Mianus River Gorge-Test Site

While my class was at Soundwaters I was chosen to use the HP graphing calculator. I was able to perform certain tests on it such as testing the temperature of the water in Mianus River. We placed the temperature probes that were attached to the calculator into the still water of the river. Until the temperature of the water became constant we had to keep the probe in. When it finally did become constant we recorded the y-axis number as the temperature.
At one of the stations we calculated the flow rate of the Mianus River using a buoy. To record the flow rate, we timed how fast it took the buoy to travel from one tree to another a few yards down the river. We repeated this procedure for five tests and multiplied the distance by the time. This showed how the amount of rain affected how fast the river flowed and the amount of water it carried with it.
Once we collected water samples from the river we performed titrations, something I will later conduct in chemistry. These tests were performed on turbid river water. Different chemicals were added to the water to see how it reacted. Testing the turbidity of the water is testing how cloudy the water is or vice versa. We then recorded how the water reacted to the added chemicals and recorded the turbidity.
Overall I thought each station provided me with a lot of information about turbidity of water, quality, flow rate, reactions with different chemicals that might be added to the water, and various other characteristics.
Alex