EWxperiments, Activities, and Projects

Experiments, Activities, and Projects

1. Ozone Alert! Label Survey.
The hydrocarbons that help produce ozone are often found in chemicals which are made to dry out, or evaporate, very quickly. They also are used in many chemicals used to clean or dissolve grease, Some common household products that could contain hydrocarbons include:

spray products, such as spray paint, hair spray, and spray deodorants.

cigarette lighter fluid, charcoal lighter fluid, and other petroleum products.

car care products such as waxes, finish restorers, carburetor cleaners, and anti-freeze.

many paint and varnish products, especially oil-based paints, paint thinners, paint and varnish strippers, and floor finishes.

some septic tank cleaners.

Make a list of all the products in your house that contain hydrocarbons and write an Ozone Alert! plan that includes air-friendly products to replace them, or ways you can avoid using them on Ozone Alert! Days. Share it with your teachers, classmates, and parents.

2. Neighborhood Survey.

Can you survey your home or neighborhood for ozone producers? Look for products that might contain hydrocarbons and read the labels carefully. Some ingredients you might find listed include "petroleum distillates,""highly aromatic solvents,""terpene," aliphatic hydrocarbons," "glycols," and "benzene." All of these are hydrocarbons.
Make a list of all the products you find and the ingredients in them. How many kinds of products did you find? How many different ingredients? Compare your list with your classmates' lists. Who found the most ozone-producing ingredients?

3. Follow it up.

Write a class letter to your state environmental protection office. List the products and ingredients you found that produce ozone. Ask for suggestions about some products you could use instead.

4. Experiment: How dirty is the air in your neighborhood?

You will need three sheets of white paper or cardboard and petroleum jelly. Smear two sheets of paper on one side with petroleum jelly. Put the sheets next to each other, smeared sides up, on a window sill, and clamp the sheets in place with the closed window (or tape them to the outside of the window). Do this when it is not raining. Take one sheet in at the end of one day and see how dirty it looks (compare it to a clean sheet of paper). Save the dirty sheet. Take the other sheet in after one week. See how dirty it is (compare it to the first dirty sheet and to the clean sheet). How dirty do you think the air is?

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency