Description
IB ESS Practical 1G: Systems Diagram of a Pollutant 
Help students apply systems thinking to a real-world environmental pollution problem using quantitative secondary data.
In this activity, students select a pollutant and a documented geographic location, research quantitative secondary data, and construct a systems diagram showing the pollutant’s inputs, storages, flows, transformations, and impacts.
Possible investigations include nitrogen dioxide in urban air, nitrate runoff into a named water body, plastic microparticles in a coastal zone, mercury in a freshwater or marine system, or PM2.5 in a named city. Students must identify multiple pollutant storages and flows, classify flows as transfers or transformations, incorporate quantitative data, and interpret their completed diagram.
Strong IA and Data Skills
Students practise finding and citing reliable secondary sources while learning to use data as part of a systems model. They identify significant pollutant storages and flows, consider feedback loops, and identify points where human intervention could reduce pollutant movement.
The activity is assessed using IB ESS Internal Assessment Criterion D: Treatment of Data and also develops evaluation skills by asking students to consider the strengths, limitations, and completeness of their model.
Ideal for
- Applying systems thinking to pollution
- Connecting Topic 1 concepts to real environmental issues
- Practising secondary-data research
- Developing quantitative data communication
- Preparing students for IB ESS Internal Assessment
- Introducing sustainability and pollution as systems concepts
Digital download. No physical product will be shipped.
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