Name ____________________________ Period ___________________________

Effect of Thermal Pollution on Freshwater Organism

In modern day society there are many types and sources of pollution that directly affect the environment. One such type of pollution, which is becoming even more predominate through the construction of nuclear power plants, is that of thermal pollution. Power plants use vast amounts of water that are converted to steam by the thermonuclear reaction. This steam is used to turn the blades of the turbines that turns the generators producing the electricity. The hot water resulting from condensed steam is partially cooled in specially designed towers before it is released again into the environment by means of a reservoir or stream. The temperature of the return water is great enough to raise the temperature of the body of water several degrees. Such increases in temperature could greatly affect the organisms living in the water. PURPOSE: You will determine the effect of water temperature on dissolved oxygen levels and fish respiration rate. HYPOTHESIS: A) How will water temperature affect dissolved oxygen levels? B) What will happen to respiration rate in fish when water temperature changes? METHODS (summarize these briefly in your own words) Equipment needed (for each lab group): 800 ml beaker, minnow, CBL (with dissolved oxygen and temperature probes), hot and cold water baths, stirring rod, data table, graph paper. 1. Place 600 ml. of water into an 800 ml beaker. 2. Place temperature probe and dissolved oxygen probe into the beaker. Record the values in Table 1. 3. Allow minnow to quiet down and take the gill beat rate by counting the movement (beat) of the operculum which covers the gills. Take the count for 30 sec. and multiply by two to obtain rate per minute and then record the count in Table 1. Repeat this step twice more. Average your results. 4. Now put your beaker with the minnow into the cold water bath. Allow the minnow to sit for at least one minute before you proceed. 5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above. 6. Now put your beaker with the minnow into the hot water bath. Allow the minnow to sit for at least one minute before you proceed. 7. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above. RESULTS Table 1: Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, and Respiration Rates

Temperature (oC) Cold Water Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Room Temperature Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Hot Water Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Dissolved Oxygen (ppm)

Respiration Rate (per minute)

1) In your lab notebook, make a NEW table of the AVERAGE temperatures, dissolved oxygen levels, and respiration rates from Table 1 2) Plot the following on two separate graphs. Be sure to give your graph a descriptive title and to label your axes. Dissolved oxygen vs. temperature Respiration rate vs. temperature CONCLUSIONS Write a conclusion to this lab. Use paragraph form. Be sure to address the following. Was your hypothesis supported or not supported? Explain what thermal pollution is and how it affects dissolved oxygen levels. Explain what happens to fish respiration as dissolved oxygen levels drop and why. Also explain how this affects the health of the fish. If the government were to pass a law that forced companies to stop all thermal pollution, what trade-offs would our society have to make? How would this affect your standard of living? Explain sources of experimental error.