How clean is the air we breathe?

An Investigatory Project Presented to the High School Department Of Don Bosco Technical Institute Of Makati City

In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements in Science and Technology III

Submitted by: (2nd year - Zatti) Group Members: Hernando, Mari O.; Jocson, Bien P.; Lee, Gerome; Lim, Jon; Liston, Sean; Lukban, Miguel Submitted to: Mr. David John Reyes February 27, 2013

2 ABSTRACT

a. Purpose We want to prove that our environment is too polluted that even this small experiment we are about to conduct can show everyone how impure the air we breathe in is and that it greatly affects our health. Through our experiment, everyone can see visually how our air truly is. b. Procedure used We will be taking _ subjects. A board applied with petroleum jelly and hang it in the picked locations. A subject in a park, suburban home, urban home and in the streets. Using the data we got from the park we will compare it to the other boards with the use of a gray c. Results d. Conclusion

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ABSTRACT .. TABLE OF CONTENTS . ACKNOWLEDGMENT DEDICATION CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Statement of the Problem .. Hypothesis of the Study . Significance of the Study Scope and Limitation .. Definition of Terms ..

1 2 3 5 6

7 7 8 9 10 11

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Foreign Literature Foreign Studies Local Literature Local Studies 12 13 15 16

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

4 Experimental Design .. Instrumentation Sampling Procedure .. Research Procedure .. Flow Chart 17 18 19 20 20

CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Data Analysis Interpretation . 21 22

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary of Findings .. Conclusion Recommendations .. 23 24 25 30

APPENDICES ..

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Study As living beings that are required to intake oxygen we are opt to know if we are actually breathing oxygen or are we getting more than we need. Smog and air-pollution that is very obvious in Metro-Manila which is caused by overpopulation and mistreating nature. So we want to find out how clean is the air we breathe especially in the places we are usually in.

Statement of the Problem The researchers opt to investigate HOW CLEAN IS THE AIR WE BREATHE The study aims to answer the following questions at the end of the investigation. 1. How far is the color of the board collected in different places from the board got from the park? a. From sub-urban residence. b. From urban residence. c. From street

6 Hypothesis of the Study If we place a board with petroleum jelly in a park and in the streets (or at home, etc) then our results will not be different (regarding on what result they get on our grayscale) .

Significance of the Study We live in an overpopulated city and country. Metro Menila is dense as it is, so what are the effects to us especially to our health. Bigger demand for transport, meaning more cars causing more pollution. This is where we come in, we want to know if the environment we are usually in, the places we are at most of the time really that safe in terms of health. Through our experiment we can see how air-polluted our homes and streets our so we may know using these few techniques and hopefully after this experiment each of one of us do something to make the environment, the skies and most important our country a cleaner and safer place to live in. Scope and Limitation of the Study Independent variable amount of smog produced by vehicles. Dependent variable traffic. Extraneous variable weather. Definition of Terms Grayscale is a visual color pattern from white to black usually used to get tones of color.

7 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUTE AND STUDIES

During a five-day fog in December 1930, 63 people died, most of the deaths occurring on the fourth and fifth days. Older persons with previously known diseases of the heart or lungs accounted for the majority of fatalities. The signs and symptoms were primarily those caused by a respiratory irritant. They include chest pain, cough, shortness of breath and irritation of the eyes. Sulfur dioxide gas is suspected as the cause of the disaster.(Donora, 1930) Twenty people died and approximately 7,000 or 50% of the population, experienced acute illness during the week of Oct. 25, 1948, when temperature inversion and air stagnation occurred. Persons of all ages became ill, but those over 55 were more severely affected. Those with previous heart or respiratory disease, particularly bronchial asthma, suffered most. Symptoms were primarily respiratory and secondarily gastrointestinal, and included cough, sore throat, chest constriction, shortness of breath, eye irritation, nausea and vomiting. The onset of the illness for most persons occurred on the evening of the third day. Of the 20 who died, 14 had some known heart or lung disease.(London, 1948) That yellow haze of smog hovering over the skyline isn't just a stain on the view. It may also leave a mark on your mind. Researchers have known since the 1970s that high levels of air pollution can harm both cardiovascular and respiratory health, increasing the risk of early death from heart and lung diseases. The effect of air pollution on cognition and mental well-being, however, has been less well understood. Now, evidence is mounting that dirty air is bad for your brain as well. (Weier, 2012) The India capital, New Delhi, is in the grips of smog which threatens to worsen as Diwali firework celebrations take place on Tuesday 13 November. Visibility across Delhi has been between 1000 and 4000 metres over the last week and despite clearer conditions on Friday, the poor visibility returned over the weekend. (New Delhi, 2012)

But more recently, it has also become a refuge from Beijing's often heavily polluted air when temperatures are more benign, providing expensive relief from the city's high levels of pollution for those children whose parents can afford it. "It made sense for us so that we could control the air quality indoors; this is even more important when children are exercising," explained the school's head of external relations, Cynthia Maclean. "We added extra air filters, and these filter out particles of 2.5 microns in diameter and above." (Beijing,2012) According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, "In many urban areas, motor vehicles are the single largest source of ground-level ozone, a major component of smog." In fact, the agency warns, "Automobile emissions alone account for about 60 percent of pollution in our cities." Strict emissions standards are in place to reduce this pollution and comply with the Federal Clean Air Act, and annual vehicle inspections for gasoline-powered vehicles identify those that don't comply so that they may be repaired before becoming gross polluters. (New York, 2012)

9 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY This chapter includes the experimental design which discusses the independent and dependent variables, instrumentation the way of gathering and collecting materials, samples, equipment to be used, sampling procedure procedure that discusses how your product was being made and research procedure procedure that indicates how your product/topic was being tested.

Experimental Design We will get to see visually what smog looks like, in three days the smog has sticked to our petroleum jelly covered board and we can show people how truly air-polluted a place is. A variable we cannot control is the traffic, traffic is inconsistent but it may just add to giving us a better result with regards with the smog.

Instrumentation We will cut three inch by three inch cardboard, apply it with petroleum jelly on the white side and hang it on different location. We will be getting the data within three days which is the approximate time we spend in the area in a week.

Research Procedure We will have a ten tone grayscale where in the first tone is from our park (cleanest air) and compare the other data with it and see how many tones away is it from the parks tone.