Urban Environmental Quality and Human Health: Conceiving a Sustainable Future

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 08.07.10

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Objectives
  2. Strategies
  3. Classroom Activities
  4. Appendix A - Implementing District Standards
  5. Appendix B - Glossary of Acronyms
  6. Appendix C - Useful Conversion Factors
  7. Appendix D - Graphic Organizer for Sources of Human Exposure
  8. Appendix E - Pesticides Problem Set
  9. Appendix F - Interpreting Tables and Graphs, 1 18
  10. Appendix G - Interpreting Tables and Graphs, 2 19
  11. Appendix H - Interpreting Tables and Graphs, 3
  12. Resources for teachers
  13. Governmental Sources for Pesticide Data
  14. Endnotes

Environmental Health Issues Meet Algebra

Nancy Rudolph

Published September 2008

Tools for this Unit:

Appendix E - Pesticides Problem Set

1. Complete the table. Show your work in the last column.

FOOD Weight of sample Mass of residue (mg or µg) Concentration of residue (ppm or ppb) Calculation set-up (show your work)
Cherries 2.25 lb. 0.26mg    
Orange Juice 8.1 oz. 0.575µg    
Potato 10 oz. 6.81µg    
Peanuts 0.75 lb. 0.051µg    
Grapes 1.75 lb.   0.44 ppm  
Tomatoes 14 oz.   0.31 ppm  

2. On average, 15-19 year olds consume tap water at a rate of 12mL/kg of body weight per day. This includes water that you drink and water that you add when preparing food.

Estimate how much you consume in a typical day:

  1. How many ounces of water do you consume in a day?
  2. If 1 liquid ounce = 30 mL, how many mL do you consume in a day?
  3. What is your mass in kg?
  4. For your body weight, do you consume more or less water than the mean/average? Show your work.
  5. Water Intake for 15-19 year olds
percentile 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th 99th
mL/kg-day 3 9 16 25 32 61
e. Which (approximate) percentile does your water intake fit into?

3. According to EPA, the maximum contaminant level for the pesticide Atrazine in water is 3 ppb. Using your water consumption from #2, and the fact that the density of water is 1.0 g/mL, what is the maximum number of grams of Atrazine allowable in your water? (FYI: The maximum level reported is 1838 ppt.) Show your work.

4. Assume the concentration from a spray aerosol bug killer used in your basement is 0.61mg/m 3. If you were sitting on the couch watching TV, you would inhale at a rate of 0.4m 3/hr. If you moved a little, playing Wii, you might inhale at a rate of 1.2m 3/hr. If you ran on the treadmill, you might inhale at a rate of 1.9m 3/hr. How much bug killer would you inhale for each of the following activities?

  1. watching TV for 3 hours
  2. playing Wii games for 1.5 hours
  3. running on the treadmill for 40 minutes

5. Assume the bug killer in #5 contains 0.5% active ingredient. If the inhalation limit for the active ingredient is 0.1mg/m 3, what is the maximum amount of bug killer that can be sprayed for the following activities? Show your work.

  1. watching TV for 2.5 hours
  2. playing Wii games for 45 minutes
  3. running on the treadmill for 15 minutes

6. Suppose the school athletic fields were sprayed with pesticide containing Chlorpyrifos just before practice. Athletes inhale approximately 1.9m 3/hr, and the maximum allowable concentration for Chlorpyrifos inhalation is 0.1mg/m 3. What is the maximum level of Chlorpyrifos that should be inhaled by the athletes during a 1.5 hour practice on the fields? Show your work.

7. Suppose the same fields were sprayed at a rate of 23 mg/cm 2. Estimate the surface area of your hands, arms, or other exposed area, in cm 2, to determine your dermal exposure to the pesticide if you fell on the grass. Show your work.

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