25 May AP Environmental Science Lab
Did you know that for every gallon of gas your car burns, it releases about 20 pounds of Carbon Dioxide into the air we breathe? The 12th graders in Ms. Suarez’s AP Environmental Science class went outside once again for an outdoor pollution lab using student cars! Five seniors volunteered their cars for this lab on vehicle emissions. The objective was to make qualitative observations after placing a white tube sock over the exhaust pipe (tailpipe) of each car, opening all car windows, then starting the car engine and allowing it to idle for 3 minutes; all while the sock collected the carbon dioxide and particulate matter being emitted from the car. Student vehicles ranged from Ford, to BMW, Toyota, and Honda. In the photo you will see the different amounts of pollution that each vehicle emits into our atmosphere. The results: BMW had the most pollution!