Wastewater treatment
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can outline the key stages involved in the treatment of wastewater and describe features of each.
Key learning points
- There are many sources of wastewater and each introduces different types of contaminants.
- There are sequential steps involved in making wastewater safe before disposal into the environment.
- Multiple types of waste need to be removed from different kinds of wastewater.
- Releasing untreated wastewater into the environment could impact an ecosystem's health.
- Sludge can be anaerobically treated, producing materials that can be used as a fertiliser or fuel.
Keywords
Waste water - Used water from homes, industry and agriculture.
Sludge - The solid collected after sedimentation during treatment of wastewater.
Effluent - The fluid component obtained after sedimentation during the treatment of wastewater.
Aerobic - A process that occurs in the presence of oxygen.
Anaerobic - A process that occurs in the absence of oxygen.
Common misconception
Some pupils think that 'wastewater' is the same as 'sewage' and/or that anything found in a sewer is 'sewage'.
Stress that wastewater is any used water that has been affected by domestic, industrial and agricultural processes; sewage is a part of waste water, but specifically that which is contaminated by with faeces and urine.
Teacher tip
Consider including news articles regarding wastewater disposal by water companies or criteria for 'blue flag' beaches to the lesson.
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is wastewater?
Q2.Which of these is a solid component collected after sedimentation during wastewater treatment?
Q3.What is potable water?
Q4.Which process occurs in the presence of oxygen?
Q5.Put the steps for making potable water from groundwater or freshwater into the correct order.
Q6.Why is it important to treat wastewater before releasing it into the environment?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which process used in wastewater treatment involves bacteria breaking down organic matter?
Q2.Which of the following might lead to wastewater production?
Q3.What is grey water?
Q4.What is the purpose of sedimentation in wastewater treatment?
Q5.What can the anaerobic treatment of sludge produce?
Q6.What is the final step involved in wastewater treatment before it is released into the environment?
To help you plan your 10 combined science lesson on: Wastewater treatment, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 combined science lesson on: Wastewater treatment, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 combined science lessons from the Separating substances unit, dive into the full secondary combined science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.