Lab 1

Exercise 1: Data Interpretation

Dissolved oxygen is oxygen that is trapped in a fluid, such as water. Since many living organism requires oxygen to survive, it is a necessary component of water systems such as streams, lakes and rivers in order to support aquatic life. The dissolved oxygen is measured in units of ppm (parts per million). Examine the data in Table 4 showing the amount of dissolved oxygen present and the number of fish observed in the body of water the sample was taken from; finally, answer the questions below.

Post-Lab Questions

1. What patterns do you observe based on the information in Table 4?

The number of fish is higher in the areas with more dissolved oxygen. But it also shows that there are areas with greater amounts of dissolved oxygen while the number of fish is smaller.

2. Develop a hypothesis relating to the amount of dissolved oxygen measured in the water sample and the number of fish observed in the body of water.

Due to the increase of dissolved oxygen the number of fish in the sampled area would be larger.

3. What would your experimental approach be to test this hypothesis?

I would compare samples from different areas with varying levels of dissolved oxygen while comparing those results to others taken.

4. What would be the independent and dependent variables?

The dependent variable would the fish, while the independent variable would be the dissolved oxygen.

5. What would be your control?

I would not have a control.

6. What type of graph would be appropriate for this data set? Why?

I would use a bar to show the varying levels between dissolved oxygen and number of fish in the sample area.

7. Graph the data from Table 4: Water Quality vs. Fish Population (found at the beginning of this exercise).

8. Interpret the data from the graph made in Question 7.

The graph above shows the dissolved oxygen alongside the number of fish found in that particular sample. As you can see that...