/ Student Worksheet:
Ozone Testing Tools

Name: ______Group: ______

Ozone Detector Card®

Background

The Ozone Detector Card® is designed for the measurement of ground level ozone. Each of the five sensors can only be used once, even if no coloring has occurred (no ozone measured). The influence of wind or not adhering to the specified measurement times can produce incorrect results. The Ozone Detection Card® consists of a cardboard card the size of a credit card. On the card, there are five measuring points covered by aluminum coated plastic sealing strips. To protect the card from water and humidity, the cards are coated with a UV varnish or are packed in thin plastic bags.

Materials:

  • Ozone Detector Card®

Part A: Conduct the Investigation:

  1. Define a sampling objective, or the scientific question (hypothesis) you will address.
  1. Methods of Data Collection: Fill in the table below for each day data is collected

Location:
Duration:
(how long you will perform sampling)
Date(s) of Testing / Temperature
(ºC) / Wind
Speed & Direction / Humidity / Events
rain, fog, etc.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Place the Ozone Detector Card® anywhere outside (protected from the wind) or inside near a laser printer or photocopier.
  1. Pull off the protective strip to start measuring ozone levels.
  1. Always evaluate the measurements immediately after the specified time: 10 minutes outdoors - 20 minutes indoors. Record your results below:

_____ minute test result
Circle One:
Indoor Test
Outdoor Test
/ Test 1 / 1 2 3 4 / 1 / Low
Test 2 / 1 2 3 4 / 2 / Moderate
Test 3 / 1 2 3 4 / 3 / Unhealthy for sensitive people
Test 4 / 1 2 3 4
Test 5 / 1 2 3 4 / 4 / Unhealthy
Averaged Result:

Part B: Part B: AIRNow and Final Presentation

  1. Access the AIRNow web site ( and obtain near real-time data for the area (if available).
  1. How does the Ozone data you collected compare with the AIRNow data for your region? For example, is it similar or different? Be sure to include any reasons you think might influence this and identify possible sources of NOx and VOCs leading to the production of ground level ozone
  1. As a concluding activity, each group will create and deliver a 5 minute presentation about the investigation they created and the data collected. Each presentation should contain the following information:
  2. The sampling objective (hypothesis) for the investigation;
  3. A description of the method of data collection, including the frequency, duration, and location of monitoring;
  4. How did the different measurement tools compare?
  5. How did the data compare with the AIRNow data? and
  6. What are possible sources of ozone?

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