Submitted by Ashlynn Campbell

 Assistant Principal, Lassiter High School

Ever wonder what goes on in an Advanced Placement Environmental Science Class at Lassiter High School? Ms. Jennifer Mercure has some interesting things going on.

Two seniors, Patrick Holmes and Patrick Levandoski, recently tested tropospheric ozone levels inside and outside the school. This is also known as the ground level or “bad” ozone. Ms. Mercure’s Advanced Placement Environmental Science students collected ozone samples using an ozone paper that they prepared with cornstarch and potassium iodide solution.

This paper experiences color change when exposed to ozone. The scale goes from 0-10 on the Schoenbein color scale depending on the color change. This number is then compared to the humidity level.

On the day tested, excellent results were determined at Lassiter, with minimal color changes from no change to pale pink of 0-2, which corresponds to level of 0-70 ppb ozone at a humidity level of 45% average.

This was the case in most areas inside the school. High outdoor ozone levels were found near the construction areas, such as the outdoor areas at the front of the school. The color changes here were medium to dark purple (7-10 on the Schoenbein scale) measuring levels 150-160 ppb ozone at our humidity of 45% average.

Ms. Mercure’s students are learning a lot about the environment! Want to learn more about tropospheric ozone? Click on the following link to read more: http://www.epa.gov/oaqps001/gooduphigh/.