Water Quality Analysis Lab Report Directions: Complete a water quality analysis for each of the major bodies of water. Be sure to document your analysis by collecting and organizing data, creating and uploading appropriate graphs, and following the guidelines for writing a conclusion. Data Collection Using the Water Quality Testing activity, you will be collecting data about the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico over many years. Explore the program to learn about the four measures of water quality at different times. Determine how to collect data about a single body

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Water Quality Analysis Lab Report

Directions: Complete a water quality analysis for each of the major bodies of water. Be sure to document your analysis by collecting and organizing data, creating and uploading appropriate graphs, and following the guidelines for writing a conclusion.

Data Collection

Using the Water Quality Testing activity, you will be collecting data about the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico over many years. Explore the program to learn about the four measures of water quality at different times. Determine how to collect data about a single body of water over time in a table format. While it is important that you become familiar with the variability of the data over a single water body, for the purposes of further analysis, in your tables cite the means for pH, temperature, and turbidity. For dissolved oxygen data, cite the area of the “dead zone.” Complete the tables, including headings. You may not need all of the rows or columns provided.

The Chesapeake Bay

The Gulf of Mexico

The Great Lakes

Data Display

In order to study patterns and trends, you will need to display the data in graphs. For each of the three bodies of water, create a multiple-line graph to display the data. You may use a graphing program or do these by hand. Your graphs should be uploaded as part of your final portfolio.

Data Analysis

Before drawing conclusions or making predictions, you will need to look for patterns and trends in the data. Write a paragraph describing the data and any patterns or trends you see for each of the three bodies of water.

The Chesapeake Bay

The Gulf of Mexico

The Great Lakes

Drawing Conclusions and Making Predictions

Having studied the data for patterns and trends, you should now be able to draw some conclusions and make predictions about the general water quality of each major body of water. Address the following in your final paragraphs:

● Is the general water quality of this body of water declining or improving? Cite evidence from the data to support your conclusion.

● Based on the most recent data, what do you predict will be the biggest environmental risk factors facing this body of water in the coming years? Consider both the data and what you have learned about the causes and effects of changes in pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity.

● Relate your conclusions and predictions about different parameters of water quality with potential effect on biodiversity.

The Chesapeake Bay

The Gulf of Mexico

The Great Lakes