Introduction: (Initial Observation)
Pollution is one of the major problems of the world. Air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, and soil pollution are among the most important types of pollution and are a concern for many people. Particle pollution is a special type of air pollution. Particle means a very small piece or part or a tiny portion or speck. Air can have other pollutions such as gasses that are not particles and leave no visible trace.
In this project we want to find out the rate of pollution close or away from roads. Hopefully we can find a relation between the rate of particle pollution and the distance from roads.
Since the concentration of particle pollution may vary in different heights, we also want to find the relation between height and particle pollution.
Finally, we want to identify the types of particles in particle pollution.
You may perform the experiments on this page in different regions such as large cities, small cities, out of cities and in rural areas and compare the results.
Information Gathering:
Find out about particle pollution. Read books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn about the effect of distance and elevation on the rate of pollution. Find out if the particle pollution is harmful and how can we prevent or reduce pollution. Keep track of where you got your information from.
Pollution has been a subject of research for many years, so it should not be difficult to find information about pollution on the internet or a local library.
Some internet search and book search in this topic can lead to valuable information. Who knows? maybe pollution testing will be your future business or somewhere in your life you will need it done by other pollution specialists.
Following links have good information about particle pollution.
What is particle pollution?
Particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solid sand liquid droplets suspended in air. This pollution, also known as particulate matter, is made up of a num-ber of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, soil or dust particles, and allergens (such as fragments of pollen or mold spores).
The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small particles less than10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream. Exposure to such particles can affect both your lungs and your heart. Larger particles are of less concern, although they can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat.
Small particles of concern include “fine particles” (such as those found in smoke and haze), which are 2.5micrometers in diameter or less; and “coarse particles” (such as those found in wind-blown dust), which have diameters between 2.5 and 10 micrometers
How can particles affect your health?
Particle exposure can lead to a variety of health effects. For example, numerous studies link particle levels to increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits and even to death from heart or lung diseases. Both long- and short-term particle exposures have been linked to health problems.
| Fine particle pollution is especially harmful to people with lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, because particles can aggravate these diseases. Exposure to fine particle air pollution can trigger asthma flare-ups and cause wheezing, coughing, and respiratory irritation in individuals with sensitive airways. People with heart disease such as coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure and people with diabetes are at risk of serious cardiac effects. Fine particle pollution is especially harmful to people with lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, because particles can aggravate these diseases. Exposure to fine particle air pollution can trigger asthma flare-ups and cause wheezing, coughing, and respiratory irritation in individuals with sensitive airways. People with heart disease such as coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure and people with diabetes are at risk of serious cardiac effects.Source… |
Question/ Purpose:
What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. Use your observations and questions to write the statement.
Does the amount of particle pollution vary with distance from a road, with location, or with height. Determine the types of particles found in pollution fallout.
Identify Variables:
When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act independently of each other.
For studying the amount of particle pollution at different distances from the road, the following are our variables:
The independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the distance from the road.
The dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the amount of dust particles.
Constants are the date and time of sampling, the area of sampling, the height, and the method of sampling.
Controlled variables are the weather conditions, other environmental factors, and distance from other sources of pollution.
For studying the amount of particle pollution at different heights, the following are our variables:
The independent variable (also known as manipulated variable) is the height.
The dependent variable (also known as responding variable) is the amount of dust particles.
Constants are the date and time of sampling, the area of sampling, the distance from the road and the method of sampling.
Controlled variables are the weather conditions, other environmental factors, and distance from other sources of pollution.
Note: Controlled variables are all other variables that may affect your results. For example as you place your sampling boards at different distances from the road, you must make sure that they are not being influenced by other sources of pollution such as a pollinating tree or a construction site. You must also make sure that they are not being affected by factors that reduce particle pollution such as a covered area or a water fountain.
Controlled variables (defined above) and control experiments (that you will see in the experiment section) will help you to have more accurate and more trustable results.
Hypothesis:
Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about what types of things affect the system you are working with. Identifying variables is necessary before you can make a hypothesis. Following is a sample hypothesis:
Since the force of gravity pulls down all materials, we expect to have a higher pollution at lower heights. Also, since movement of the cars agitates dust, we expect higher pollution close to roads.
Experiment Design:
Design an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must have a “control.” A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral “reference point” for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing anything. Dependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project. Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of experiments that includes a control is called a “controlled experiment.”
Experiment 1:
Introduction:
In this experiment you collect samples of particle pollutions from different distances from the road. It is obvious that we cannot walk around and get samples from every dusty space because we do not know how long it took for that dust to collect. So, we need to design a dust sampling technique and use it for our project. We chose to use self adhesive address labels for collecting dust samples. Adhesive on the labels help to keep the dust particles on the sample. The dust particles could be blown away by the wind if we use ordinary paper. Another choice is to use a petri-dish filled with water. When the dust particles land on the water, they get wet and remain in the water. We, however, chose the labels for our tests. You can choose whatever is more convenient for you.
Procedure:
1. Get a sheet of self adhesive labels known as address labels. Adhesive papers can be used as simple dust collection media. There are 30 labels on each sheet.
2. Number the labels from 1 to 30, peel them off, placed them on 30 different pieces of wood glued face up, and secure them with pins. Now each label is a good dust collection device that can not be blown away by the wind. It also holds the dust particles so we can examine them later.
3. Place these dust collection units in different distances from the road, however keep them at the same heights. In your notebook record the number of each dust collector and its distance to the road. Place the dust collector numbered 1 closest to the road and the dust collector numbered 30 furthest from the road.
4. After a few days collect the stickers and classify them visually based on the amount of dust particles. The number of days you leave the labels out depend on the concentration of dust in your test area.
5. Record your result and use them to determine if the particle pollution is affected by the distance from the road.
Need a control experiment?
Let one of the labels sit in a dust-free spot (Cover it with a glass cup) for the same amount of time. This control experiment proves that the dust particles on other labels really came from the environment.
Experiment 2:
Introduction:
There are tall residential buildings in many crowded and polluted cities. How does the particle pollution change from the lower flours to the higher floors? In this experiment you collect samples of particle pollutions from different heights in a polluted area. You may place your dust collectors on the balcony of different floors. This experiment is only possible if you have access to an open space in different heights such as open stair cases or balconies of tall buildings.
Procedure:
1. Get a sheet of self adhesive labels known as address labels. Adhesive papers can be used as simple dust collection media. There are 30 labels on each sheet.
2. Number the labels from 1 to 30, peel them off, placed them on 30 different pieces of wood glued face up, and secure them with pins. Now each label is a good dust collection device that can not be blown away by the wind. It also holds the dust particles so we can examine them later.
3. Place these dust collection units in the outdoor area of 30 different floors of a tall building. In your notebook record the number of each dust collector and its estimated elevation (height). Place the dust collector numbered 1 closest to the ground and the dust collector numbered 30 at the highest floor.
4. After a few days collect the stickers and classify them visually based on the amount of dust particles. The number of days you leave the labels out depend on the concentration of dust in your test area.
5. Record your result and use them to determine if the particle pollution is affected by the elevation from the ground.
Note: If you don’t have access to 30 different elevations, you may use less stickers and collect less samples.
Experiment 3: (optional)
Introduction:
In this experiment we attempt to identify the source or the type of such pollutions.
Procedure:
In this experiment you make close observation of samples using magnifier or Microscope. Compare the samples with known samples that you can gather and try to identify the type of particles. Possible classifications are:
- Sand and fine minerals
- Pollen
- Synthetic and natural fibers
- Disintegrated organic matter such as dead animals and insects
- Dry Plants, leafs, flowers particles
- Hair from human or animals
Materials and Equipment:
Label paper (Self adhesive labels)
pieces of wood
Pins
Results of Experiment (Observation):
I recorded the results of my experiment in the following table:
Particle Ratio:
|
Height: |
0 feet | 5 feet | 10 feet | 20 feet | 40 feet | 80 feet |
| Distance From Road | ||||||
| 2 feet | 30 | 29 | 26 | 24 | 18 | |
| 10 feet | 28 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 17 | |
| 25 feet | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 13 | |
| 50 feet | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 9 | |
| 75 feet | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 100 feet | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| 150 feet | ||||||
| 200 feet |
Since I used only 30 labels, I classified the samples based on collected particles and numbered them from 1, the lowest dust to 30, the highest dust level. I also could not complete all tests to fill up the table. The numbers in the above table represent the rate of dust.
After this experiment I used a regular magnifier and tried to identify the type of particles. I also used a microscope that really gave a different perspective to this experiment. With microscope many particles look like hair and crystals.
For the second experiment record the results in a table like this:
Particle Type:
|
Height: |
0 feet | 5 feet | 10 feet | 20 feet | 40 feet | 80 feet |
| Distance From Road | ||||||
| 2 feet | M,D | |||||
| 10 feet | ||||||
| 25 feet | ||||||
| 50 feet | ||||||
| 75 feet | ||||||
| 100 feet | ||||||
| 150 feet | ||||||
| 200 feet |
Table Guide:
M: Sand and fine minerals
P: Pollen
S: Synthetic and natural fibers
D: Disintegrated organic matter such as dead animals and insects
T: Tree, dry plants, leafs and flower particles
H: Hair from human and animals
Calculations:
Using the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull together what happened, and assess the experiments you did. This is a sample:
Since I did not weight the collected dust, I am not able to use my rating system (from 1 to 30) to calculate the rate of dust. In order to measure the particles and calculate a rate, I probably need a pump to sock the dust (Like a vacuum cleaner) and collect it in small micro filters, so we can see how much does it weight.
Summary of Results:
Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during experiments.
It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made. Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even more interesting and powerful.
For example your experiment results may shows that particle pollution is less when we are farther from the road and in higher levels.
Conclusion:
This experiment shows that roads are a source of particle pollution. On the other hand this experiment was performed in winter and in a residential area. If I would perform the same in other seasons or other areas, it could have a different outcome. Sampling must be done in a wide area with an accurate distribution and in different seasons to provide us with accurate conclusive results.
Related Questions & Answers:
What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing experiments. You may now be able to understand or verify things that you discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.
Possible Errors:
If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring instrument is working erratically.
If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully rethink the design of your experiments. Review each step of the procedure to find sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.
References:
Visit your local library and review some books about pollution. Focus on particle pollution and find out the sources and the harmful effects of particle pollution.
Following are some web resources.
