⚠️ Water Pollution Investigation
You are an Environmental Investigator. A river is killing fish and making villagers sick. Three suspects. One crime scene. Click the map to investigate.
🗺️ Crime Scene Map — Click each zone to reveal the evidence
👁️ The Hidden Threat — Invisible vs Visible Pollution
🏖️ Plastics
VISIBLE. You can see plastic bags, bottles, and fragments. A beach covered in plastic is obviously polluted.
🦠 Sewage
PARTIALLY VISIBLE. You can smell it and see discolouration, but the bacteria themselves are microscopic.
"Looks dirty = probably is dirty"
⚗️ Toxic Metal Ions
COMPLETELY INVISIBLE. Dissolved Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Cd²⁺ ions are colourless, odourless, and tasteless in water.
Most dangerous — no sensory warning!
🎓 KEY EXAM POINT
Toxic metal compounds are particularly dangerous because they are dissolved as ions — they cannot be detected by sight, smell, or taste. Water testing equipment is essential. This makes them a more insidious threat than visible pollutants like plastic.
🧩 Pollution Matcher — Identify the Culprit
Step 1: Click a CLUE (left). Step 2: Click the matching POLLUTANT (right).
Clues
Pollutants
📋 Cambridge Exam Summary — Three Pollutants
| Pollutant | Source | Harm | Key Ion / Species |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏭 Toxic Metals | Industrial discharge | Poisonous to nervous system, kidneys of humans & animals | Pb²⁺, Hg²⁺, Cd²⁺ |
| 🦠 Sewage | Urban drainage | Contains bacteria/viruses causing cholera, typhoid | Microbes |
| 🏖️ Plastics | Littering / waste | Chokes marine life; microplastics enter food chain | Polymers → microplastics |
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