RJ - Coral Reef tank

School:: Lakewood High School
Subject:: Science
Teacher:: Elisa Sasserath
Students Impacted:: 129
Grade:: 9-12
Date:: October 21, 2021

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Raymond James Financial - $980.00

Goal

To teach various chemistry and environmental science concepts to my students using an in classroom coral tank

What will be done with my students

For environmental science, I will use testing equipment to allow students to test water for nitrate and nitrite which demonstrates the nitrogen cycle. The neptune system is wifi connected and creates real time graphs and charts about the levels measured which can be used to analyze in class. I can also use the graphs to create AP style Free response questions based on data that is interesting to them. This can be utilized especially in the quatic systems unit, where coral reefs are a central concept.

For chemistry, I will use the testing equipment to support the goals of the Pre-AP program. They will be directly involved in maintaining the tank, taking measurements of nitrate and nitrate and theorizing why the levels are what they are. I will also use the data collected in the graph to teach data and graph analysis and relate it to units throughout the year. The coral animal uses various simple chemical processes to survive, and these can be used in the lesson plans when discussing chemical reactions, bonding and periodic trends.

Benefits to my students

The neptune system is a great way to show the overlap between chemistry, environmental science, biology and engineering. The system requires some programming and setup where students can apply these engineering concepts to a live coral tank.

Describe the Students

I have a mix of students in my class. About half the students are high performers and half are low performers. I have a large number of students who have 504 plans for various conditions

Budget Narrative

APEX controller is the system that can monitor and track the levels for Temperature, Salinity, ORP, and pH. It also includes a power hub which can be controlled online to automate the tank.
The nitrate and nitrite colorimeters are extremely accurate tests to measure nitrate and nitrite in the water

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Apex Controller System - Neptune Systems	$880.00
2	Nitrate Low Range Colorimeter	$50.00
3	Nitrite Low Range Colorimeter	$50.00
	Total:	$980.00

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