Where Has the Water Gone?

Including themes of natural resources, art, and geography; this engineering lesson introduces students to the idea of mass conservation. While using the phenomena of the water crisis in Arizona, "Where Has the Water Gone?" allows students to either add to or reinforce their knowledge of mass, the concept of conservation of mass, and how mass must be conserved in complex fluid systems. To finish out the lesson, students will engage in a small-group hands-on activity where they will generate maps of the East Verde River drainage, and will analyze the mass entering and leaving the river, all to help generate a mathematical model for the amount of water that enters the Verde River at their confluence. Lastly, students will generate engineering solutions to issues of flooding and drought that commonly occur along the East Verde drainage during annual monsoon season storms.