Anthony Rodesney

Testing CO2 Levels (due Saturday)

The BTB Test
BTB (bromo-thymol blue or C27H27Br2O5SNa) is a pH indicator that changes from blue
to yellow as acidity increases (pH 7.6 to 6.0). By bubbling CO2 through a solution of BTB in
water, carbonic acid is formed (remember acid rain?), and the indicator changes color. Air
containing higher levels of CO2 will change the color to yellow more quickly.
You first need to prepare your BTB solution. The liquid in your bottle is a concentrate,
so you will need to dilute it. Fill a clean glass container or milk jug with water. Don't use a
plastic soda bottle, since there seems to be a lot of residual acidity. Use tap water or another
source of water with pH around 7 to 7.5 (you can always test with your pH meter!). You can add
a tiny bit of baking soda to make the solution a little bit basic, but do not put in more than about
a quarter teaspoonful for a gallon jug.
Use about 5 ml of the BTB solution to start. The resulting mixture should turn a deep
blue or blue green. If it is very pale, add some more BTB; if it is inky dark, you will want to
dilute it so you can see through the bottle. Test the solution by filling a Dixie cup about halfway.
Use a soda straw to blow bubbles (gently---not so it sprays!) through the solution. With a lungful
of air, you should be able to turn the solution yellow.
While BTB is not particularly dangerous, when working with children it is always
advisable that they should use goggles. In its concentrated form, it can stain, so be careful of
clothes and surfaces when mixing up a batch. It is safe to pour down the drain when you're done,
although you may want to save a concentrated dissolved solution for use in the classroom. It can
keep for several years in a well-sealed bottle.
Comparing Air Samples
We will bubble a fixed volume (50 ml) of various air samples through the BTB
solution and compare the color changes.
Fill 5 or more Dixie cups (or similar containers) about 1/3rd full of the BTB solution
you have prepared. About 15 ml works well, and set the cups on white paper.
Air samples can be drawn into the syringe and then bubbled through the solution in
one of your cups by putting the tip of the syringe in the bottom of the cup and depressing the
plunger slowly. Use the same amount of air for each test so you can compare the results; 50 cc in
the syringe usually works.
It may make more sense to first collect air samples in plastic bags. The bag should be
squeezed free of air before collecting a sample. Put the end of the syringe in the bag, then draw
in air from the bag into the syringe. You may want to re-twist the neck of the bag and save it in
case another sample is needed.
Pick at least 5 air samples to test, such as:
Plain air: Is it the same by a bus stop? in a copier room? Is a closed room the same after many
people have been sitting in it for awhile?
Your Breath: What if you hold your breath for awhile first? or run up and down the stairs? Does
it vary between smokers and non-smokers?
Pure CO2: Put about 2--3 teaspoons of baking soda in a bottle, then add about a half cup of
vinegar. Wait a second while the CO2 displaces the air already in the bottle, then put a bag over
the neck. "Swishing around" the mixture may help generate more CO2. Note: CO2 is denser than

Anthony Rodesney
air, so it will tend to stay in the bottle once filled. You can even pour it out over a candle and put
it out.
Auto Exhaust: Make a long narrow funnel out of a file folder and tape. The larger end should be
big enough to fit over a tail pipe, the other end will feed the exhaust into a plastic bag or syringe
without melting it! With a parked, idling car (this experiment is more of a challenge to do on a
moving car) put the funnel over the tail pipe and fill the bag from the other end. Do older cars
produce more CO2 than new ones?
Experiments and Postings
1. Do a little exploration and test your experimental procedure by collecting one sample each of
plain air, your breath, pure CO2, and auto exhaust.
Take a picture of your results and post it in the BTB Experiment area.
Breath (normal) About 6.8
Breath (Held) About 6.5
Outdoor Almost 7
Indoor Almost 7
Pure CO2 About 5
4-Clylinder Engine About 6.4
6-Cylinder Engine About 6.2

Anthony Rodesney
2. Carry out a more detailed experiment on a more specific question that interests you. There are
several examples of questions above.
Question: Two-stroke or four-stroke engine?
Describe your experiment and results.
I compared the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a four stroke engine and a two stroke
engine. I used my car and my lawnmower to produce the CO2 before injecting 40mL of the
exhaust into the BTB solution. I allowed each engine to run for one minutes before taking
three samples from them. At first I thought that the two stroke engine would produce the most
CO2 because it is less a less complicated and produces more waste. Then I thought that the
four stroke engine would produce the most CO2 because it is a more complete process and
combusts the fuel more efficiently.
The results looked pretty similar. Im not sure if a conclusion can be made as to which
released more CO2. The car engine has six cylinders to the lawnmowers one. And the car was
producing more exhaust than lawnmower. I may have tries to compare apples to oranges.