Lab 1,2,&3
1: What contaminants were found in the surface water samples? What contaminants were found
in the groundwater samples?
-In the Groundwater sample not much coliform bacteria was found, in the surface water areas it was more contaminated all around. You could find metals, pesticides, nitrates, bacteria. and copper.
2: Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants?
-The groundwater might have different contaminants because i feel that the surface water is more exposed to more contaminants than the groundwater.
3: Generally, farmers do not farm and industries do not build factories on the sides of mountains
in remote wilderness areas. These areas are usually not highly populated by people. What might
explain the high nitrate level in the mountain water in this activity?
-The high nitrate levels might come from the activities that we do in the mountains and sometimes mines that are left behind
4: What is pH lvel, what are its characteristics and how does it contribute to pollution? What
chemicals are used in treating low pH levels?
-The pH level is to test the acidity of the water, and sodium hydroxide is used to raise the water to neutral
5: Water in an old building, tested recently, showed high copper and iron content, and low pH
levels. A water reading taken 20 years before showed low pH levels, but only minimal traces of
copper and iron. If none of the new buildings on the same street showed signs of metallic
contaminants, but all reported lower than normal pH readings, how might these readings be
explained?
-I think that the readings depend on the material used and what people had in their homes or what the surrounding were made of because other chemicals can be exposed to the water
in the groundwater samples?
-In the Groundwater sample not much coliform bacteria was found, in the surface water areas it was more contaminated all around. You could find metals, pesticides, nitrates, bacteria. and copper.
2: Why might groundwater and surface water have different contaminants?
-The groundwater might have different contaminants because i feel that the surface water is more exposed to more contaminants than the groundwater.
3: Generally, farmers do not farm and industries do not build factories on the sides of mountains
in remote wilderness areas. These areas are usually not highly populated by people. What might
explain the high nitrate level in the mountain water in this activity?
-The high nitrate levels might come from the activities that we do in the mountains and sometimes mines that are left behind
4: What is pH lvel, what are its characteristics and how does it contribute to pollution? What
chemicals are used in treating low pH levels?
-The pH level is to test the acidity of the water, and sodium hydroxide is used to raise the water to neutral
5: Water in an old building, tested recently, showed high copper and iron content, and low pH
levels. A water reading taken 20 years before showed low pH levels, but only minimal traces of
copper and iron. If none of the new buildings on the same street showed signs of metallic
contaminants, but all reported lower than normal pH readings, how might these readings be
explained?
-I think that the readings depend on the material used and what people had in their homes or what the surrounding were made of because other chemicals can be exposed to the water
: What are the names of the species used in this experiment? Which of these species was the
most tolerant of increased acidity in the aquarium? Which species was the least tolerant?
-specie used : snail, dragonfly nyphm, and sideswimmer, the dragonfly nyphm was the most resistant, and the least was the sideswimmer
2: Describe how acid precipitation affects ecosystems.
-Acid precipitation affect ecosystems because it cause the oxygen levels in the water to go down which creates places in which they don't have oxygen and the animals around that area die
3: What is an indicator species? How are indicator species used to assess pollution levels in the
environment?
-The indicators species are the animals that are the most sensitive to change in an ecosystem for example if the indicator species starts to die in large amount then their is something wrong in the ecosystem
4: Suppose you are an ecologist studying the effects of acid precipitation of plant life. Describe
an experiment you would perform in order to determine which plant species would be an useful
indicator species for acid rain pollution.
-an experiment i would perform would be that i will utilize different plants in different areas i would waste them a put some acidic material little by little and if one certain plants starts dying that would be my indicator plant.
5: How do the data represented on the Population Bar Graph compare to the data represented in
the line graph titled, “Populations of Aquatic Invertebrates at Various pH Levels?”
-in the bar graph the numbers were looking like they wee going lower each time versus the line graph that when the pH went up so did the number of species
most tolerant of increased acidity in the aquarium? Which species was the least tolerant?
-specie used : snail, dragonfly nyphm, and sideswimmer, the dragonfly nyphm was the most resistant, and the least was the sideswimmer
2: Describe how acid precipitation affects ecosystems.
-Acid precipitation affect ecosystems because it cause the oxygen levels in the water to go down which creates places in which they don't have oxygen and the animals around that area die
3: What is an indicator species? How are indicator species used to assess pollution levels in the
environment?
-The indicators species are the animals that are the most sensitive to change in an ecosystem for example if the indicator species starts to die in large amount then their is something wrong in the ecosystem
4: Suppose you are an ecologist studying the effects of acid precipitation of plant life. Describe
an experiment you would perform in order to determine which plant species would be an useful
indicator species for acid rain pollution.
-an experiment i would perform would be that i will utilize different plants in different areas i would waste them a put some acidic material little by little and if one certain plants starts dying that would be my indicator plant.
5: How do the data represented on the Population Bar Graph compare to the data represented in
the line graph titled, “Populations of Aquatic Invertebrates at Various pH Levels?”
-in the bar graph the numbers were looking like they wee going lower each time versus the line graph that when the pH went up so did the number of species