A3 Monitoring and protecting the environment

Workbook answers

Monitoring air quality to make sure the air we breathe is not causing us harm, to make sure industries are not polluting the air. Informing the public about their work to make sure the public understand the importance of their work, to help people in an area appreciate and know how to protect local wildlife, to make sure the public support their work by not causing pollution themselves. Managing and conserving natural habitats providing places for native species to live, to protect local wildlife from competition by other species, to maintain the balance of local habitats by not allowing foreign species to thrive, to provide a place for outdoor recreation. Monitoring the water quality of freshwater lakes and rivers to make sure industries are not polluting water supplies. Assessing soil for contaminants to make sure industries are not releasing pollutants into the soil, to find out if the site of an old factory is now safe for house-building. Monitoring drinking water to make sure our tap water is safe to drink. Monitoring river flow and rainfall to gather information that might help to predict or prevent floods. Removing invasive species of animals and plants providing places for native species to live, to protect local wildlife from competition by other species, to maintain the balance of local habitats by not allowing foreign species to thrive.

Environment Agency: monitoring air quality, informing the public about their work, monitoring the water quality of freshwater lakes and rivers, assessing soil for contaminants, and monitoring river flow and rainfall local Wildlife Trust: removing invasive species of animals and plants, managing and conserving natural habitats and informing the public about their work Drinking Water Inspectorate: monitoring drinking water and informing the public about their work

a b i ii iii

In the field really means out of the laboratory. It could be a field, a forest, or a riverbank, a mountainside or a housing estate, factory or shopping centre. A lawyer might be arguing a court case, for or against, a business causing pollution or a community trying to reduce industrial development in their area A journalist might prepare news articles explaining environmental issues or projects with environmental impacts to the public or to interest groups. An engineer might design and plan the build of a flood protection barrier, or a piece of equipment for environmental monitoring Because anyone can follow the standard operating procedures to carry out the same test in the same way For testing, the quantity collected doesnt matter. Collecting from a damp area would be a bad idea. Of the other four, all are helpful, but having the same person doing the test is the least significant. If a test result is reproducible, running the same test again on the sample should give the same result.

i ii

University of York (UYSEG) and the Nuffield Foundation This page may be copied solely for use in the purchasers school o r college

C2-F1 1

A3 Monitoring and protecting the environment

Workbook answers
c i Task Good laboratory practice Health and safety Send the laboratory coats to the laundry Put away the clean glassware Clean and check an electronic balance Use a checklist to confirm the fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and emergency equipment are in place Write a standard operating procedure for the new equipment and present it to a safety committee meeting for approval Show a colleague how to operate the new equipment ii 4 a b i ii c 5 a b Standard masses. Because independent checking means the checker has no bias and will only approve proficient laboratories and analysts. Acceptable is 35.29-35.39 mg/dm . B is too high, F is too low, A, C, D, and E are acceptable. It is acceptable, but close to the limit. They might practise the test a few more times and see if they get more reproducible results closer to the middle of the range. Advise the analyst or laboratory how to improve their result and arrange for a repeat test after training. Scope of accreditation shows the list of tests a laboratory is accredited to do. It is good to have UKAS kite mark so that clients know they can depend on the results of the laboratorys work. Representative samples will give results you can depend on. They should give realistic measurements of the factors being tested. By keeping in airtight containers, or possibly refrigerating a sample. Because the samples are often evidence in a court case. So it is important that they are giving true results from each area tested not mixed up.. i ii e i Because the samples are often evidence in a court case. A seal that cannot be broken without it being detected. So when the laboratory staff open the sample, they know they are the first people to access it since it was collected. Run the tap for a bit and collect a sample in a clean bottle with a tight-fitting cap, rinsed two or three times in the running water.
3

Staff training

Equipment maintenance

a b c d

University of York (UYSEG) and the Nuffield Foundation This page may be copied solely for use in the purchasers school o r college

C2-F2

A3 Monitoring and protecting the environment

Workbook answers
ii 7 a i A label showing - Date: Time: My name and contact number: Description of sample: Location of tap. The complete food chain will look like this:

ii iii iv v b c

They are the main plant in the ocean, so they have the same place in a food chain as grass might on land. Because if anything happens to the phytoplankton, there is no alternative food source for the zooplankton, or for any of the other animals. Increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere could mean the phytoplankton are more successful and there is energy for increased populations of animals in the Arctic. As temperatures rise, less carbon dioxide will dissolve in the water, so the phytoplankton may not grow well after all. 3, 2, 4, 1 Because the plankton are likely to be affected quickly by global climate change, and because we can see what depends on them, studying the plankton will give us early clues about the possible effects of climate change. Repeatable kick-sampling: similar size of net, similar kicking method, same length of time in the water. Take the sample to another laboratory and see if they get the same result.

b 9 a i ii 10 a i ii iii

very clean

Because the mayfly nymphs can survive only in clean water, so if they are there the water is clean. Three features to tell them apart: size, size of claws, size of eyes. A: 30-35 cm long, B: 1.00-1.25 cm long Where they were found, what they were close to/ eating, how they move, how active they are. With labels or colouring Quick, easy, stored in the camera lots of images take up little room, easy to send to other people for more information.

iv b i

University of York (UYSEG) and the Nuffield Foundation This page may be copied solely for use in the purchasers school o r college

C2-F3 3

A3 Monitoring and protecting the environment

Workbook answers
ii sharpness of focus: easy to see edges and shapes of things contrast: able to see the thing you want to see against its background depth of field: able to see details of bodies even in closeup, able to see features of a whole landscape from a single shot magnification: the right zoom will give a clear picture of what is being studied, or its general location. 11 a i Missing words: scale, graduations, measurement, less, estimate, graduation, uncertainty, range 5.5 0.1 cm Lottes 12.5 m is an outlier Mark has estimated the second decimal place. Eshan and Rani made a different estimate each deciding the distance was closer to a different graduation. Lotte and Hannahs measurements look different because it looks like Lotte has made a mistake or a systematic error. iv v vi vii c i ii iii 12 a b c d e 13 a b c i Mark was more accurate because he was closest to the true value. Marks measure is more precise: 0.02 m rather than 0.5 m Area = 10.0 m x 15.3 m = 153 m
2

ii b i ii iii

Because the uncertainty in each measure is exaggerated when the two measures are multiplied. By describing a standard operating procedure. No. They are not reading consistently within 0.02 m of Marks reading. The measurement is close to 12.3 m, but his level of accuracy is not dependable. Colour 1, 3 and 5 red, 7 purple and 9, 11, 13 blue That it is acidic. More detail of the level of acidity qualitative, semi-quantitative pH 4: yellow/ orange, pH 6: yellow, pH 8: yellow/ green, pH 10: purple The straight line can go at any angle, but should go through 0,0 Missing words: colour, intensity, compared, semi-quantitative Tap water test is semi-quantitative. Soil test kit is semi-quantitative Carbon monoxide test is qualitative

ii

Chlorine at the right level, enough to keep the water free of bacteria, but not too high to be hazardous to people drinking the water.

University of York (UYSEG) and the Nuffield Foundation This page may be copied solely for use in the purchasers school o r college

C2-F4

A3 Monitoring and protecting the environment

Workbook answers
d 14 a b 15 a i ii iii iv b 16 a With a pH meter or electronic probe. Qualitative, semi-quantitative, quantitative. Missing words: high, approximate, accurate, reproducible, intensity Talybont reservoir May 2011 Brecon:Monmouthshire canal August 2011 The tube is more accurate because you can pour the water slowly and adjust the depth until you are sure of the reading. Semi-quantitative A: dissolved solids, B: suspended solids

Silt washed into the canal by heavy rain. (April is usually wet, algal growth will be low till high summer, boats are not active)

ii

Mud stirred up by pleasure boats cruising the canal (and alga growing in the water). (Sewage release is unlikely at any time, but silt washed into the canal is also a possibility if rain is heavy.

iii

There will be little traffic on the water stirring up mud, low algal growth when cold and low light levels in winter. If little rain, nothing to stir up the water.

University of York (UYSEG) and the Nuffield Foundation This page may be copied solely for use in the purchasers school o r college

C2-F5 5