Graphic organizer Grade 10 Health & Consumer Science

Carbon, Reverse Osmosis, or UV: What Each Home Treatment Removes

A grade 10 compare-and-contrast organizer that maps three home water treatment methods by how each works, what it removes, and its best use.

Grade: Grade 10
Subject: Health & Consumer Science
Material: Graphic organizer
Time: 25 min
Prep: No prep
Materials: None

Standards

HS-ETS1-3 NGSS

Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

How this material aligns: Students evaluate three treatment technologies against a specific water-quality problem, using the frame's 'what it does not handle' column to weigh each method's trade-offs, such as reverse osmosis wasting water and UV needing electric power, before recommending which solution fits.

All materials for HS-ETS1-3 →

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This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely, without attribution. Updated 2026-07-23.

Objectives

Students will compare three home water treatment methods by what each one removes.
Students will match a treatment method to a specific water-quality problem at home.

Vocabulary

Activated carbon: Activated carbon is a special charcoal full of microscopic holes that grab and hold chemicals as water flows past. It is the same material used in many home water filter pitchers.
Reverse osmosis: Reverse osmosis cleans water by pushing it through a membrane with holes so tiny that salt and most other dissolved things cannot fit through. It can even turn seawater into fresh water.
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection: Ultraviolet disinfection uses a special kind of light to damage the DNA of germs in water so they cannot multiply and make anyone sick. It works fast and does not add any chemicals to the water.

Also: point-of-use treatment, membrane

Teacher overview

This is a compare-and-contrast frame with three rows, one for each home water treatment method, and four columns. The columns ask how the method works, what it reduces or removes, what it does not handle, and its best use at home. Completing the frame helps a consumer match a treatment method to the specific problem in their own water rather than assuming that one device fixes everything. A student who finishes the frame should be able to explain why the right choice depends on what a water test actually found, since no single method removes every kind of contaminant.

Use the organizer after students have seen a water quality report or a home test result, so they have a real problem in mind while they compare the options. It pairs well with a follow-up discussion of cost and maintenance, which the frame deliberately leaves aside so students can focus first on what each method is and is not able to remove.

Carbon, Reverse Osmosis, or UV: What Each Home Treatment Removes — Grade 10 Health & Consumer Science

Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Organizer

Method	How it works	What it reduces or removes	What it does not handle	Best use at home
Activated-carbon pitcher or faucet filter
Reverse-osmosis under-sink system
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection unit

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Completed Exemplar

Method	How it works	What it reduces or removes	What it does not handle	Best use at home
Activated-carbon pitcher or faucet filter	Water passes through carbon that traps certain molecules on its surface.	Chlorine taste and odor, many organic chemicals, and, in certified units, some lead.	Dissolved minerals and salts, and it does not reliably kill bacteria or viruses.	Improving taste and reducing specific certified contaminants at a low cost.
Reverse-osmosis under-sink system	Water is pushed through a very fine membrane that blocks most dissolved substances.	A wide range of dissolved contaminants, including PFAS, lead, nitrate, and salts.	Living microbes if the unit is poorly maintained, and it wastes some water and strips out helpful minerals.	Treating water that has many dissolved chemical contaminants, for drinking and cooking.
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection unit	Ultraviolet light shines through clear water and inactivates living microbes.	Bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that can cause illness.	Chemicals, metals, PFAS, and cloudiness, and it needs electric power to run.	Disinfecting water of uncertain microbial safety, usually after a sediment filter.

Differentiation

Support

Pre-fill the "How it works" column for all three methods so students focus on sorting what each one removes and does not handle. Provide a short word bank (PFAS, chlorine, bacteria, lead, minerals, viruses) to place into the correct cells.

Extension

Give students three short scenarios, such as a home with a bad chlorine taste, a home with a confirmed PFAS result, and a private well with a possible bacteria problem, and ask them to recommend a method for each using their completed frame as evidence.

ELL supports

Pair each method name with a simple diagram (a pitcher, an under-sink unit with a membrane, and a light shining through a tube) and pre-teach "removes," "membrane," and "disinfect." Allow cells to be completed with single words or short phrases rather than full sentences.