They are encouraged to work with their families to set up a home hazardous substance inventory program. Students complete a survey and extend it to adults in their community to investigate the recommended disposal procedures for various hazardous substances. Students collect, categorize, and measure the amount of trash they produce in a day at school. They use their estimate of the amount generated as an indicator of our society s waste disposal problem. Source reduction, recycling, and reuse are introduced as ways of reducing the amount of waste an individual produces.
Students use successive dilution of a sugar substitute to determine their threshold of taste.
This experience is used to introduce the concept of a threshold. Health A smoking machine is used to model what actually happens when a person smokes a cigarette. Comparing a smoked cigarette filter to an unsmoked one introduces the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes. Students review and categorize cigarette advertisements to determine how cigarette companies use ads to encourage young people to smoke. The importance of obtaining and using information as part of a person s decision-making process is emphasized.