Wastewater treatment
I can outline the key stages involved in the treatment of wastewater and describe features of each.
Wastewater treatment
I can outline the key stages involved in the treatment of wastewater and describe features of each.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- There are many sources of wastewater and each introduces different types of contaminants.
- There are sequential steps involved in making wastewater safe before disposal into the environment.
- Multiple types of waste need to be removed from different kinds of wastewater.
- Releasing untreated wastewater into the environment could impact an ecosystem's health.
- Sludge can be anaerobically treated, producing materials that can be used as a fertiliser or fuel.
Keywords
Waste water - Used water from homes, industry and agriculture.
Sludge - The solid collected after sedimentation during treatment of wastewater.
Effluent - The fluid component obtained after sedimentation during the treatment of wastewater.
Aerobic - A process that occurs in the presence of oxygen.
Anaerobic - A process that occurs in the absence of oxygen.
Common misconception
Some pupils think that 'wastewater' is the same as 'sewage' and/or that anything found in a sewer is 'sewage'.
Stress that wastewater is any used water that has been affected by domestic, industrial and agricultural processes; sewage is a part of waste water, but specifically that which is contaminated by with faeces and urine.
To help you plan your year 10 chemistry lesson on: Wastewater treatment, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 chemistry lesson on: Wastewater treatment, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 chemistry lessons from the Separating substances unit, dive into the full secondary chemistry curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.