Acid Rain

In APES after school we did an experiment that was testing smoke and acidic gasses in air. We each got to do our own little experiment. So we had to wear gloves and get a small plastic container. Next we used Bromthymol blue indicator solution (10 drops) after pouring distilled water, after that we took matches and dropped it into our plastic container. Then we swirled it around a couple times and attached a tube to a syringe. Once this step was cleared, we had to observe what it was that "changed" the color of the water. After that we wrote down observations and the pH. This part was interesting because we had to suck air from outside or inside using the syringe and had to place it into our container. While doing this the water would bubble.
My mixture was initially blue with a pH of 7.6. After I added the match it changed into an aqua color. The pH went down to a 7. The second part of the experiment was to take inside/outside air. I used the air in Ms. Reid's room but nothing happened. What I understood from this was that the air in Ms. Reid's room has a low amount of acidic gases. Other people got different results. I think the reason behind this was that perhaps the air they were using had a slightly different acidity to it. Or maybe when they first put the match into the container, some smoke got out or maybe they captured enough. If it hadn't been raining out, the air would have been different. Also if we all went outside to a particular location, the air could have had a different reading causing our end result to change entirely.

Story and Stuff reflection

In class today we watched a very long video called "Story and Stuff" while taking notes. The main purpose of this video was to understand the "treadmill" cycle that we are putting our earth through due to overusing its natural resources and what comes in and out of it. The part that spoke out to me the most was the part where the woman described how the factories and the places that sell things will make things purposefully not last as long so we would have to purchase it again. Examples that were given was computers, mops, BBQ cookers, and other things. It really surprised me because stores are always saying "quality items," now we know have been made to be used for only a certain time. This in turn makes us have to make trips to the store to get new ones. Another thing that stood out the most was the treadmill. How people will work two jobs, come back home, watch TV that promotes things and makes us feel bad which makes us go to  the store to buy something that "supposedly" make us feel better. It impacted me because I realized how true it is.
In terms of food consumption, the basic stuff such as eating right (vegetables, fruits etc) are all quality things we need. Bad consumption would be unhealthy foods like processed. Another bad consumption would be over consuming. The body can only take so much. Another form of consumption that I think is bad is just buying stuff we don't need. There are many things on the market that don't serve as a purpose to us and we just get tricked into buying it. So I think that is unnecessary.

sewage treatment reflection

In APES after school we did a project that showed us how water could be filtered. We also got to compete with each other to see who could get the cleanest water. What we had to do was get a clear bottle of soda and rip off the plastic around it. Next we had to cut the bottom of the bottle and write our names on the outside of it. After that we had to use any of the materials laid out for us like: cotton balls, polyester fill, gravel, sand, and coffee filter. Depending on our choice, we got to fill our bottle up with as much of what we wanted. The number of layers didn't matter at all. As we were doing this, we had to write out what we were using to keep track of the amount we were using. Next, we all went to Ms. Reid and she filled up our "sewage system" up with dirty water and while using the part we cut out, we held it under for the water to come up. As the water would dripped out, we got to observe how clean our water was or how unfiltered it was.
Once we were done with everybody's' sewage system, we had to line them up to rank them. Mine came in third as the cleanest. In order from cleanest to dirtiest: Justin, Briana, Me, Krystal, Alida, Jenna, Eddie, Henry, Nick, and Emanuel. I feel like if I added more polyester, my water result would have been much cleaner. But I thought as I was doing it that the amount I had was enough to cleanse the water. It was not much of a disappointment because my water came up as the third cleanest. I think comparing mine to those who were not as clean, I must have layered it more than others. Perhaps the amount of cotton balls or polyester I had was able to hold more of the dirt back. While others probably did not think much about layering it. I feel polyester was most effective because its type of fabric held up most of the dirt while the cotton balls just soaked up the water in general. The gravel just blockaded some of the areas the water could pass through. Also, the sand just soaked up the water.