Air
Quality
Introduction | Invitation | Exploration | Explanation | Taking Action | Conclusion
Introduction
The purpose of this lesson is to investigate the nature and common causes of indoor and outdoor air pollution. We will also learn how to measure and reduce the concentrations of various household pollutants in the air.
We are in our CLASSROOM....
In your lab groups, discuss the following questions:
- How clean do you think the air is your classroom?
- How do you think we can find out?
- Do you think that the air is cleaner inside or outside of the classroom/school?
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Exploration
Collecting
Particulate Matter
In
this section we are going to make, and then use a
particulate matter collector. You will collect air-born
particulates inside and outside of your
classroom.
Background:
The
atmosphere is almost completely made up of invisible gaseous
substances. Most major air pollutants are also
invisible, although large amounts of them concentrated in
areas such as cites can be seen as smog. One often visible
air pollutant is particulate matter. Particulate
matter is made of tiny particles of solid matter and/or
droplets of liquid, and it is produced by a wide variety of
natural and manmade sources. Particulate matter
includes dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and tiny particles of
pollutants. Major sources of particulate matter are
factories, power plants, trash incinerators, motor
vehicles, construction activity, fires, and natural
windblown dust. Particles below 10 microns in size (about
seven times smaller than the width of a human hair) are more
likely to travel deep into the respiratory system, and be
deposited deep within the lungs where they are trapped on
membranes. If trapped, they can cause excessive growth
of fibrous lung tissue, leading to permanent injury.
Children, the elderly, and people suffering from heart or
lung disease are especially at risk.
Materials
- 2 Plastic squares (about 5 cm by 5 cm)
- Petroleum jelly
- Masking tape
- 2 Blocks of wood
- 2 White pieces of paper
- Magnifying lens
Procedure
1. Coat the plastic squares with a thin, even coat of petroleum jelly. With masking tape, fasten the squares jelly side up to the wooden blocks.
2. Place one block outdoors on a post, fence, wall or wherever so long as it won't get stepped on. Hope it doesn't rain. Leave it for 24 hours.
3. Place the other block in your classroom on a desk or chair, where it will not be disturbed.
3. Retrieve your plastic square, and carefully remove it from the wooden blocks. Lay it on a white pieces of paper to observe them.
4. Using the magnifying glass, count the number of particulate particles on your samples.
5. Compare your findings with those of other groups. According to your results,which areas were the most polluted with particulates?
6. Discuss your results as a class.
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Explanation
Now that we've seen some of the particulates from inside the classroom and outside the school , lets find out a little more about particulates, and their impact on human health.
Check out the following link to learn about the indoor air pollution problem. Then complete the questions below.
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1. Compared to outdoor air, what is the average level of pollutants found in indoor air?
2. What are some of the primary sources of indoor air pollution? Of these, which two or three do you think are the biggest problems in your classrom and school?
3. Read through the six basic control strategies as provided on the first link. List and briefly describe each of these.
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Taking
Action 
Within your group, discuss what you consider to be the most critical air pollution problem in or around your school. If you think you have an air pollution problem, decide on the control strategy that you think would be most effective in improving your school's air quality. Post your team's control strategy on the Innovative Project Bulletin Board so that others can learn from your interpretation of the problem.
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Conclusion
In this lesson, we learned about some common problems associated with both indoor and outdoor air pollution. We also learned that in regard to indoor air pollution, there is no such thing as "Home Sweet Home".
Evaluating the Air Quality Module
The authors of the Air Quality Module would like you to take a few minutes to answer five questions about the Air Quality Module. Please link to the Air Quality Module Assessment. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this.