Name                                                                           Date____________________________________
 

Background Information:  Today humans release about 5.5 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year through fossil fuel  burning and cement manufacture.  Approximately another 1.5 billion tons per year are released through land use changes such as deforestation.  These releases result in an increase of atmospheric CO2 of about 1/2% per year.  This increase is the most plausible explanation for the warming trend we have seen since the mid-19th century.

Problem:  Which automobiles produce the most pollution?  Is the amount of pollution (large particulates) linked to the amount of CO2 produced?

 

Materials:  automobile, adult supervisor, watch, sock, tape, permanent marker, safety goggles, paper mask to cover mouth and nose, metric ruler, materials to measure CO2 , paper

 

Hypothesis:  Before doing the experiment, make an educated guess about the outcome.

 

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Briefly explain the reasoning behind your hypothesis.

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Procedures:

1. Have one student start the car and run it for 30 seconds.  Do not touch the accelerator or put the car in gear.
2. Collect a sample of gas from the automobile exhaust.  The students collecting the sample should wear safety goggles and a mask to cover their nose and mouth.  The sample should be taken 30 centimeters directly in front of the tailpipe. Have students stand to the side of the tailpipe to collect the sample.
3. Turn the car off.  Test the sample using the method described by your teacher.
4. Place the sock tightly over the mouth of the car's exhaust.  Start the engine of the car and run it for 3 minutes.  Turn the car off.
5. Remove the sock and return to class.
6. Turn the sock inside out so particulates are visible and label it with the year and model of the car tested.  Place it on a white sheet of paper and do not handle it any more than necessary.
7. Arrange socks in order from dirtiest to cleanest based on student observation.
8. Answer the following questions.

 

Observations:

1.  Do the cars that emit the highest level of pollutants have anything in common?

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  2.  Do the cars that emit the least level of pollutants have anything in common?     ____________________________________________________________________________________________

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  3.  Which automobile emitted the highest level of CO2?  The lowest?

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  4.  Does the automobile with the heaviest concentration of large particles also have the largest CO2 emissions?     ____________________________________________________________________________________________

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  5.  How confident do you feel about the accuracy of the data?     ____________________________________________________________________________________________

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  6.  Is there a better way to do this investigation?     ____________________________________________________________________________________________

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  7.  What are our sources of experimental error?     ___________________________________________________________________________________________  _____________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 
 

Conclusions

1.  Was your hypothesis supported by this experiment?  Why or why not?

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2.  How can this country encourage people to drive less or use more efficient means of transportation as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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Part B
1.  Record the distance traveled by the car in one week.  _________________________

2.  How many miles can your car go on a gallon of gasoline?  ______________________

3.  If 20lbs of CO2 are produced per gallon of gasoline consumed, how many pounds of CO2 did your car produce this week?

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4.  Approximately how many pounds of CO2 would your car produce in a year?

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5.  On a separate sheet of paper answer the following question.  If global warming is a reality, human beings will need to make many changes in order to adapt to a warmer climate.  What steps do you think should be taken now to try to reduce the impact of global warming in the future?
 
 

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