Created by
b Auriane Koster
K
Water
W
Bottlle Liffe Cy cle:
Brreak the C
Cycle
e
One of the mostt fundamenta
al concepts in sustainab
bility science
e is
the conce
ept of a prod
duct’s life cy
ycle. The life
e cycle of a p
product begiins when the
e raw ingred
dients
of a prod
duct are gath
hered and en
nds when the
e product is no longer used for its original purpo
ose.
The term
m cradle-to-grave is used
d to describe
e products th
hat are head
ded for the la
andfill, while
cradle-to
o-cradle is us
sed to talk ab
bout product life cycles in which the
e product is rre-purposed in
some wa
ay. Bottled water
w
is an un
nsustainable
e, everyday product whicch can easily be replace
ed
with bette
er alternative
es. In fact around
a
30% of bottled wa
ater actuallyy comes from
m the tap!
This 50-m
minute lesso
on will allow students to explore the concept of a product life
e cycle analyysis
through the
t example
e of bottled water.
w
After learning abo
out the life cyycle of a wa
ater bottle,
students can debate and discuss
s the merits of different w
ways of brea
aking the cyccle through
reducing, recycling, and
a re-using
g. Initially, students will sstart this lessson by prediicting the
outcome of a blind ta
aste test of bottled
b
waterr vs. tap watter. For a final evaluation
n students ccan
be assign
her
ned to create
e the life cyc
cle of tap wa
ater (or anoth
product)..
Websites
s are provide
ed for studen
nts to researrch where th
heir
water is “born”
“
and a video of wh
here it goes once they’ve
e
used it.
Before beginning,
b
students
s
sh
hould: have some
understanding aboutt the link betw
ween energy use and th
he
carbon cycle as well as an underrstanding tha
at plastic is made
from petrroleum products. For tho
ose with morre backgrou nd in
energy concepts there is an opportunity to ta
alk about wh
here
energy is
s lost in the system
s
and how reducin
ng, recycling
g and
reusing have
h
differen
nt energy req
quirements.
Created by
b Anne Marie
e Raymondi
Sustainab
bility Science for Sustainab
ble Schools, a National Sciience Founda
ation funded p
program
1
Essentia
al Question: Why shou
uld we care about the liifecycle of a product?
The
T objective
e of this lesson is to intro
oduce the co
oncept of a liifecycle and
d understand
d how
to
o combat line
ear (cradle to
t grave) wa
aste cycles.
At the end
e of the le
esson, stude
ents will be able
a
to:
1. define the
e terms “prod
duct lifecycle
e”, “linear”, ““cradle to gra
rave” and “crradle to crad
dle”
2. describe the
t process by which bo
ottled water iis created
3. compare and contras
st bottled water vs. tap w
water in term
ms of sustaina
ability.
Standard
ds Address
sed: Science
e Strand 1: In
nquiry Proce
ess, Concep
pt 1: Observa
ations,
Question
ns and Hypotheses; Scie
ence Strand 3: Science iin Personal and Social P
Perspectivess,
Concept 2: Science and
a Technology in Socie
ety
Themes: Systems th
hinking, trade
eoffs, casca
ading effects
Skills: Evidence bas
sed thinking, oral commu
unication
Key Vocabulary
y
Product Life Cycle: the cycle manufactured
m
d products g
go through, fr
from introducction to dispo
osal.
Linear: arranged
a
in or
o extending
g along a stra
raight line.
Cradle to
o Cradle: a systems design approach for produ
ucts that is cyyclical.
Cradle to
o Grave: a design
d
appro
oach for products from tthe beginnin
ng to disposa
al, a linear
approach
h.
Materials
s Needed






Cups
s and dispen
nsers for tap and bottled water
Access to tap and bottled wa
ater
k the Cycle PowerPoint Slide Presentation pdf
Break
Wate
er Bottle Fac
ct Sheet pdf
Copie
es of the Wa
ater Bottle Liife Cycle pic
ctures (enoug
gh for each team of stud
dents) pdf
Intern
net for video
os, if desired.
Safety Precautions
P
Make sure each stud
dent gets the
eir own cups
s in the taste
e test for hyg
gienic purposses.
g Instructio
ons
Teaching
Advanc
ced Prepara
ation
Before class,
c
prepare the taste test using bottled and ta
ap water in id
dentical con
ntainers (e.g..
plastic cups).
c
Revie
ew the Break
k the Cycle PowerPoint
P
slide presen
ntation to gu
uide the lesso
on.
Engage
ement
Begin by
y polling students on wh
here they get their drinki ng water. H
How many usse tap waterr?
How ma
any use bottlled water? Are
A there diffferent occassions when they will use one or the
other? Which
W
do they think tasttes better? Introduce th
he taste testt that will occcur later. Ha
ave
Created by
b Anne Marie
e Raymondi
Sustainab
bility Science for Sustainab
ble Schools, a National Sciience Founda
ation funded p
program
2
each stu
udent predic
ct which will win:
w tap or bottled
b
waterr. Save thesse numbers for later.
Explora
ation
Share th
he bottled water facts (slide 2). Have
e students fo
orm teams a
and hand out the water b
bottle
life cycle
e photographs. Have the
e students arrange
a
them
m in the apprropriate sequ
uence,
identifying what is happening
h
in each photo
ograph. For more advan
nced studentts, you migh
ht
have the
em identify forms
f
of ene
ergy being us
sed.
Explana
ation
Walk thrrough the Po
owerPoint sllide presenta
ation and pa
ause at the liife cycle of the water bottle
to have a discussion
n about each
h of the stag
ges. How m any studentts got them a
all? Use the
Water Bottle
B
Fact Sheet when talking aboutt each stage
e.
Elabora
ation
As you go
g through the
t next slide
es ask the students for ttheir opinion
ns. How do th
he students think
they cou
uld break the
e cycle? Wh
hat do they think
t
is the b
best way to b
break the cyycle? Use th
he
PowerP
Point slides to
o talk about the differenc
ce between reduce, recyycle and reu
use. Which
method uses the mo
ost energy? The least energy?
e
Wh
hich do they prefer? Whyy do they think
that so many
m
water bottles go to
o the “grave””? Do they tthink it matte
ers?
Explora
ation/Elaborration
Conduct the water taste
t
test and tally the re
esults.
Discuss
s the results with the clas
ss. Were the
eir prediction
ns correct? W
Why or whyy not?
How do the percepttions of wate
er quality and
d taste impa
act the desire
e to purchasse bottled wa
ater
vs. tap water?
w
Evaluattion
Have students creatte a life cycle of tap wate
er in their arrea, or of anyy other prod
duct.
If there is
s extra time, you can use
e the links lis
sted in the A
Additional Re
esources an
nd at the end
d of
the Powe
erPoint to dis
scover wherre the tap wa
ater comes ffrom and wa
atch the vide
eo about whe
ere it
goes.
nal Resourc
ces
Addition
To find out
o where the
e water in yo
our area com
mes from, se
ee the follow
wing websites:
http://ww
ww.nature.org
g/all-hands-o
on-earth/water
http://watter.epa.gov/drink/local/
Video: Where
W
does Tap
T Water GO?
G
http://ww
ww.youtube.c
com/watch?v
v=oaXth88i7
7rk
For more
e information
n on water trreatment:
http://ww
ww.epa.gov/o
ogwdw/watertreatmentplant/flash/ind
dex.html
Created by
b Anne Marie
e Raymondi
Sustainab
bility Science for Sustainab
ble Schools, a National Sciience Founda
ation funded p
program
3