Week 4 Lab Sci 207

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Lab 4 – Energy Sources and Alternative Energy Experiment 1: The Effects of Coal Mining Table 1: pH of Water Samples | Water Sample | Initial pH | Final pH (24-48 hours) | Pyrite | 4.5 | 5 | Activated Carbon | 4.5 | 6.5 | Water | 4.5 | 4.5 | POST LAB QUESTIONS 1. Develop hypotheses predicting the effect of pyrite and coal on the acidity of water? a. Pyrite hypothesis = Adding pyrite to water it will cause the pH levels to increase. b. Coal hypothesis = If I add activated carbon to the water it will lower the pH level of the water. 2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept each hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this. a. Pyrite hypothesis accept/reject = Based on the results of the experiment I would accept the hypothesis on pyrite. The pH test stripe seem was slightly more yellow than orange in the second test, giving us a 0.5pH increase. b. Coal hypothesis accept/reject = Based on the results of the experiment I would reject my hypothesis. The water that I placed activated carbon in actually increased by 2pH rather than decreasing. 3. Based on your data, what effect do you predict coal mining has on the environment? Answer = Coal mining is the removal of coal from the earth which slows the Earth's capability to decrease the acidity of groundwater. If an ideal pH level is 7 than the carbon was able to take our acidic water and make it more neutral. Coal works as a pH balancer for the earth’s soil and helps to filter out water as it passes through. The pH in the soil has a major impact on the nutrients that come from that soil. The more nutrients that are produced the better ecosystem will function. 4. What can be done to prevent mine drainage from damaging the ecosystem? Utilize at least one scholarly resource to support your

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