Category Archives: Science 9

Aquatic field studies

Science 9

Introduction

The goal of this field research was to first, see how healthy the water in the Coquitlam river and is and second, see how it connects to the spheres of the earth. This connects to our studies of the spheres because water travels through all spheres. We looked at the biotic and abiotic elements that contribute to the biomes of the pond and river, such as nutrient measurements in the water using a water quality index and the living organisms that inhabit these environments. we used these two results to see and compare how good the water quality is.

Coquitlam river

To get the chemical values for the water quality index we put a stick in the water which indicates some of the values

Our measured values of the Coquitlam river is as follows

  1. Dissolved oxygen – 92% saturation – Q-value 95 – Weighted-Q21.65
  2. pH – 6.5units – Q-value 70 – Weighted-Q10.5
  3. Temperature change – 11-10=1°C – Q-value 88 – Weighted-Q12.32
  4. Nitrates – 20mg/L NO3 – Q-value 38 – Weighted-Q5.32
  5. Phosphates – 0.4 mg/L PO4 – Q-value 76 – Weighted-Q10.64
  6. Turbidity – 2NTU – Q-value 97 – Weighted-Q10.67
  7. Total dissolved salts – 50mg/L – Q-value 87  – Weighted-Q8.7

Approximate water quality index : 80

The water in the Coquitlam river is healthy, although it could still be better. It is a water source accepted by most animals and plants.

For the biotic part of this research, we put a net in the river and scrubbed the rocks in front of the net for the invertebrates to flow into the net.

In the river we found a few invertebrates. Specifically,

2 types of mayflies,

A caddisfly

A alderfly larva

Both mayflies and caddisflies in the river indicates that the water quality is good as they are very sensitive to water pollution and only lives in healthy water. The Alderfly larva means the water is above moderate quality but as mayflies and caddisflies are already there indicating good quality we can say for sure that the river is in good quality.

Oxbow pond

For the pond we used the same chemical stick as in the river

Our measured values of the Pond is as follows

  1. Dissolved oxygen – 90% saturation – Q-value 92 – Weighted-Q21.16
  2. pH – 7units – Q-value 88 – Weighted-Q13.2
  3. Temperature change – 15-14.3=0.7°C – Q-value 91 – Weighted-Q13.74
  4. Nitrates – 0mg/L NO3 – Q-value 98 – Weighted-Q13.72
  5. Phosphates – 5 mg/L PO4 – Q-value 13 – Weighted-Q1.82
  6. Turbidity – 8NTU – Q-value 80 – Weighted-Q8.8
  7. Total dissolved salts – 100mg/L – Q-value 85  – Weighted-Q8.5

Approximate water quality index : 79.94

The water in the Oxbow pond is similarly to the river, in good health. It supports a variety of life but can still be improved.

For the invertebrates in the pond we took a net, placed it under a log on the water, then gently tapped the log for the invertebrates to fall into the net

In the pond we found

A water boatmen

A dragonfly

And a tiny fish

Dragonflies indicates moderate or above water quality, and unfortunately we don’t know the sensitivity of water boatmen and the fish. Therefore, we know that the quality isn’t poor. however,  it could be either good or moderate.

Comparing testing methods

The results of the Coquitlam river from the 2 ways of testing is very similar.

The results of the pond is a bit different as we couldn’t find any invertebrates to prove that the pond is in good quality.

Comparing the 2 sites

The final results from the 2 sites are very similar for the chemical test. The specific tests that have significant differences is Nitrates, Phosphates, Turbidity and total dissolved salts.

For the invertebrate test, the creatures we found in the river proved that the river is health while in the pond it proved it was moderate or above. another find was the invertebrates in the river generally smaller then the ones in the pond

Reflection

Doing this research was a fun experience, we got to go into the River and pond, learn how to identify invertebrates, and use the water quality index. Unfortunately some of the results in the water quality index test were from 5 years ago therefore the results may not be accurate. Overall I liked the water quality index test better because it is certain, unlike the invertebrate test where even if you don’t get any if the most sensitive invertebrates there is still the possibility of it being a healthy body of water.

COL Science 9 – solution fluency – Eric He

Science 9
Define: Climate change affects us all, with our earth heating up and melting the ice glaciers in Antarctica and the arctic to turn wildfires around the world. Climate change raises a huge problem for wildlife and the environment. One major factor in the climate change problem is the amount of methanal emissions from cows or other livestock. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Even though CO2 has a longer-lasting effect, methane sets the pace for warming in the near term. At least 25% of today’s warming is driven by methane from human actions. Methane primarily leaves the atmosphere through oxidization, forming water vapor and carbon dioxide. So, not only does methane contribute to global warming directly but also indirectly through the release of carbon dioxide.
Discover
With all the information we researched in mind, the problem we would like to solve is the climate crisis plaguing the earth. We studied the main contributing factors to global warming; greenhouse gases are a huge reason the earth is heating up today. Furthermore, Methanal emissions cause the earth to heat up quicker than anything seen before. The main cause of these methanal emissions is livestock that humans keep eating. Therefore, we decided to investigate ways to help, eradicate or severely decrease the amount of methane emissions. After some throughout research we have found out that just replacing 3% of livestock’s main dietary meal. Could decrease methane emissions by 80%, seaweed is a fast-growing plant and would be easy to implement into the meals of all livestock, so me and my partner tried to make machine that would optimize production of seaweed and allow us to mass produce it without much cost and be able to manufacture all livestock food with a bit of seaweed.
Deliver
This is our seaweed producer that runs on solar panels, it charges during the day, allowing seaweed to grow and harvests during the night.

Debrief

Overall I think we did pretty well on finding a solution and delivering it, we’re just not sure on the material cost the actually build the prototype in real life. But it seems like a simple machine and one that can be used for a while. One problem that we did realize later on is that cutting the seaweed doesn’t automatically bring the seaweed back. the seaweed will just float on the ocean. A solution we came up with was to put a big net on the machine,  because even if the net doesn’t get all of the seaweed since the machine is constantly moving forward parts that are not within net range will follow through into the net.

Why do we like listening to music – Information Fluency

Science 9

Reflection

  1. what question did you need to research in order to create your sway

First we asked ourselves what does the music do to our brain and what part of us processes it. From there we used what we learned like the system that processes hearing is the auditory perception system and asked questions like how that system works.

2. What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project

Sway was a new tool but I think it was quite simple, but although I have used school recommended search engines like EBSCO and Gale engage they still give me a bit of trouble to use because unlike google, their search engines are unforgiving, you have to know exactly what you want and what question you have. It was much easier this time with the research questions made. I’ve also used Creative commons and Citation machine.

3. what was the process you used to investigate the topic and how did you verify and cite the information you found

The main way we verified the information was seeing if other sources said the same thing, but another strategy I used was looking up the author of the article or video.

4. How did the process of completing this challenged go? What could you have done better

Overall it went ok, between me not being at school for 1 day and my partner not being at school for 1 day, I think we communicated pretty well. Individually this project was a bit difficult for me on the researching part, but in the end I think it went alright.