Science Project Winners

WINNER
Kathryn De Young
Heritage High School
Newport News, Virginia

Concentration of Ozone from a Major Highway

The problem in the student's experiment is the variation of ozone from a highway as a function of length. The purpose in this experiment is to find the amount of ozone in different parts of the environment. The student's hypothesis was that the ozone would decrease as she/he moved away from the highway. The dependent variable was the amount of ozone being detected in the environment. The constant in this experiment was the sunny weather. The materials used in the experiments were: tape, ozone detectors, a notebook, a pencil, a plastic zip-lock folder to hold the detectors in, and an ozone concentration chart.

The first step in the procedure of this experiment was to number the ozone detectors (Eco Badge® Test Cards^TM for the number of areas being tested. Then the student put the Test Cards^TM) in a specified location. Next the student counted the paces between the Test Cards^TM). Then the student left the test strips out for one hour. Then all the test strips were collected and placed inside a plastic folder. Last, the student recorded the concentration using the Eco Badge® color code chart. This procedure was repeated many times so a practical conclusion could be found.

The data was graphed and shown in figures one and two. In figure one is a graph of path one. The first detector in path one read around 75 parts per billion ozone. The second Test Card^TM) read 100 parts per billion ozone and then, (the third test strip), decreased to 10 parts per billion ozone. Between the second and third tester the concentration of ozone dropped dramatically because a large number of trees surrounded the area. In path two, the first detector read about 110 parts per billion ozone and then decreased to 50 parts per billion. Again in path two, between the forth and fifth testers the concentration of ozone dropped because there was a large number of trees surrounding the area.

Ozone is formed when sunlight reacts with hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (Gay, pg. 59). Hydrocarbons come from cars, oil and chemical storing industries, gas stations and dry cleaning facilities (American Red Cross, 6/94). Ozone is produced in a low atmosphere by industries (Kalish, 1990). Cars, which produce the major pollutant smog, also add to the problem of ozone. (American Red Cross, 6/94). Large amounts of ozone are found at high altitude (Porrit, pg. 110-11).

Ozone is a form of oxygen that damages crops and may possible be linked to some breathing disorders (Young, pg. 36). It is also a highly reactive gas. The ozone will tend to rise during May through September when temperatures are higher and when there is increased sunlight combined with unchanging atmospheric conditions (American Red Cross, 6/94). The sun helps break down ozone, changing some of the ozone back to normal oxygen (porrit, pg. 110-111). The sun also breaks down oxygen molecules to single atoms that react with oxygen molecules that haven't been broken down, to form ozone (Gay, pg. 10).

A major cause of ozone is the pollutant, smog. Smog is the main component of air that is produced by cars, factories, and different industries (American Red Cross, 6/94). Smog breaks down rubber and some internal body tissues like the lungs. For some people, ozone can cause eye irritation, coughs, chest discomfort, headaches, respiratory illness, increased asthma attacks, and reduced lung function (Porrit, pg. 110-111). Ozone can also cause damage in plants. It can turn their leaves yellow and reduce the rate of photosynthesis (Young, pg. 72). Since the 1960's ozone has increased by more than 60%. You can help decrease ozone by driving less, car pooling, using electric cars, and preventing burning items like leaves (Porrit, pg. 110-111).

In conclusion, the student found that ozone decreases as a function of distance from a major highway. If trees are present, the concentration of ozone will decrease dramatically because trees tend to absorb ozone.