Ocean Acidification Lab Report

Luke Johnson
Mrs. Norris
AP Environmental Science
10 October, 2014
Collaborator: Rosalynn Phan
Introduction:
The ocean is one of the worlds largest carbon sink. Every day it absorbs more than one million
metric tons of carbon dioxide every hour. CO2 is a naturally occurring gas in our atmosphere that is
integral in maintaining a healthy climate. However, additional CO2 is released into the atmosphere from
the burning of fossil fuels. Experts conclude that marine ecosystem and biodiversity are likely to change
as a result of ocean acidification, through an increase of CO2 in the oceans, having economic, social, and
environmental consequences.
Problem:
How does carbon dioxide affect the pH of water?
Hypothesis:
The increased carbon dioxide, delivered by breathing into a straw, in both distilled water and
ocean water will result in an increased acidity of the water. The effects will be observed by a change in
color of the universal indicator from a neutral to alkaline green/blue color for the distilled water
(approximately 7 pH) and an alkaline blue color for the ocean water (approximately 8.1 pH), to an
orange/yellow acidic color for both solutions (approximately 5 pH). The added calcium will balance the
acidity for both solutions returning their pH to approximately how it was prior to the added CO2.
Materials:
Two test tubes, Universal Indicator, Ocean Water, Distilled Water, and a Straw.
Method:
1) Use a graduated cylinder to measure 10 ML of ocean water. Pour it into test tube # 1. Add
10 ml of universal indicator. Stir and record pH in the table.
2) Use a graduated cylinder to measure 10 ML of distilled water. Pour it into test tube #1. Add
10 ml of universal indicator. Stir and record pH in the table.
3) Place the tip of the straw in the ocean water sample. Blow in the straw slowly.
4) Use a stopwatch to start timing as soon as the first breath is released and the solution
begins bubbling. Stop timing as soon as the color changes. Record your data.
5) Repeat the procedure using the sample of distilled water. Record your data.
6) Add crushed calcium carbonate to the ocean water and distilled water test tubes. Record
your results.
Images:

Data and Data Analysis:
Solution Measured pH Measure pH after
adding CO2
Time (in seconds)
for pH to change
Observations with
calcium carbonate
Ocean Water 8 3 21 Seconds 11
Distilled Water 6 4 51 Seconds 9

Conclusion:
The ocean water was within acceptable range of what was predicted, with most ocean water on
the surface having a pH of 8.1, having a pH of 8. The distilled water, on the other hand, stared out more
acidic than predicted, with a pH of 6. Both the distilled water and ocean water reacted similarly to the
added CO2, ocean water going from 8 pH to 3pH and distilled water going from 6 pH to 4 pH, however,
ocean water took much less time to go from the two extremes taking only 21 seconds as opposed to
distilled water taking 51 seconds*. With the addition of calcium carbonate both the ocean water and the
distilled water went past their previous acidity to have a pH of 11 for the ocean water and a pH of 9 for
the distilled water. Without having a specific amount of calcium carbonate in the instructions
irregularities may have arisen, perhaps from different amounts being used in each test tube or too much
or too little of the substance being added may have led to inaccurate information.
I feel this experiment did allowed for observations to be made about CO2 being added to ocean
water, though I do not feel it did as good a job at being a valid model for ocean absorption of CO2. The
experiment showed just a small amount of ocean water being exposed to large amounts of CO2 over a
short period of time, whereas large bodies of water will not be exposed to such high doses of CO2 over a
short period of time and will instead need further testing in order to gather more information regarding
ocean absorption of CO2.

Works Cited
BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
"Expert Assessment_ Ocean Acidification May Increase 170 Percent This Century -- ScienceDaily.pdf
- Google Drive." Expert Assessment_ Ocean Acidification May Increase 170 Percent This
Century -- ScienceDaily.pdf - Google Drive. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
"OCEAN ACIDIFICATION HHS.pdf - Google Drive." OCEAN ACIDIFICATION HHS.pdf - Google
Drive. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.