Activity (Hands-On)Grades 4 - 6
Sensing Air Pollution
Outdoor air pollution.Copyright Lawrence Berkelely National Laboratory http://www.lbl.gov
Students learn about electricity and air pollution while building devices to measure volatile organic compounds (VOC) by attaching VOC sensors to prototyping boards. In the second part of the activity, students evaluate the impact of various indoor air pollutants using the devices they made.
Environmental engineers measure air pollution and work with scientists to determine the sources, magnitude, and health effects of various pollutants. Most air quality measurement devices are expensive and/or immobile. Engineers work to create less expensive, smaller and more reliable monitoring devices.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain the connections in a prototyping board (breadboard).
- Explain that current travels from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of a breadboard, and that any element hooked up to a breadboard needs to be attached to both terminals.
- Identify several products in their homes and school that emit VOCs.
- Recognize that everyday products emit pollution and can have negative effects on human health.