The Global Water Sampling Project – Final Report
Final Report Must Be Typed
General Observations -
When doing any water sampling test, it is important to recordcertain information about the sampling
area and observations ofthe site.
1. Name and location of the river, stream, lake or pond tested
2. Latitude and longitude of the water test site: 40°42’15”N, 74°24’26”W
3. Date and time of water sampling
4. Weather conditions at the time of sampling and, if appropriate,recent weather conditions
(i.e. day after a big rain storm)
5. Condition of the river, stream, lake or pond. For example, doesit appear to be polluted with any
debris or matter? Are there anyfish or plants in the water? Is there a lot of algae growing in it?
6. Color and odor of the water
7. Any other observations that you think are interesting orsignificant?
Hypothesis – Include your original hypothesis.
Analyze the Data – Type your results into the analysis table ( I can e-mail it to you)
Remember the primary purposes of the project:
• To assess the quality of water based on physicalcharacteristics and chemical substance.
• To look for relationships and trends among the data collectedby all participants.
In your group’s Letter of Introduction, you should have developeda hypothesis. Look at your results and the results from otherschool. Do the experimental results support your hypothesis? Why or why not?
Final Report Instructions
The report should be a short report explaining what the students have learned from the project.
Questions to think about while drafting your final report:
• What was something new that you learned?
• How did you interpret your results?
• What conclusions did you reach?
• What would you do differently next time?
Project Questions/Explorations All of these questions should be discussed in your conclusion.
The questions below are suggested for helping to form conclusions andcontributing to thefollow-up
discussion area. Students should make comparisons and discuss these relationships in their final report.
1. Is there a relationship between dissolved oxygen levels andthe types of plants, animal, or other
organisms you observed inthe water? If so, describe the relationship.
2. Do you think that your water source is a good environment fororganisms to survive based on
pH levels? Why or why not? (use your class notes and Q values to help you decide)
3. Is there a relationship between nitrate and phosphate levelsand observed algae or plant life in the
water? If so, describe therelationship.
4. Is there a relationship between turbidity level and the type andvariety of organisms observed in
the water? If so, describe therelationship.
5. Is there any relationship between dissolved oxygen levels and turbidity? Explain.
6. Look at the results. Do you see a relationship between temperature
and the dissolved oxygen levels? If so, describe the relationship.
7. Look at the macroinvertebrate results. What do they tell you about the overall water
quality of this brook? Explain how your results made you come to this conclusion.
8. Did any of your results indicate poor or good water quality? Ifso, which ones?
Explain your reasoning. (use your class notes and Q values to help you decide)
9. Are any of your results not what you expected them to be? Which ones?
Explain your reasoning.
10. How would you describe the overall water qualityof Salt Brook? Use specific results
to support your answer.
Q Value – Uses a scale of 1- 100 to rate how good (or bad) the water
quality is for one environmental factor (parameter).
Water Quality Index– Uses a number scale (1-100) to summarize the overall water
quality of a water body. It is based on nine environmental factors (we are testing
seven of them).
WATER QUALITY INDEX SCALE
IndexRange / Water Quality Rating90-100 / Excellent Water Quality
70-89 / Good Water Quality
50-69 / Average Water Quality
25-49 / Poor Water Quality
0-24 / Very Poor Water Quality
Weighting Factor – This sets the relative importance that each environmental
factor contributes to the overall water quality. Ex. DO has a weight of .17
and nitrates have a weight of .10 → DO is a more significant factor for water
quality than is nitrate.
Adjusting for Missing Data – When some of the nine environmental factors do
not get tested, you should divide the sum of the “Total Q Values” by the sum
of the “Weighting Factors”.
Δ Temperature – This is determined by subtracting the lower water temperature
from the higher water temperature. The two temperature readings should be
1.6 km away from each other (approximately 1 mile apart).
% Saturation DO – This is calculated with the formula below.
Saturated D.O. levels can be looked up, but
you must know the temperature and pressure.
% saturation = X 100
Use 10 mg/L as the denominator
TDS – Must convert microSiemens into mg/L before you can use find Q value on Graph.
mg/L of TDS = 2/3 x microSiemens
WATER ANALYSIS LAB RESULTS
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS: (see the Final Report page for ideas)
Test / Dates / Trial 1 / Trial 2 / Average / SpecialConversion / Q Value / Weight / Total
Q Value
(Q x Wgt)
Temperature
(° C)
(use Δ) / average
for Δ
temp. / no
conversion / .10
pH / no
conversion / .11
DO
(ppm) / (use % sat) / .17
TDS
(mg/L) / (2/3 µSiemens = mg/L) / .07
Nitrates
(ppm) / no
conversion / .10
Phosphates
(ppm) / no
conversion / .10
Turbidity
(NTUs) / no
conversion / .08
Overall Quality will be found by adding the 7 Total Q values Total ______
and dividing by .73 .73
Overall Quality ______
MACROINVERTEBRATES: