Abstract
Water analysis is the process of measuring a sample of water and its condition relative to the requirements of biotic species and/or human needs or purposes. Water was collected by Mr. Ruiz’s research and experimental class in plastic bottles at Zoo Miami from the Amazon lake and Giraffe vegetation. My teammates and I measured the water’s turbidity and dissolved oxygen levels. The Amazon lake had the highest amounts of turbidity and dissolved oxygen.
Introduction
Mr. Ruiz’s experimental and research class went to Zoo Miami in Florida to collect water samples from the Amazon lake and the Giraffe vegetation. My group and I measured and compared the levels of dissolved oxygen and turbidity on both samples, we wanted to find out which water sample had the highest levels and why. Turbidity refers to the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by suspended solids that are usually invisible to the naked eye. Dissolved oxygen (DO) are the microscopic bubbles of oxygen gas in the water. We used a LabQuest, turbidity sensor and a dissolved oxygen probe to acquire our results. The turbidity outcomes were measured in the unit ‘’NTU’’; Nephelometric Turbidity Units. This unit measures scattered light at 90 degrees from the incident light beam. The DO was measured in units of ‘’PPM’’; Parts per million. This unit is a measurement used to measure the number of oxygen (O2) molecules per million total molecules in a sample.
Methodology
To begin with our analysis, we labeled each water with their classification ‘’Amazon Lake water’’ and ‘’Giraffe Vegetation water’’. We then connected the turbidity sensor to the LabQuest, let it warm up for 5 minutes and calibrated it with distilled water. It is essential to perform calibration in order to ensure accuracy and that the sensor is operating properly. In our first subsection, we tested the Amazon lake water. The water sample was placed into the turbidity sensor with a time lapse of three minutes. On our second subsection we put to test the Giraffe vegetation water and placed it into the turbidity sensor with a time lapse of three minutes as well and recorded the data. After, the DO probe was connected to the LabQuest and was calibrated. We held the DO probe in the Amazon lake water for a time lapse of ten minutes, the same process was repeated for the Giraffe vegetation water. The water was collected on November 21st, and the analysis was taken place on November 30th 2017.
Data
The Amazon lake water trial resulted with 1.3 NTU in Turbidity and 8.28 PPM in DO. The Giraffe vegetation water trial resulted in 1.1 NTU in Turbidity and 8.12 PPM in DO. The distilled water we used to calibrate the sensors had 8.76 PPM in DO.
Data Analysis
Turbidity
DO / Dissolved Oxygen
Amazon lake water
1.3 NTU
8.28 PPM
Giraffe vegetation water
1.1 NTU
8.12 PPM
The Amazon lake water had higher levels of both Turbidity and Dissolved Oxygen when compared to the Giraffe vegetation water results. This is so because the Amazon lake has more organisms and in order for those organisms to survive and not be exposed to environmental stresses, they need to have prolonged exposure to high dissolved oxygen levels. The Amazon lake water also had phytoplankton which contribute to the turbidity levels making it increase.The giraffe vegetation water had less DO because it mostly had fertilizer and not as many organisms.
Conclusion
The variations of daily cycles such as no photosynthesis during night time which results in no O2 production, water temperatures, (cold water can hold more O2 than warmer waters), water depth, pollution and eutrophication can affect the oxygen concentrations in the water. The amount of organisms living in water can also affect the levels of DO and turbidity. The importance of water analysis is that it could be used to determine suitability, water analysis can provide data for irrigation or for livestock and poultry, it can determine suitability for animal use. A topic of further study could be to determine how water analysis can help scientists improve water security for animals and humans. Water is a very necessary resource that all biotic species need in order to survive, which makes it significant for the water to be satisfactory and beneficial to all organisms.