Air Quality lab

 

 

Collaborators 

Habiba Fofana

 

Introduction 

The term “air quality” means the state of the air around us. Good air quality refers to clean, clear, unpolluted air. Clean air is essential to maintaining the delicate balance of life on this planet — not just for humans, but wildlife, vegetation, water and soil. Poor air quality is a result of a number of factors, including emissions from various sources, both natural and “human-caused.” Poor air quality occurs when pollutants reach high enough concentrations to endanger human health and/or the environment. Our everyday choices, such as driving cars and burning wood, can have a significant impact on air quality. There are two types of air quality: ambient air quality and indoor quality. Ambient air quality refers to the quality of outdoor air in our surrounding environment. It is typically measured near ground level, away from direct sources of pollution. The air in enclosed spaces, such as home, schools or workplaces, can also be polluted, from pollutants that have seeped in from the outdoors and pollutants emitted from indoor sources. In fact, some kinds of air pollution can be worse indoors than outdoors, such as tobacco smoke, mould, and chemicals released from synthetic fabrics, furnishings and household products. There are six criteria pollutants ozone, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, lead and carbon monoxide. They can cause lung cancer, respiratory problems, impair vision and damage organs. (bcairquality)

 

Hypothesis 

Ozone- If the ozone filter paper is tested inside and outside the building, then the ozone level will be higher outside because the filter paper will be exposed to more sunlight 
Particulate Matter- If the amount of PM is being tested inside and outside the building, then the amount of PM outside will be greater than the amount inside because of the air filters located inside the building and because there is more particles outside. 

 

Parts of the Experiment 

Independent Variable- the location where the strips are placed 
Dependent Variable- the ozone and PM level inside and outside the school
Controlled Variables- materials used 

 

Materials 

index cards 
Vaseline
string 
hole puncher 
filter paper 
spatulas
q-tips
 

Procedure 

Preparation 

 

• Half the class should work on preparing the ozone monitoring test strips by placing 100ml of water in a 250 ml beaker, and adding 5g of cornstarch. Then heat and stir the mixture until it gels (when the mixture becomes thick and clear). Remove the solution from heat, add 1 g of potassium iodide, stir well, and allow to cool. After the solution has cooled, lay a piece of filter paper on a petri and brush the paste onto the filter paper. Turn the filter paper and brush the paste on the other side. Hang up and allow the filter paper to dry. Cut the papers into 1 inch-wide strips. Store the strips in a plastic bag out of sunlight.

• The other half of the class will prepare Particulate matter collectors by smearing a thin layer of petroleum jelly onto a microscope slides. Try to make the layer as even as possible. Use a q-tip to lightly smear the specimen side of each slide. You will need to prepare 2 slides per group and place them in a slide container to avoid smearing the petroleum jelly on anyone.

 

Data Collection 

 

• Each group will place one labeled slide on the exterior of the school. Some groups should choose areas that would receive few particulates, others should choose locations that produce more particulates. (Keep in mind sources of particulate matter)

• One member from each group should take the second slide and place it in a location inside the school.

• You should then place your ozone monitoring strip outside for 8 hrs. Before placing the strip outside, dip the strip in distilled water, then attach the strip out of sunlight. When placing your strip find the relative humidity for that day.

• The next day, each group should collect their slide and ozone monitoring strip. 

• Dunk each strip into distilled water. Use the chart at the right to determine the Schoenbein Number of your strip.

• Use the relative humidity and the Schoenbein number to calculate the concentration of ground level ozone using the chart below.

• Look at your particulate matter slide under the microscope. First decide the amount of particulates and then attempt to estimate the source of the PM. Your group will need to decide how you can classify what type of PM was collected.

• Record all of the lab information in your notebook.

 

 

Conclusion 

My hypothesis was that if the ozone and PM outside and inside were tested then ozone and PM will be higher outside than it will inside. This hypothesis was incorrect. There was no PM inside the building and there was hardly any PM outside. With the ozone, the levels varied by group especially when it came to inside ozone. The location of our filter papers and index had a big influence on our results. Depending on where you placed your ozone strip, some strips could have received more sunlight than others. For the PM strip inside the building, the air filters located inside contributed to the fact that we were not able to get any sort of measure of the inside PM. 

This experiment shows how humans can negatively impact the environment. The ground level ozone and particulate matter tested in this lab were caused by human activity. Air quality is especially concerning because it can be harmful to human health. Even though the results of this lab are most likely incorrect, maintaining good air quality should be a priority in order to ensure the safety of citizens in Wake Forest. It is important to monitor air quality and the six major criteria pollutants so that we can avoid problems like the  toxic pollution levels that are occurring in New Delhi, India and Beijing, China. 

Citations 

"B.C. Air Quality." What Is Air Quality? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.