Investigating Dissolved Oxygen > Experiment #16 from Investigating Biology through Inquiry

Introduction

Dissolved oxygen is one of the primary indicators of the quality of an aquatic environment. Oxygen enters water from the surrounding air, as a product of photosynthesis, and as a result of rapid movement of water. A Dissolved Oxygen Probe can be used in a wide variety of tests or investigations to determine dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) and changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations.

Objectives

In this Preliminary Activity, you will gain experience using a Dissolved Oxygen Probe as you determine the DO level of a water sample provided by your teacher.

After completing the Preliminary Activity, you will first use reference sources to find out more about dissolved oxygen issues in the environment before you choose and investigate a researchable question dealing with dissolved oxygen. Some topics to consider in your reference search are:

water pollution
eutrophication
thermal pollution

photosynthesis
cellular respiration

Sensors and Equipment

This investigation requires each of the following Vernier sensors and equipment (unless otherwise noted):

Dissolved Oxygen Probe

Additional Requirements

You may also need an interface and software for data collection. What do I need for data collection?

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The student-version preview includes:

Step-by-step instructions for the Preliminary Activity
List of materials and equipment

Note: The experiment preview of the Preliminary Activity does not include essential teacher information, safety tips, or sample data. Instructions for Logger Pro and other software (such as LabQuest App or TI handheld software, where available) are on the CD that accompanies the book. We strongly recommend that you purchase the book before performing experiments.

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Standards Correlations

No standards correlations for this experiment.

Investigating Dissolved Oxygen