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THAT’S HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES
Your group has received a flier from the Chesapeake Mining Co., a local company that investigates potential land sites for the mining of coal. The company has requestedassistance from local organizations to complete research into the costs and benefits of possibly mining for coal in your local region. The Chesapeake Mining Co. is interested in both the economic and the environmental impact coal mining would have on the region. Your group has determined that studying the effects of mining could prove helpful to your own understanding of environmental issues. Therefore, you contact the company and agree to do the research. In this investigation, you will examine how obtaining coal can impact your local environment.
Objective: When you have completed this investigation you should be able toexamine how coal is obtained in order to describe the impact of mining on the environment.
Materials (per group)
chocolate chip cookierulertriple-beam balance
forcepsdissecting probe8 ½ inch x 11 inch paper
napkincalculator
Procedure: Activity 1: How Does Coal Mining Affect the Land?
In order to get a better understanding of how mining affects the land, a group member suggests conducting a simple investigation that she has found in a book.
1.Read the procedures, “Modeling the Effects of Coal Mining.”
2.Reread the procedures and identify what the cookie, the chocolate chips and the dissecting materials represent in this investigation.
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7.Conduct the investigation.
Chart 1: The Effects of Mining
Mass of Cookie and Half Sheet of Paper (grams)Number of Visible Chips on the Cookie’s Surface
Predicted Number of Chips That Are Contained within the Cookie
Time Needed to Mine the Cookie (minutes)
Mass of Cookie Crumbles (grams)
Mass of Chips Extracted (grams)
Mass of Remaining Cookie
Chart 2: The Cost of Mining
Calculate the Gross Profit of Mining /X 1000 = ______
Mass of Mined Chips Gross Profit of Mining
Calculate the Cost of Mining /
X 100 = ______
Mass of Cookie Crumbles Land Damage Fee
X 10 = ______
Time to Mine Cookie Labor Costs
Total Cost of Mining /
+ + 100 =
Land Damage Fee Labor CostsLand Total Cost
Usage Fee
Calculate the Net Profit of Mining /
=
Gross Profit Total CostNet Profit
8.Compare the impact on the land to the profit earned from mining. Use evidence from the investigation to support your response.
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Activity 2: Why is Coal Mining Important?
3.Use resources provided by your teacher to identify the percentage of energy used in the United States that comes from coal.
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4.Identifyhowmost of the coal mined in the United States is used.
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5.Predict how mining for coal might impact the environment. Use prior knowledge to help write your prediction.
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Activity 3: What are the Pros and Cons of Coal Mining?
6.Use the resources provided by your teacher to complete Chart 3, “Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal Mining.”
Chart 3: Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal Mining
Advantages / Disadvantages+ / _
+ / _
+ / _
Class Discussion
Many people believe that the impact of mining on the land outweighs the economic profits that can be gained. Other people believe that the energy obtained from mining is necessary regardless of any potential environmental damage.
- What are your ideas and thoughts about mining and its impact on the land? State your opinion about land use and mining.
Analysis
1.Identify an advantage and a limitation of using the cookie to represent how mining affects the land. Use evidence from the investigation and prior knowledge to support your response.
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2.Explain how mining can affect the environmental quality of an area. Provide examples from the investigation and prior knowledge to support your response.
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