TN Science Standards: 9–12.ESS3.1 · 9–12.ESS3.3 · 9–12.ESS3.4
Timeline reading
1.List three contamination sites shown in the lesson. For each, write the decade it appeared and the primary pollutant.
2.What event in the 1940s began the pattern of industrial contamination in Shelby County?
3.Why does the lesson say "the aquifer doesn't forget"? Use a specific example from the timeline.
Map analysis
4.Open /learn/contamination. As you scroll, which neighborhoods accumulate the most contamination sites? Why might that be?
5.The lesson shows approximately 10 sites. POA tracks about 200. Why might the lesson only show a few?
Modern threats
6.Describe the xAI Colossus facility. How much water does it use per day? Why does its location near the TVA coal ash ponds and Davis Wellfield matter?
7.POA advocates for water-reuse instead of raw aquifer withdrawal at the xAI site. What is the difference, and why does it matter for the aquifer?
Plume Simulator
8.Open /tools/plume. Release a contaminant and observe how it spreads. What two physical processes control the shape of the plume?
9.In the simulator, increase the groundwater velocity. How does this change the plume shape? Why?
10.If you were siting a new factory in Shelby County, where would you avoid placing it — and why? Reference both the contamination map and the recharge zone.