Lab 3 Report - Lab 3 Data Analysis Air Quality \"Up in the air\" PDF

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Lab 3 Data Analysis Air Quality "Up in the air"...

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September 23, 2020 Data Analysis Air Quality “Up in the air” This experiment is important because it will help us learn how to find the correct data we need for a specific experiment. Currently, on the internet, different sources have different data or answers regarding various scientific experiments or general questions- many of which can be inaccurate or flat-out wrong. I expect this experiment to be very engaging and hopefully useful in the future for research on other topics or even in a different course. This experiment is useful not only in chemistry but in day-to-day life. In this lab, we learned how to understand and graph levels or concentrations of different air quality measurements. With these skills, we are now able to know exactly which information is suitable for an experiment and not get confused when seeing a variety of different measurements that seem unnecessary. This lab also helps us to learn what exactly effects the concentrations of different air quality concentrations such as groundlevel ozone, particulate matter, lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. In this experiment, we began with the choice of going to two websites: “NYS air quality monitoring” or “New Jersey air monitoring,” I chose the NYS website. After this, we were instructed to download stations data from any of the given areas by going to “Current Air Quality Measurement Data” under important links and then clicking on “Reports.” After picking New York White Plains, I downloaded the ozone values for one week in that area and exported it to excel. Then, added a column named “Hours” to indicate the levels for each hour from 1 to 167. Once I finished choosing my three focus questions I created separate tabs for each focus question so I would be able to remove any unnecessary quantities depending on what the question is asking.

Part A: Link to New York White Plains Stationary Data spreadsheet for the week of 08/09/2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SydIShEAOFmoGrpP-4J3h4UqNm5cT_gb/view?usp=sharing Focus Question: How does the concentration of ozone depend on the time of the day?

There were two gaps on 08/13/2020 that were populated in order to seal the break in the graph. You can see that in the beginning and end of the day the levels are very low (nearing 0) but they begin to increase and by mid-day, between 12PM-3PM, the levels are at their highest. Yes. The ozone levels do depend on the time of day. The levels fluctuate thoughout the day and are at their peak in the mid-day (12-3pm).

Part B: 1. Does blood pressure (BP) depend on the time of day?

Date

Time

Hour

BP in HG

Date

Time

Hour BP in HG

8/9/2020

12:00 AM

0

29.83

8/9/2020

6:00 AM

6

29.84

8/9/2020

1:00 AM

1

29.83

8/9/2020

7:00 AM

7

29.84

8/9/2020

2:00 AM

2

29.82

8/9/2020

8:00 AM

8

29.83

8/9/2020

3:00 AM

3

29.82

8/9/2020

9:00 AM

9

29.84

8/9/2020

4:00 AM

4

29.82

8/9/2020

10:00AM

10

29.83

8/9/2020

5:00 AM

5

29.84

8/9/2020

11:00 AM 11

29.83

This table represents the first half of Sunday 08/09/2020 in which the BP levels are at the highest point for the first time in the week.

Date

Time

Hour

BP in HG Date

Time

Hour

BP in HG

8/11/2020

12:00 AM

48

29.7

8/11/2020

6:00 AM

54

29.72

8/11/2020

1:00 AM

49

29.69

8/11/2020

7:00 AM

55

29.73

8/11/2020

2:00 AM

50

29.69

8/11/2020

8:00 AM

56

29.73

8/11/2020

3:00 AM

51

29.69

8/11/2020

9:00 AM

57

29.73

8/11/2020

4:00 AM

52

29.69

8/11/2020

10:00 AM

58

29.73

8/11/2020

5:00 AM

53

29.7

8/11/2020

11:00 AM

59

29.72

This table represents the first half of Thursday 08/13/2020 in which the BP levels are at the highest point for the second time in the week.

Date

Time

Hour BP in HG

8/11/2020

4:00 PM

64

29.67

8/11/2020

5:00 PM

65

29.67

8/11/2020

6:00 PM

66

29.67

8/11/2020

7:00 PM

67

29.67

This table represents the evening of 08/11/2020 in which the BP levels are at their lowest for the week. 2. Does temperature depend on the time of day?

As seen in the graph, the temperature fluctuates daily - increasing from early morning until the mid-day hours of 12pm-3pm, and decreasing from mid-day until the late night hours of 2am4am. So yes, temperature does depend on the time of day.

3. Is relative humidity (RH) dependent on the time of day?

This graph represents the percent relative humidity for the week of 08/09/2020. The levels increase in the night time and decrease during the daytime.

The RH is usually at its highest at 2-5am (5am beaing peak) & its lowest around 1-2pm. Though on the graph, we can see that on Thursday 08/13/2020 the RH was much higher than the rest of the week and the percentage did not change as much as all the other days. So yes, the relative humidity does depend on the time of day. As seen by the graphs, relative humidity and temperature are dependent on the time of day while blood pressure is independent. Relative humidity reaches its peak in the night time and lowest in the mid-day while temperature is the inverse - high during the mid-day and lowest at

night. The high temperature during the mid-day time is mostly related to the amount of sun exposure during this time. Temperature can also be related to the levels of ozone in the air. Ozone is also dependent on the time of day most likely because of how ozone is produced: industrial factories, vehicle exhaust, and chemical solvents. During the day the use of vehicles and factories are more common which causes the relation to high levels of ozone during this time.

References: “Criteria Air Pollutants.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 8 Mar. 2018, www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants. “Ground-Level Ozone Basics.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 10 Sept. 2020, www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics. Smeureanu, Gabriela, and Stephanie Geggier. General Chemistry CHEM 106 + 105 Lab Manual. 2020th ed., LAD Custom Publishing, 2020. Post Lab Questions: 1. What is air pollution and what causes it? Air pollution is a mixture of different solid and liquid particles released in the air called aerosols. These pollutants are caused by multiple things including the release of vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and fossil fuels. 2. What types of air pollutions are there? List at least 5 of them. Ground-level ozone, particulate matter, lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. 3. What is the difference between primary and secondary air pollutants? What are some examples of each? Primary air pollutants are pollutants that are released directly into the air while secondary pollutants are developed in the atmosphere. Primary air pollutants include: nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxides, and particle matter. Secondary air pollutants include: ozone and nitrogen dioxide. 4. What are the main environmental effects of air pollution? Main environmental effects include global warming, human and animal health risks, acid rain, and ozone depletion.

5. How does air pollution spread and how can we handle this? Air pollution can be spread through wind and rain can move pollutants in the ground. We can handle this by reducing toxic emissions from factories and vehicles by carpooling and switching to electric or solar energy to reduce fossil fuel use. 6. What effect do you think atmospheric circulation may have on air pollution? Atmospheric circulation can cause secondary air pollutants to travel all over the globe and cause more damage to places that are already experiencing primary air pollution. 7. A lot of scientific studies overtime have linked air pollution with significant health problems. Can you think about some examples and describe how air quality may prevent these health problems? Some examples of health problems caused by air pollution include neurological and respiratory issues. Respiratory issues can be caused by toxins in the air which reduce the amount of oxygen in the air. When these toxins are removed, peoples’ oxygen levels can increase which may resolve these issues....