Topic 4.4 IB ESS Water Pollution Biotic Indices

Focusing on Topic 4.4 Water Pollution from the IB Environmental Systems and Societies course, two resources that lead students through an understanding the use of biotic indices, to monitor pollution.

The first resource is a case study based on the Red River in Hanoi, Vietnam and the problems associated with aquatic pollution because of rapidly industrialization and population growth. A series of questions that use the IB Command terms guide students to a deeper understanding of both the underlying knowledge and the deeper synthesis.

The second resource is a simulation based on a theoretical river in the UK. Students are given a detailed map of the River Beck and tables of macroinvertebrates sampled at 5 different stations. They ae then guided through Calculations of BMWP and ASPT and asked to draw conclusions supported by evidence about biological state of the river. The can then self assess against an adapted IA matrix for data analysis. A teachers excel summary sheet of the calculations is also included.

Both resources are available as pdf, word and epub . A link is also included to google drive versions of each resource for schools currently operating online.