Student Research Reports

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Conductivity is a major factor in determining and maintaining water quality. Consistently having access to good quality water is essential for life, but it is not readily available in every corner of the globe. Understanding what can influence water quality can lead to quality of life improvements for many, and that’s why this report intends to research the factors that affect conductivity in water. This project will provide valuable information regarding these relationships. It was hypothesized that if water temperature is decreased, then conductivity will also decrease, because lower temperature leads to a decrease in ion movement, therefore decreasing conductivity. However, if there are large amounts of precipitation, then conductivity could increase because precipitation adds ions to the water. To gather the data, conductivity meters and thermometers were dipped in the sample of water. The precipitation data was gathered from a well respected online database named Wunderground. It was found that conductivity generally increased as water temperature decreased, and when there was no precipitation. This contradicted the hypothesis and also other studies. This shows just how complex conductivity is, showing that other factors, such as human-related factors can also influence water conductivity. This study has many real-world applications and understanding these relationships can help scientists to create ways to manage water quality, through measuring conductivity.