Can I Breathe?

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective was to discover how carbon dioxide effects global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the enhanced greenhouse effect by determining which of four gas sources produced the highest concentration of carbon dioxide. Methods/Materials The four sources of varied gases included; ambient air, human exhalation, automobile exhaust, and a combination of baking soda and vinegar. I also included wood smoke and exhaust from a hybrid vehicle in my third trial. Gases were collected, and discharged into individual test tubes, which contained a dilute concentration of Bromthymol Blue indicator solution. Each sample was analyzed by titrating with a dilute ammonia solution to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide. Results I discovered that the baking soda and vinegar produced almost pure carbon dioxide which isn't a common occurrence in daily life. The auto exhaust from the combustible engine produced ½ as much carbon dioxide but with the volume of cars in the world this is a great amount of carbon dioxide and a main contributor to global warming. The hybrid car produced ½ as much carbon dioxide as the combustible engine vehicle. Human exhalation and wood smoke produced some carbon dioxide. No effects were discovered in ambient air. Conclusions/Discussion My conclusion is that global warming is a major problem that can only be slowed down with worldwide participation. I see that hybrid cars could be a significant step towards a solution.

Competition history

• CSEF 2002 Environmental Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0999

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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