the plastic separated materials.

    Clean up/Disposal

    1. Add the separated plastics to the large beaker on the instructor’s desk.
    2. Return the used beakers of different solutions to their original locations.. Return the dropper bottle of acetone.
    3. Pour water down the drain.
    4. Rinse tweezers, beakers, and collection trays. Place on the towel to dry.
    Flowchart of a decision tree for Monday floating, starting with a blank calendar. Options include placing tasks directly, adding sticky notes, or placing items in various orders, leading to Done.
    Figure 1. Flowchart of how to identify plastics materials from Algalita.

    Minimizing Plastics Usage Resources

    • Get active! Look into the events Algalita in Long Beach or The Golden Triangle in Gardena are hosting
    • Educate others!
    • Avoid and reduce usage:
      • Shop used clothes and shoes
      • When buying new items, choose non-plastic options (ex. bamboo toothbrushes, metal water bottles, cloth grocery bags)
      • Go reusable and re-fillable! Stores like Sprouts and The Golden Triangle sell products and foods in bulk- bring small containers or cloth bags to fill them
      • Shop local and at farmers markets

    PROCEDURE 3: SUSTAINABLE FISHING

    Equipment we’ll need:

    • Three types of beans, each a different size, representing three different types of fish in the ocean
    • One large tray, one small bowl, and one large bowl
    • Two pairs of forceps
    • Two spoons

    The Rules of the Game

    1. Each group should rotate through the following tasks: note taker and timer, bean counter, and fishing persons (two per season).
    2. The different sized beans represent different species of fish with different values.
      • Large beans represent a species of fish like tuna that is of high quality (H) and worth $15 each.
      • Medium sized beans are a commercially valuable fish like pollock that are of medium quality (M), but garner less money than the large fish so they are worth $5 each.
      • The smallest beans represent species that are of low quality like stingrays, sea stars, and bonito, which are considered bycatch (B). These cannot be sold and so cost the fishers $2 each.
        • Bycatch includes a variety of species of fish and sometimes other organisms like invertebrates, dolphins, and sea turtles. Bycatch species are caught along with other fish but have no commercial value and are often thrown back dead. The shrimp fishery has the highest bycatch of all fisheries, with an 80% bycatch rate!
    3. Our first fishing season will cost us nothing because our uncle has left us a boat, some gear, and some gas in the tank. However, each subsequent fishing season will cost us $20 to begin (“Operation cost”).
      • In our first and second seasons we are limited to only using fishing poles of low quality because our uncle did not leave us any expensive gear. To represent this, all fishers of the group must use forceps and their NON-dominant hand (right-handed folks must use their left hands and vice-ver-sa).
      • After the second season, we may purchase upgraded technology. This consists of better fishing poles and gear, bigger boats, and moving to other oceans. All upgrades are one-time expenses, and paying the fee gets the upgrade for both fishers.
        • To start the third season, we can pay the $50 “Upgrade cost” to use our dominant hand when fishing with the forceps.
        • To start the fourth season, we can pay the $100 “Upgrade cost” to use a net (spoon) with our non-dominant hand.
          • pay the $300 “Upgrade cost” to use to a bigger boat (large bowl)
        • To start the fifth season, we can pay the $200 “Upgrade cost” to use our dominant hand with the net (spoon).
        • To start the sixth season, we can make two final upgrades:
          • pay the $2,000 “Upgrade cost” to move completely to a new ocean (think about how expensive that would be in real life!)
            • Pay a $15 searching fee for each ocean you explore before moving.
      • The instructor may decide to offer occasional discounts!
    4. If an organism is dropped when transferring it from the ocean to the boat, it dies. Remove this bean (fish or bycatch) from the ocean; if it is bycatch, deduct the cost from your profit, but if it is a medium or large fish, do not count it toward your profit.
    5. If you have a few bad years, you may take out a loan. Loans can allow you to purchase upgrades if you do not have enough profit to buy one. Loans incur a $20 loan fee. Remember to include the loan and the fee in the spreadsheet against your profit.

    Beginning the First Fishing Season:

    1. Place 20 bycatch (small beans), 40 medium-quality fish (medium sized beans), and 20 high-quality fish (large beans) in the ocean (large tray).
    2. Each fishing season will last 30 seconds. When the timer calls out “Fish!”, the two fishers will fish at the same time with the same tool/upgrade.
    3. After 30 seconds, the timer calls out “Stop!” and both fishers must stop immediately. Only fish that have made it into the boat (small or large bowl, depending on upgrades) count.
    4. At the end of each fishing season, count the total number of each type of organism caught by both fishers together and record it in Table 3 (column B) in the Answer Sheet.
    5. Calculate the team’s profit in Table 4 in the Answer Sheet. Decide if the group wants to upgrade to better fishing technology.

    Fish Reproduction:

    1. After each season, in column C in Table 3 in the Answer Sheet, calculate the number of individuals of each fish species remaining in the ocean by subtracting column B from column A.
      • Add this number of each type of organism (bean) to the ocean (tray).
    2. Multiply the population size after harvest (column C) and record this number in column D. This is the number of each type of organism (bean) that will start the next season, so record this number in column A for the next season.
      • Note: these numbers become large quickly, so we may estimate by counting out 10 beans then estimate how many groups of 10 we might have based on the size of the pile.
    3. Each population has a carrying capacity. Larger organisms tend to have lower carrying capacities. Once each population reaches its carrying capacity, its population stops growing.
      • Large: 250 Medium: 350 Bycatch: 500
    4. Remember to subtract $2 for every bycatch individual we catch!
    5. Continue this cycle of fishing and fish reproduction through the 7th season.
    6. Clean up: Make sure we separate and return the beans back to their original bowls.

    FISHING GAME RULES QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

    COSTS

    • Season 1: $0
    • Season 2-7: $20 per season operation cost
      • Plus any loans you take out
      • If you have less than $20 to start a season, you MUST take out a loan!
    • Seasons 3-7: any upgrade costs 

    UPGRADES (can be purchased at the START of the season)

    • Upgrades costs are per team, not per person
    • Seasons 1-2: NO UPGRADES! Only forceps with non-dominant hand
    • Season 3: $50 to use dominant hand with forceps
    • Season 4: $100 to use a spoon with non-dominant hand; $300 to get a bigger boat
    • Season 5: $200 to use dominant hand with spoon
    • Season 6: $2000 to move to a different ocean (with $15 search cost)

    HARVEST

    • H = High value = Large beans = $15 each
    • M = Medium value = medium size beans = $5 each
    • B = Bycatch = small beans = -$2 each
    • Carrying capacities:
      • H: 250        M: 350        B: 500

    Clean up/Disposal

    1. Return all items to their original locations.

    This page titled 15.2: Lab 15 Procedures is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Shawn McEachin and Polly Parks.

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