Science Experiment to Measure the Dissolved Oxygen Levels Using the HACH Method and CHEMets Test Kit :: Science Scientific Environmental Resources Essays

Science Experiment to Measure the Dissolved Oxygen Levels Using the HACH Method and CHEMets Test Kit Purpose The purpose of my project is to determine if there is any significant difference in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels as measured by the traditional HACH ® method or the newly developed CHEMets ® test kit under typical field conditions. Hypothesis My hypothesis is that there is no significant difference in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels as measured by the traditional HACH ® method or the newly developed CHEMets ® test kit under typical field conditions. Review of Literature "Ours is a watery world, and we, its dominant species, are walking sacks of sea water. The presence of large amounts of liquid water on Earth make our planet unique in the solar system." (Hill, 1992 p. 477) People have recently become more concerned with preserving our earth for future generations. Even the government pitches in to help save our earth by enacting laws to help preserve our natural resources. There is local evidence that improved sewage treatment means improvement in water quality. Monitoring on a national level showed that large investments in point-source pollution control have yielded no statistically significant pattern of improvement in dissolved oxygen levels in water in the last 15 years. It may be that we are only keeping up with the amount of pollution we are producing. (Knopman, 1993) The early biosphere was not pleasant for life because the atmosphere had low levels of oxygen. Photosynthetic bacteria consumed carbon dioxide and produced simple sugars and oxygen which created the oxygen abundant atmosphere in which more advanced life forms could develop. (Brown, 1994) The mystery of how Earth's oxygen levels rose is very complex. Scientists don't agree when or how the oxygen on earth got here, but we know we could not live without it. (Pendick, 1993) Oxygen is crucial for humans to survive. Dissolved oxygen is also crucial for most fish and aquatic organisms to survive. Dissolved oxygen is for them what atmospheric oxygen is for humans. If humans have no oxygen to breathe, they die. The same goes for fish. However, fish get their oxygen from the water, and humans get theirs from the atmosphere. (Mitchell and Stapp, 1992) Different aquatic organisms need different levels of dissolved oxygen to thrive. For example, pike and trout need medium to high levels of dissolved oxygen. Carp and catfish are the exact opposite, needing only low levels of dissolved oxygen.