Student Research Reports

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The objective of this experiment was to determine how air temperature affects water pH, which is important to see the effects of global warming to aquatic environments. Monitoring water pH provides context as to how ecosystems are affected. We proposed that if air temperature increased, the pH of river water would have decreased because increasing the temperature will cause more water to evaporate, and increased concentration of H⁺ ions in the water will decrease the pH. Water samples were collected from the same site over the course of 10 days, with three 60 mL samples per day. The appropriately ranged pH paper was used to measure water pH, and air temperature was recorded with a thermometer. Upon conclusion of its collection, all of the documented data was uploaded to Globe. We then analyzed it, determining whether there was statistical significance. Since there was, from this experiment, we concluded that water pH significantly changes based on the outside air temperature, supporting our hypothesis. These findings highlight potential risks to aquatic ecosystems as global temperatures rise.