Car Emissions Activity

Objectives:

  • To make personal predictions and analyze data to confirm or refute those predictions.
  • To develop an understanding of the effects of the emissions of various automobiles on levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
  • To develop a greater appreciation for the human impact on atmospheric composition.
  • To gain an appreciation of the impact of personal automotive decisions on the environment.

Background:

Car exhaust contains an amazing number of different substances. Some of them are harmless, most are not. Along with the numerous invisible gases given off by the internal combustion engine, there are some solids emitted through the tailpipe.

Carbon dioxide, in most situations is fairly harmless. However, carbon dioxide in our near atmosphere (troposphere) has been increasing since the industrial revolution, and is having an impact on our climate. While some sources of CO2 in the air are perfectly natural, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has determined that a significant amount of this CO2 is a direct result of human activity. Burning fossil fuels adds CO2 to the atmosphere very quickly and in large amounts. Burning gasoline in a car engine is the most immediate way you and I add to the increasing CO2 levels.Each gallon of gas burned will release about 15 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. Also, burning gasoline or any fossil fuel using air, instead of pure oxygen, will result in numerous pollutants. We will discuss these other byproducts in relation to air quality issues and acid deposition.

Hypotheses

Refer to the data sheet to see what types of data you will be recording. On the data sheet, list 3 hypotheses that will apply to the data collected. Think about how the vehicles could be divided into groups and what comparisons could be made given the various types of data you will be collecting. i.e. “cars and vans will have comparable CO2 emissions”, “cars will always have lower energy impact scores than SUV’s.” “foreign cars will have better CO2 emissions than domestics” compare “old” vs. “new”, etc.

Procedure Part One: Collecting Motor Vehicle Emissions Data

  • Go to: and list the major air pollutants in car exhaust

Procedure Part Two: Collecting vehicle information

1. Open a web browser and go to the Fuel Economy site:

2. Look up information for the cars you would like to test. You must research 9 vehicles, 3 of them need to be “green” vehicles. The vehicles researched should tie into your hypotheses. Record values for: EPA combined MPG, fuel economics ($/25 miles and $/year, Greenhouse gas emissions, energy impact score, and EPA Smog score(s) if listed, for each of the vehicles. There are separate tabs on the top of the page that will give you the Energy and the Environment scores.

3. Record the various data for emissions and impacts on the data sheet (LAST PAGE).

Analysis:Answer the questions below using complete sentences.

1) Analyze your data and address each of your hypotheses. Do you accept or reject your hypotheses?

2) Of the vehicles tested, which type performed the best as far as CO2 emissions are concerned? Which was the worst?

3) Were there any trends (common characteristics) among vehicles that had high CO2 output?

4) What surprised you about your dream vehicles? How?

5) In your opinion, what is the most important output from cars? Why?

6) In your opinion, what is an acceptable level of CO2 emissions from a vehicle?

7) If you had the money, what would be your next car purchase (honestly)? Why?

8) Does your decision on which vehicle to purchase fit with your answer to question number 7?

MATH Time:

  1. Given the information you have collected for one of your “personal” vehicles, calculate the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by that vehicle, if it is driven 12,000 miles in that year. SHOW YOUR WORK!
  1. Choose one of your green vehicles. If you drove this car instead of the car you used in #1, (the same distance) how much CO2 would you SAVE from being put in to the atmosphere?
  1. Using these same two vehicles, show how much money you would save on fuel costs for a year if you drove the “green vehicle”.

Car Emissions DataName ______Pd. ____

Data from Procedure 1: Major Car Exhaust Pollutants

Hypotheses

1.

2.

3.

Data from Procedure 2: Researching Vehicles

Vehicle 1 / Vehicle 2 / Vehicle 3 / Vehicle 4 / Vehicle 5 / Vehicle 6 / Green 1 / Green 2 / Green 3
Year
Make
Model
Fuel Type
*Greenhouse
Gas Emissions
*Combined MPG
Fuel Economics
Energy Impact Score
EPA Smog Score