Air Quality Issues

by Catherine Ditto

Lesson: Air Garbage

Background:
Tiny pieces of material that float in the air are called "particulate matter." These very tiny particles can be dust, pollen, mold spores, lint, cooking grease and oils, and animal hair. Some particles are too small to be trapped by filters such as vacuum cleaner bags. Hypothesize that a vacuum cleaner does not trap all of the particles that it sucks up. If this proves to be true, then people should vacuum their home before they dust the furniture, because will actually take some particles from the rug and throw them into the air.

Illinois State Goals:
Students will have a working knowledge of:
the concepts of basic vocabulary of biological, physical, and environmental sciences and their application to life and work in contemporary society.
the principles of scientific research and their application in simple research projects.
the processes, techniques, methods, equipment, and available technology of science.

Materials
vacuum cleaner, cellophane tape

Procedure:
Stick two long strips of cellophane tape along the side of a vacuum cleaner bag. Either upright or a round canister type vacuum can be used. Take one strip off. Examine it to see if any particles of paper from the vacuum bag came off. If it did, we know that we will expect to see those particles on the test strip when our experiment is done, and we will not count those particles a part of the experiment. Run the vacuum cleaner over all the rugs in your home (floor or rugs in your classroom for our purposes). When done, carefully remove the test strip of tape, and examine it. Can you detect the presence of any particles that raveled through the bag? Place the tape against a white sheet of paper to make any trapped particles more easily observed. Was your hypothesis correct?

Going Further:
Will different tape locations on the bag vary the results? Is there a difference if the tape is placed on the inside bag instead of the outside bag?

Lesson: Temperature Inside a Closed Container

Background:
The sun heats the air in both jars, but the air in the closed jar cannot leave the jar. The air in the closed jar gets much warmer than the air in the open jar.
A closed car behaves the same way as a closed jar. It becomes very hot sitting in the sun. It is not wise or safe to leave pets or small children in a closed car for more than five minutes during the summer. Even with the windows partially opened, the temperature rises so much that a pet or a child could get hot and even die.

Materials:
two identical jars with lids, thermometers, paper, pencil.

Procedure:

  1. Place the jars outside in the hot sun.
  2. Measure the temperature in each jar. Write them down. Call these the "starting temperatures".
  3. Put the lid on one of the jars.
  4. Wait 60 minutes and measure the temperature again. Record the temperatures. Call these the "ending temperatures."