Furnace Brook Lab Report

 

 

Furnace Brook Lab Report

Introduction: First you test the PH of the water at Furnace Brook Creek. Find what’s a healthy enough PH for the micro-invertebrates. The dissolved nitrogen and oxygen compound were to be intended on. Sampling the water would tell us the population of each species available in the water under these conditions.

Research Question:  Which location would have a healthier environment, low flow  water and silt or very rocky and high flow water?

Hypothesis: In fast moving waters there isn’t enough time for any species alive to absorb or catch the nutrients or daily necessities also the fact there is rocks or rough patches makes it even harder to catch them. Versus slow moving waters and non-rocky.

Variable Identification:  

Controlled variable	Method of controlled variable
Location 1	Location 2
clear	swampy
not so deep	deep
rocky	silt
fast flow rate	slow flow rate

Experimental Setup: This lab was conducted at the creek, Furnace Brook, located behind Corcoran High School and continues through Elmwood Park. Materials that were used were a kick-net, plastic paint tray, meter stick, tape measure, stop watch, golf ball, dissolved oxygen tablets, pH tablets, two vials varying in size, a water thermometer, and a calculator.   

Procedure:

1. Get into groups of 3 or 4

2. Find an appropriate site to sample in the river

3. Using a LaMotte kit filled with the following

Ph tablets

DO tablets

Secchi disc

Thermometer

Chart with turbidity, ph and do readings

2 vials

Find a location and keep track of the coordinates

A huge net

Water boots

4. Fill up cup with water to check turbidity. Then using same water check temperature using thermometer wait to read until the strip turns green.

5. Put water is the small glass bottle and drop 1 do tablet into bottle. Invert bottle 10 times or until the pill is completely dissolved. Record color of water.

6. Gather water in long bottle, drop a pH tablet in then follow same instructions given in #5.

Data:

	Total biomass in sample (g)
	Stream A	Stream B
stone fly	5	3
midge larvae	8	20
caddisfly	13	19
scuds	16	28

Results:

The light green color represents the second data collection. And the dark green color represents the first of data collection.

Discussion:  TURBIDITY OF 0.

D.O. OF 6PPM

Ph OF 7

Temperature of 8 Degrees

Evaluation: Some things that could have affected the experiment would have been location; how high or low flow ate down the stream and time of day that the data was taken. Or even the season, or even the speed of the water. What the environment around the water is already, and the acidity in the water already is. Also what human disturbances affected the water before testing. Or if we didn’t kick around the organisms in the water. Maybe the data we collected during the experiment would differ.

References – Macroinvertebrates - Environment." Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.