EXPERIMENT: Effect of Dissolved Carbon Dioxide on the pH of water

What is your PH level? You don’t know? Well it should be around 7.35 to 7.45 according to AlteredStates.net. PH stands for power of hydrogen. PH level is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration in the body. Now imagine you’re peeling an orange with a cut on your finger. When the juice from the orange comes into contact with your cut, it sends a burning feeling to your brain. This occurs because an orange has a PH level of around 2-3 which is acidic burning unprotected cells around the cut. Now imagine you’re stepping into the ocean which has been made acidic causing your cells to burn. This is called Ocean Acidification. Ocean Acidification is the change of our beautiful ocean water into acid. The Oceans acidity is rapidly increasing in certain areas in the pacific due to our actions on this planet, namely Carbon Dioxide Pollution. It is not only endangering ocean life but also Human life on Earth. It is linked to Global Warming but Ocean Acidification is a problem that stands on its own. Therefore, it is evident that we must take action about Ocean Acidification.

Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this experiment is to use both cabbage juice and pH paper to determine the pH of household items. This way, we can tell which products are basic and which one are acidic. If we use cabbage juice as an universal pH indicator by comparing it to pH paper then pH determined by the cabbage juice will be unstable because by using cabbage juice, it can be different depending on how diluted it is.

After the 5-minute period, take the Elodea and thermometer out of the beaker, pour the mixture into the beaker down the drain and rinse.

The data from our experimental design supports the idea that the pH in the Chesapeake Bay is decreasing and becoming acidic. Our team used the following materials to test this idea:

Seawater naturally has a pH of around 8.2, therefore being alkaline. However, as oceans absorb about 30% of the extra Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere there are changes occurring within the water. The change is caused over time and makes the water less alkaline. Scientists have estimated that since the industrial revolution the pH has dropped 0.1 to 8.1. It is predicted that the pH could fal to about 7.8 by

Carbon dioxide is very important in the atmosphere, however only in moderation. For centuries humans have been burning coal, oil, and fossil fuels therefore releasing tons of carbon into the air. The problem with this is that this can cause a problem known as global warming. This is a major climate problem, which has series results on people and the environment. The result on people can be very deadly. Too much carbon in the air can cause cancer.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities (“Carbon Dioxide Emissions”). In 2012, CO2 accounted for about 82% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (“Carbon Dioxide

Homeostasis is the tendency of a system, especially the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability, owing to

The intention of this experiment is to determine the effects of pH on the rate of photosynthesis in living leaves. Photosynthesis is a process by which plants convert light energy captured from the sun into chemical energy which they use to perform various plant functions. During the photosynthesis process, light, carbon dioxide, and water react to produce products: sugar and oxygen. The equation for photosynthesis is:

The U.S EPA in its report entitled "Climate Change Indicators in the United States", states that over the years 1995-2010 there has been a rise in concentrated carbon dioxide in water, which is causing the pH to drop while raising the acidity of coastal waters. The acidity levels are set on a pH scale which ranges from 0 to 14, 0 being the most acidic and 14 being the most basic. The goal of this experiment is to better understand the vulnerability of crops to sea level rise caused by the rising acidification of the ocean due to the increasing CO2 emissions. This experiment has simulated the effect of ocean acidification by adding different levels of acidity to different rice plants. The acidity will be tested in order to determine how much the rice will continue to grow with increasing acidity in the environment. The National Center for Biotechnology Information in its report labeled, NAME recent studies have shown that rice plants are adapting and will continue to grow at high acidic levels. In order to test this, the natural levels of acidity in fresh water (control) will be compared to plants exposed to pH levels ranging between 5 and 8, with 8 representing the average ocean pH. Plants were grown under slightly flooded conditions as suggested by the report “How Rice Grows” from the California Rice organization.

A healthy pH in water for aquatic organisms ranges from 6.5 to 8.2. Our water samples ranged from 6.5-8.5. Although there did not seem to be any significant differences in our results of freshwater versus seawater samples, the most notable contrast seemed to be that the freshwater obtained a pH of 8.5. This can be a result from metal pipe corrosion which produces high levels of copper, lead and iron in the water. Corrosion can occur due to low pH, so operators will change the pH to comply with the high levels of these elements, thus making the water moderately basic (LaMotte

“CO2 gas emissions” is a mystical term which everyone should pay attention to. C02 gas is a colorless, odorless gas that is present in the atmosphere and is formed when any fuel containing carbon is burned. Plants and trees are using it in the process of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also used in refrigeration, fire extinguishers, and carbonated drinks. In other words this is the gas we need to fight with! By using fossil fuels in almost everything we do, we make a huge cloud of gas and this is warming up the world. By doing this, we cause serious damage to the nature and we may have an irreversible effect on it and the future.

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes

greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is very well known and is released while doing everyday things like driving a car. Carbon dioxide also is the main impacting greenhouse gas along with methane and nitrous oxide. After burning fossil fuels the greenhouse gasses trap heat in

Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas naturally found in the atmosphere. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, humans have devised many inventions that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases, which, along with other human activities such as clearing land for agriculture or urban settlements, help some of these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere that in turn trap more heat radiation in the atmosphere causing the Earth’s climate to become warmer than it would naturally (Mastrandrea). This unnatural phenomenon is termed global warming by scientists and they blame it for an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last 100 years (Mastrandrea).