Students collect CTTM data about buildings, taps, water chemistry and water quality using paper worksheets. They use different dataheets for different kinds of data. This post explains how the different datasheets relate to each other and will help teachers in organizing and overseeing the students’ work as they enter data.
Students will use the following kinds of datasheets as they collect data about buildings, taps, and water chemistry, quality, and total dissolved solids.
- Building Datasheet
- Additional Tap Datasheet
- Water Chemistry Datasheet
- Water Quality Datasheet
- TDS Datasheet
The diagram at the top of this post provides a schematic view of how these different datasheets are connected. Here are the important things to notice and remember.
- Every set of observations relates to a BUILDING. So, every observation must connect back to a building record by referencing the Building ID.
- A building always has at least one tap. We call this the Primary Tap. The Building Datasheet will ask about the location of that tap.
- You and your students might be interested in collecting samples from more than one tap in a building. For example, the students in Sumner Memorial High School are creating a map of many of the taps in the school and collecting samples from them. They are wondering whether the water in parts of the building dating back to the 1950s is different than in the newer sections. When adding a tap to the records for a buidling, you will compete an Additional Tap Datasheet. It will ask for the Building ID so that it can be connected back to the right building.
- Water Quality Observations look at water chemistry, total dissolved solids, and characteristics of the water that students can see, taste, and smell. They are always connected to a particular Tap ID and Building ID.
- There can be multiple sets of observations about any tap. For example, students might be interested in finding out whether water quality changes over the seasons.