Fishy+Water

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Broad Question

 * Does dirty water have more ammonia in it? **

Specific Question

 * Does the type of water affect the amount of ammonia in the water? **

Hypothesis

 * It is hypothesized that the fish tank water will have more ammonia in it. **

** Rationale: **
==== It is hypothesized for a couple of reasons. The fish tank water will have more ammonia in it because it has higher traces of organic compounds. Organic compounds create ammonia which turn into to nitrates. If there is too much at one time there will be too much for the oxygen to turn into nitrates and cause a buildup of ammonia which becomes toxic. ====

Independent Variable:

 * Type of water. **

Dependent Variable:

 * Amount of ammonia in ppm. **

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

 * Same chemicals, same room, same color chart, same closet, same test tubes, same amount of water, same amount of chemical, same amount of wait time, all water room temperature. **

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Ammonia - "Ammonia or azane is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. It is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent smell." Pipette - "A laboratory tool used to transport a measured volume of liquid."

General Plan
=Potential Problems And Solutions=

Test tubes with water fall over and smash. Clean up and redo experiment.
=Safety Or Environmental Concerns=

Experimental Design

 * In this project I am testing how much ammonia is in each different type of water. When setting up I had 2 racks of 5 test tubes and the water that I am testing and the testing chemicals. I test the type of water by filling the the 5 ml of water in each test tube with 7 drops of each testing chemical. I decide the levels of ammonia by comparing the color of the water to the color chart that tells you how much ammonia there is in ppm. The mean ppm for each type of water was found to tell if there is more ammonia in fish tank water. **

Resources and Budget Table

 * Item || Number needed || Where I will get this || Cost ||
 * Nutrafin ammonia test kit || 1 || Amazon.com || 10.03 ||
 * Glass test tube || 10 || Mr. Yahna's classroom || 0.00 ||
 * Filtered water || 25 ml || Filtered tap at home || 0.00 ||
 * Tap water || 25 ml || Regular tap at home || 0.00 ||
 * Fish tank water || 25 ml || Fish tank at home || 0.00 ||
 * Mr. Yahna's closet || 1 || Mr. Yahna's classroom || 0.00 ||
 * Rubber gloves || 2 pairs || School nurse || 0.00 ||
 * Goggles || 1 pair || Mr. Yahna's classroom || 0.00 ||
 * Sink || 1 || Mr. Yahna's classroom || 0.00 ||

Detailed Procedure

 * Supplies: Ammonia test kit, Rubber gloves, 3 plastic recyclable water bottles, Fish tank water, Tap water, Filtered water. **
 * 1. Get all the supplies, and put on rubber gloves. **


 * 2. Place glass test tube in holder. **


 * 3. Fill up to white line with pipette with fish tank water. **


 * 4. Put in 7 drops of 1st chemical. **


 * 5. Put on lid of test tube and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 6. Put in 7 drops of 2nd chemical. **


 * 7. Put on lid of test tube and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 8. Put in 7 drops of 3rd chemical. **


 * 9. Put on lid of test tube and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 10. Wait 20 minutes for color to appear, keep away from sunlight. **


 * 11. Compare color of water to test kit chart. **


 * 12. Record the amount of ammonia in the water (ppm). **


 * 13. Wash out test tube and pipette as well and clean up work space. **


 * 14. Repeat steps 2-13 six more times. **


 * 15. Place glass test tube in holder. **


 * 16. Fill up to white line with pipette with tap water. **


 * 17. Put in 7 drops of 1st chemical. **


 * 18. Put on lid of test tube and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 19. Put in 7 drops of 2nd chemical. **


 * 20. Put on lid of test tube and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 21. Put in 7 drops of 3rd chemical. **


 * 22. Wait 20 minutes for color to appear, keep away from sunlight. **


 * 23. Compare color of water to test kit chart. **


 * 24. Record the amount of ammonia in the water (ppm). **


 * 25. Wash out test tube and pipette as well. **


 * 26. Repeat steps 15-25. **


 * 27. Place glass test tube in holder **


 * 28. Fill up to white line with pipette with filtered water. **


 * 29. Put in 7 drops of 1st chemical. **


 * 30. Put on lid and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 31. put in 7 drops of 2nd chemical. **


 * 32. put on lid and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 33. put in 7 drops of 3rd chemical. **


 * 34. Put on lid and shake hard for 3 seconds. **


 * 35. Wait 20 minutes for color to appear, keep away from sunlight. **


 * 36. Compare color of water to test kit chart. **


 * 37. Record the amount of ammonia in the water (ppm). **


 * 38. Wash out test tube and pipette as well. **


 * 39. Repeat steps 27-38 4 more times. **

Photos




Results

 * The average amount of ammonia in the filtered water was 0.1 ppm. In the tap water the average amount of ammonia was 0.1 ppm. For the fish tank water the average amount of ammonia was 0.7 ppm. The fish tank water had the greatest amount of ammonia detected. **

Conclusion

 * The experiment was made to test the amount of ammonia in each type of water. The results show that the fish tank water had more ammonia. The average amount of ammonia for the filtered water was 0.02 ppm, in the tap water the average amount was 0.1 ppm and in the fish tank water the average amount was 0.7 ppm. **

Discussion

 * The experiment was to test the amount of ammonia in three different samples of water. The results of the experiment did answer the question. Overall the water sample with the most ammonia was the fish tank water. **
 * It was previously hypothesized that the fish tank water would have the most ammonia in it. The results supported the hypothesis. The results show the average amount of ammonia in the filtered water was 0.1 ppm, the average amount of the tap water was 0.1 ppm and the average amount for the fish tank water was 0.7 ppm. At least two of the tests were the same on each one of the samples. 5 samples of each water were taken. **
 * It was observed that there was a big difference in the 5 tests for the fish tank water, making a strong relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. In researching the question information was uncovered that harm and death could come to fish if ammonia levels reach 1.2 ppm and over. The experiment results support the research. The only samples found that had more than just trace amounts of ammonia was the fish tank water. **
 * One of the challenges was to move the test tubes quickly to a dark area because the sunlight can affect the results. Instead of one test tube for all the tests 5 test tubes at once was used to speed up testing. This experiment could help people in the future because enough ammonia can kill a person the fumes alone so if people know what water to avoid it would be a big impact. **

Background Research

 * *Ammonia consists of nitrogen. **
 * *Its chemical symbol is NH3. **
 * *High ammonia levels can be caused in fish tanks by overfeeding. **
 * *Too many fish and medicine can also cause excess ammonia. **
 * *When there is little amount of ammonia in water it converts to nitrate. **
 * *When there is a lot of ammonia in the water most of it does not convert to nitrate and the levels build up. **
 * *Ammonia is composed of hydrogen. **
 * *When in gas form ammonia only lasts for a few hours. **