Air Quality Lab
Collaborators: Anna Duke, Ahlora Gartland
Abstract: For this lab, an ozone monitor and particulate matter collector were made, and one of each was placed inside. There were more particulates caught on the PM collector, especially because it was placed inside the Apparel room so there were stray threads. The ozone monitor that was placed outside had a higher level of ozone than the one that was placed inside.
Problem: How does the air quality inside of a building differ from the air quality outside?
Hypothesis: The inside room will have more particulate matter, and the outside will have a higher ozone level.
Control Group- Inside or outside
Experimental Group- Ozone/particulates
Independent Variable- Inside/Outside
Dependent Variable- Ozone and particulate amounts
Materials:
Potassium Iodide
Corn starch
Beakers
Spatulas
Large Graduated Cylinder
Filter Paper
Petroleum Jelly
Q-tips
Microscopes
Methods:
· Prepare an ozone monitoring test strip by soaking a piece of paper in a solution of cornstarch, water, and potassium iodide. Then, hang one inside and one outside.
· Prepare particulate matter collectors by smearing petroleum jelly on 2 microscope slides, and put one inside and one outside.
· The next day, collect the slides and then dunk the ozone one in distilled water and see how dark it turns
· Then, record the Schoenbein number.
Collaborators: Anna Duke, Ahlora Gartland
Abstract: For this lab, an ozone monitor and particulate matter collector were made, and one of each was placed inside. There were more particulates caught on the PM collector, especially because it was placed inside the Apparel room so there were stray threads. The ozone monitor that was placed outside had a higher level of ozone than the one that was placed inside.
Problem: How does the air quality inside of a building differ from the air quality outside?
Hypothesis: The inside room will have more particulate matter, and the outside will have a higher ozone level.
Control Group- Inside or outside
Experimental Group- Ozone/particulates
Independent Variable- Inside/Outside
Dependent Variable- Ozone and particulate amounts
Materials:
Potassium Iodide
Corn starch
Beakers
Spatulas
Large Graduated Cylinder
Filter Paper
Petroleum Jelly
Q-tips
Microscopes
Methods:
· Prepare an ozone monitoring test strip by soaking a piece of paper in a solution of cornstarch, water, and potassium iodide. Then, hang one inside and one outside.
· Prepare particulate matter collectors by smearing petroleum jelly on 2 microscope slides, and put one inside and one outside.
· The next day, collect the slides and then dunk the ozone one in distilled water and see how dark it turns
· Then, record the Schoenbein number.
Data Analysis:
The ozone monitor that was outside showed a darker purple color than the one on the inside did, indicating that the ozone level was higher outside. The particulate matter collector showed more particulate matter on the inside, than on the outside. It also had loose threads stuck to it because it was place in the Apparel classroom. The Schoenbein number that was determined for the ozone levels was around 8, because it was a dark purple. This contrasts with the air quality given,
Conclusions:
My hypothesis that the inside room will have more particulate matter, and the outside will have a higher ozone level was correct. The ozone monitor that was hanging outside turned a darker purple than the one inside, and the particulate matter collector had more particulates on it for the one that hung inside. On the day this experiment was performed, Wake Forest met the requirement for ground level ozone levels. The maximum amount is 80 ppb, and Wake Forest had 60 ppb. I think this is an accurate measurement because the Schoenbein number wasn’t the most extreme, just as the ppb measure wasn’t either. However, the air quality for that day was green, for good ozone. It seems like these measurements of the ppb would almost be moderate to unhealthy because the ppb number is closer to the limit than it is closer to none.
On the map of the United States showed on the lab questions, the cities that didn’t meet the ozone requirements for the Clean Air Act are all industrialized cities. They have large populations, many cars, and many industries. Therefore, they produce more ozone than quieter states. One of the reasons that particulate matter wasn’t added to the Clean Air Act until the 1990s might be because as we continue to grow as a nation, more particulates are added into the air and lung/respiratory problems have grown significantly. With this realization and some investigating, the government probably found a parallel between the air quality and human health.
The two different PM samples didn’t have as much on them as I thought. I knew that the one inside would have more than the one outside, but there still wasn’t a lot of matter on each one. An idea to improve these samples is to leave them out for longer; such as two or three days instead of one.
When the air quality is bad, human health declines. When human health declines, medical expenses begin to add up, costing the economy big time. When air quality is monitored, this helps to avoid so many health issues by trying to fix the air quality before it gets too bad.
On element.com, there is an article about a different type of ozone testing. Instead of using a cornstarch and potassium iodide strips, they used rubber. The rubber strips were put in a chamber and exposed to different ozone levels, to see how it would affect them. It was found that when the ozone levels got too high, the rubber would crack or break. This can apply to outdoors too. If the ozone outside is so high that it can crack rubber, it’s obvious that it’s very dangerous to health, and people should take every precaution to stay inside.
Citation:
"Ozone Testing." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. <http://www.element.com/services-index/ozonetesting>.
The ozone monitor that was outside showed a darker purple color than the one on the inside did, indicating that the ozone level was higher outside. The particulate matter collector showed more particulate matter on the inside, than on the outside. It also had loose threads stuck to it because it was place in the Apparel classroom. The Schoenbein number that was determined for the ozone levels was around 8, because it was a dark purple. This contrasts with the air quality given,
Conclusions:
My hypothesis that the inside room will have more particulate matter, and the outside will have a higher ozone level was correct. The ozone monitor that was hanging outside turned a darker purple than the one inside, and the particulate matter collector had more particulates on it for the one that hung inside. On the day this experiment was performed, Wake Forest met the requirement for ground level ozone levels. The maximum amount is 80 ppb, and Wake Forest had 60 ppb. I think this is an accurate measurement because the Schoenbein number wasn’t the most extreme, just as the ppb measure wasn’t either. However, the air quality for that day was green, for good ozone. It seems like these measurements of the ppb would almost be moderate to unhealthy because the ppb number is closer to the limit than it is closer to none.
On the map of the United States showed on the lab questions, the cities that didn’t meet the ozone requirements for the Clean Air Act are all industrialized cities. They have large populations, many cars, and many industries. Therefore, they produce more ozone than quieter states. One of the reasons that particulate matter wasn’t added to the Clean Air Act until the 1990s might be because as we continue to grow as a nation, more particulates are added into the air and lung/respiratory problems have grown significantly. With this realization and some investigating, the government probably found a parallel between the air quality and human health.
The two different PM samples didn’t have as much on them as I thought. I knew that the one inside would have more than the one outside, but there still wasn’t a lot of matter on each one. An idea to improve these samples is to leave them out for longer; such as two or three days instead of one.
When the air quality is bad, human health declines. When human health declines, medical expenses begin to add up, costing the economy big time. When air quality is monitored, this helps to avoid so many health issues by trying to fix the air quality before it gets too bad.
On element.com, there is an article about a different type of ozone testing. Instead of using a cornstarch and potassium iodide strips, they used rubber. The rubber strips were put in a chamber and exposed to different ozone levels, to see how it would affect them. It was found that when the ozone levels got too high, the rubber would crack or break. This can apply to outdoors too. If the ozone outside is so high that it can crack rubber, it’s obvious that it’s very dangerous to health, and people should take every precaution to stay inside.
Citation:
"Ozone Testing." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014. <http://www.element.com/services-index/ozonetesting>.