Energy Sources and Alternative Energy

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Energy Sources and Alternative Energy Christina Childs SCI207: Dependence of Man on the Environment Instructor: Marc Jackson November 10, 2014 Lab 4 – Energy Sources and Alternative Energy Experiment 1: The Effects of Coal Mining Table 1: pH of Water Samples | Water Sample | Initial pH | Final pH (24-48 hours) | Pyrite | 6 | 4 | Activated Carbon | 7 | 8 | Water | 7 | 7 | POST LAB QUESTIONS 1. Develop hypotheses predicting the effect of pyrite and coal on the acidity of water? a. Pyrite hypothesis = If pyrite is added to with 100mL of water, it will decrease the pH over 48 hours. b. Coal hypothesis = If activated carbon is added with 100mL of water, it will increase the pH over 48 hours. 2. Based on the results of your experiment, would you reject or accept each hypothesis that you produced in question 1? Explain how you determined this. a. Pyrite hypothesis accept/reject = I would accept the hypothesis, seeing as how the pH reduced from 6 to 2. b. Coal hypothesis accept/reject = I would consider this hypothesis to be true as the pH increased from 6 to 10. 3. Based on your data, what effect do you predict coal mining has on the environment? Answer = Coal mining can require the removal of almost an entire layer of material deep under the surface. When the timber supports collapse, this can lead to subsidence. The subsidence can mean economic loss to people above or damage to natural areas. It can even cause cracks in river beds, leading to loss of river flow. Some mining involves the inadvertent dispersal of heavy metals, such as lead, into the atmosphere. This can have serious health effects 4. What can be done to prevent mine drainage from damaging the ecosystem? Utilize at least one scholarly resource to support your suggestions. Answer = According to World Coal, there are mining

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