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model Assessment

Which Trash Cleaning Solution is Better?

Read and learn about each of the two design solutions for cleaning up trash in Baltimore, Maryland’s harbor, which is home to 2,700 species of living things. Which one would best preserve the biodiversity of a harbor?





Mr. Trash Wheel




After a storm, in Baltimore, Maryland, a lot of trash will end up flowing down storm drains from the streets and ends up in the harbor. To help solve the problem, John Kellett invented Mr. Trash Wheel. Mr. Trash Wheel works off of solar power and pulls trash out of the water so that it doesn’t end up flowing into the harbor and out into the Ocean.





The trash wheel cost $550,000 to build and costs $200,000/yr to keep it running. To give you an idea of how well this machine works: Mr. Trash Wheel removes 38,000 pounds of trash from the harbor in one day after a storm in April of 2015.
NGSS Phenomena: Images of Mr. Trash wheel, who looks like a snail with big googly eyes, floating on the water.
On a clean day, Mr. Trash Wheel looks very peaceful...
NGSS Phenomena: A belt, feeding trash from the water into Mr. trash wheel.
This timelapse shows Mr. Trash Wheel picking up a massive amount of trash after a storm, with a person helping to make sure Mr. Trash Wheel works smoothly.
Seabin




The Seabin was invented by two Australians, Andrew Turton & Pete Ceglinski, who worked as boat builders and industrial designers that saw the incredible amounts of trash that end up in harbors around the world.
NGSS Phenomena: A yellow bucket shape, sitting at the top of the water and sucking in trash that's floating.
It acts like a trash bin in the water. Floating trash are pulled into the top of the basket.
The Seabin can catch up to 40 lbs of floating trash per day by sucking water into itself. Using a pump and a small net, it sucks in water that has trash in it and pumps clean water back into the ocean. It costs around $9000 to buy and install a Seabin and a little over $10,000 to run one Seabin each year.
NGSS Phenomena: A man walking down a dock and removing the net full of trash from a seabin.
A person needs to remove trash from the bin twice a day.

1. These solutions are looking to help solve the issue of in the .

Drag the answers below into the grey placeholders above

microplastics
Atlantic Ocean
Baltimore Harbor
overfishing
acidification
oils
floating trash

2. Which statement best describes evidence for how well both solutions work?

3. What's the status of biodiversity in Baltimore Harbor and how will these solutions help the biodiversity?

4. What are the strengths and weakness of each design, when looking at their cost?

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This matching question aligns to the following standards

  • MS-LS2-5

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This free response question aligns to the following standards

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  • LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans

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