Water We Doing?
Project Description:
This was probably the project with the most community outreach that I have ever done. In this project, we had to apply for the Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge, in which high school students must form small groups of three or four, find an issue that is affecting their local community, and create a hypothetical solution and try to implement and measure its effectiveness through an experiment. It is divided into 8 stages that include researching the issue, creating a hypothesis, designing an experiment and gathering data, analyzing that data, constructing a conclusion, sharing your results with the community, describing the global impacts of your results, and providing documentation of the entire process. The Siemens Challenge does not have to concern water, but since we were studying the water cycle in Chemistry, and the history and influence of water on society in Humanities, it only made sense to make our experiments revolve around a water-based issue.
Once we were divided into our groups, our first job was to decide what issue we would wan to tackle. For homework, each member of the group had to research different dilemmas, and then pitch those issues to the group, and then the group had to vote to decide its issue. My group unanimously chose a single topic after the first round of presentations, and that issue was pharmaceutical pollution reaching our waterways. Our research revealed to us that underwater ecosystems were going through horrible challenges, such as the death of bacteria necessary for underwater life, intoxication of plants, and sex change in fish (causing them to stop reproduction, among other issues). Since pharmaceutical pollution is a fairly new theory, there was no specific test that had been conducted to determine whether or not pharmaceuticals were the specific cause of these issues, and we wanted to design an experiment that would clearly determine whether or not medications could be pointed to as the root of the matter.
Our process for this project was fairly simple, and in the design we faced very few obstacles when compared to other groups. The first step in our process was gathering our materials for our experiment, and this is where we faced our only bump in the road. Our group wanted to conduct our experiment on a controlled ecosystem with multiple kinds of underwater life (fish, plants, etc.), but we were not permitted to due so because of legal matters. This derailed our moral more than it should have, but we were satisfied when we were told that we could conduct our experiment on plants; and that is how we proceeded. Petco® was generous enough to donate four underwater plants to us, and each of those plants was placed in a different bowl. In each bowl we added 1,120 mL of water, and 5 mL of Top-fin® Water Conditioner and 1 mL of Seachem Flourish plant conditioner to help prepare the water for the plants. In the bowl that held plant #1, we added 4 ibuprofen pills. In the bowl that held plant #2, we added no medication as this would be our control variable and would allow us to compare our results to something. In the bowl that held plant #3, we added 30 mL of DayQuil and Walgreen's Multi-symptom Night time Cold and Flu Relief. In the bowl that held plant #4, we added 4 ibuprofen pills, 3 Advil pills, and 30 mL of both DayQuil and Walgreen's Multi-symptom Night time Cold and Flu Relief. After that we left the plants in a safe location where they still received the sunlight that they needed to survive, and recorded daily observations.
Throughout this project I learned an immense amount in both Humanities and Chemistry. In Humanities, I specifically was completely entranced when we studied water privatization; what it is, how it is done, and the effects it has on those implementing it and those it is being implemented for. We also learned about some of the struggles people around the world face in trying to access water, and how they resolve those issues as best as they can. We also looked at the history of water in relevance to human society, and performed case studies on some of the earliest recordings of water domestication. In Chemistry, we learned about the water cycle in extreme detail, from precipitation to water sheds and evapotranspiration. We also learned about pH and what effects pH levels have on underwater life and humans. In addition, we learned about dissolved oxygen, turbidity, coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, and other maladies that can be found in waterways, their effects on life, and how to measure them. This project also taught me things that do not fall under either of these categories that I know I will use later in life. Some of those things included how to sound professional over the phone when speaking with adults and experts over the phone, how to ask for donations from companies, and how to divide a huge amount of work between a small amount of people. In addition, my research skills simply continued to improve through this project.
I am happy to say that despite all of our doubts and concerns, both our final products were completed by the deadline and display all the work, time and dedication that we put into this project, as well as all the learning and growth that we experienced over the last three months. They included our Final Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge Application, and our Festival Del Sol Documentation Panel.
Siemen’s We Can Change the World Challenge Application
Title: Drugs Down the Drain
Summary: In this project we tested the if pharmaceutical pollution is poisonous to the environment, and at what levels it begins to kill certain living organisms.
Topic Area: Water conservation and clean up
Are you continuing work on a project that was begun before the Challenge opened in September 2013? No
Step 1: Identify and Research an Environmental Problem or Issue That Has Global Impact
There are many factors of pollution, but an issue that seems to be fabricating into the one that poses a large threat is the improper disposal of medical drugs. Yes, some of the very substances 21st century humans rely on to heal ailments, are causing an entirely new malady. This is being caused by the improper disposal of pharmaceutical drugs and antibiotics. When these medications are flushed down the sink or toilet, whether they are liquid or solid medicines, their harmful journey begins. They travel with the water through pipes, tubes, and sewage systems, eventually reaching large bodies of water such as streams, lakes, rivers, and of course, oceans.1,4,6 The lack of education regarding the disposal of medical drugs is what is fueling this growing disaster; proper guidance for the public about appropriate disposal will help slow this escalating problem. Society must ask itself, does it want to be known for creating problems that devastated countless ecosystems, while standing by idly watching, or does it want to be known for taking responsibility of its actions, not letting others suffer for its mistakes?
That being said, there is no such thing as a perfect world. There are people that will change for their ways and people that will overlook the issue and carry on with their routine. If there is not a change, eventually the freshwater and ecosystems in streams, lakes and rivers that life depends and relies on will cease to exist.1,3,6,7,8 The effects of this horrible compulsion still continue to grow for one simple reason; the public is not conscious of the situation. There is not enough public awareness regarding the effects of drained medicines.
The disposal of unused, unwanted and expired medication is simply not treated correctly in the United States. The general public is simply not educated to the point where they are motivated enough to create change.1 As long as city residents are kept in the dark, water will continue to be poisoned, local ecosystems will continue to suffer, wildlife will continue to diminish, and the overall quality of water will continue to downgrade.1,3,4,8 More in depth research should be conducted because of the threats that this issue poses to society’s lifestyle, in more than just water usage. One study showed that there is a possibility that the improper disposal of drugs could lead to increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, because the bacteria reproducing itself in the water that has been contaminated must find a way to continue its existence. There is also some evidence that suggests that if water were to be polluted to with an anti-cold medicine, there is a possibility that the bacteria that will grow in that water source will adapt to be immune to that same anti-cold medicine if it were used on a sick human. In addition, it has been confirmed that pharmaceuticals polluting local waterways interfere with the growth and reproduction of aquatic organisms, such as fish and frogs.
Many beneficial end products could come about if actions were taken now. Research must be conducted to investigate at what point medical pollution becomes truly poisonous, how close waterways here in San Diego are to reaching that level, and find a way to raise awareness about this growing issue.
Bibliography
Step 2: State Your HypothesisResponse should be no more than 50 words.
If the level of pharmaceutical pollution continually increases in a regulated sample of water, then the quality of life for underwater species will steadily decrease.
Step 3: Plan and Design Your ProjectNow that your team has identified the problem and formed a hypothesis, describe the plan and design of your project:
Action Plan:
Our plan is to determine the effect of pharmaceutical drugs in underwater life. We will do so by testing plants in natural source water and adding different types of medicine to see what effects happens to the pants. Also, we’ll be getting waters from different lakes/streams around San Diego; including Eastlake Lake, Heritage Lake, and Lower Otay Lakes. Then testing the dissolved oxygen levels to find out the average levels for around this area. In our group for this project we each have a Stage where we’ll take over for a bit. Andres Escobedo was in charge of stage one, Carolina Castro was in charge of the second stage, Alyssa Castro was in charge of the third stage and Rafael Rosas was in charge of the final stage. Even though the work is a bit spread out we will all contribute during each stage to get the best results. Our two advisors, Aliza Cruz and Laszlo Folks, helped with transportation to the site where we needed to collect materials and water. They also guided us throughout the project and made sure we did the best possible for the experiment. Petco helped by donating plants which we could test and parents took us to buy any materials that we would have needed.
Week-By-Week Schedule:
January 20-January 24: Collect data and research amounts of pharmaceutical drugs and the effect of them in the oceans. Find companies that’ll help us know more about our subject and what we could do to prevent drugs down the drain.
January 27-January 31: Develope experiment and variables included. Collect all materials and water samples. Try to start testing waters individually.
February 3-February 6: Test different water (with plants) before and after pharmaceutical drugs. Add an exact amount, observe and repeat. Actual test in between adding the medicines.
Materials:
Select Variables:
Independent Variable: amount of medicine being added to the water.
Dependent Variable: amounts of dissolved pH and dissolved oxygen.
Control Variable: the plants being used with the pharmaceutical drugs.
Data Collection Process:
Our experiment is inspired by the amount of pharmaceutical drugs that reached our ocean. Our group will show how different amounts of medicines, affect plant life in the oceans, thus affecting mammals. We will be testing waters from around San Diego to see what is in normal waters around us prior to experimentation. After collecting our data we will get four(4) of the same tanks, with the same amount of water, and the same plants. Different medicines, such as Ibuprofen, Advil, DayQuil, and Walgreens Nighttime Cold & Flu relief will be added to each tank, after letting them sit for 24 hours at a time, then we will write down observations. This step will be repeated but more medicine will be added to see how much of it can be drained while it is still safe enough for the plants to stay alive. We will be testing the plants for pH levels and dissolved oxygen levels from lakes around San Diego and comparing them to the results of the water with the pharmaceutical drugs. By doing this we will show how much damage we are causing to the oceans, rivers and streams and it’ll let us know if pharmaceutical drugs are cause, or part of the cause, for dirty and unsafe underwater life.
Step 4: Analyze and Provide Results
We began gathering our qualitative data by taking pictures of the plants just after the medicine was placed into the water. At first, the plants seemed to be completely healthy, with minimal browning leaves when we first procured from Petco®. In addition to this data, we included written observations of how the plants looked physically. Plant #4 had the longest, most outstretching leaves coupled with a single dead, decomposing leaf. Plant #3 was the smallest plant, and one of the stems of the leaf had a purple root. In addition, Plant #3 had a leaf with a yellow tip and another leaf with a hole. Plant #2 had by far the most aesthetic pleasing shape. Plant #1 was the smallest and had a dying leaf at its bottom. All four plants had moss growing on their bases. After those observations were made, we began the process of preparing our materials for the experiment. When our quantitative data collection began, we added 1.12 L of water to each of the bowls. So as to make sure contaminants were not present, we added 1 mL of Top Fin® Betta Water Conditioner and Seachem Flourish plant conditioner before we put in the plants. We added 4 pills of ibuprofen to Plant #1, 30 mg of Dayquil and Walgreen’s Multi Symptom Nighttime Cold and Flu relief to Plant #3, and 3 ibuprofen pills, 2 advils, and 30 mg of Dayquil and Walgreen’s Multi Symptom Nighttime Cold and Flu relief to Plant #4. No medicine was added to Plant #2, as it was our control variable. All our measurements and observations, as recorded in our chemistry notebook and charts shown in Step 8, proved that as the amount of pharmaceutical pollution increases, the quality of underwater life decreases. We have yet to begin raising awareness about our findings, but when we do so we plan to organize presentations, emails, and other simple methods to help spread the word. Some of the findings that we found included that liquid medications seem to be more deadly to underwater plants than solid pills, and that it takes relatively small amounts of pharmaceuticals to begin to kill the simpler organisms living in the water. Our hypothesis did impact the problem it identified regarding pharmecutical pollution because it proved to be correct, and that medication intoxicate under water ecosystems. As more pharmaceuticals were placed in the water, life became harder and harder for the plants; the water was way over the safe pH level, and there was no filter to bring new dissolved oxygen into the water. In fact, it was clear through our tests and visual observations that the plants stood no chance of surviving.
Step 5: State your Conclusion
Responses should be no more than 1000 words and no less than 200 words and address each of the items above. Do NOT embed any images, charts, etc. in this section. Those items may be included as attachments in Step 8 and may be referred to in your text. All sources must be cited
Our solution was to prevent people from throwing there pharmaceuticals pollution, and people treat this like its something they have to do, its a habit for them. We wanted to find out how effective it could be to actually put medications through plants which were placed in bowls filled with water like if it were to be a lake or a stream. Our data was based on pictures, and it was also based on writing down our observations on how the plants changed each day. In the conclusion for our data, our plants ended up dying, the greenish color of their leaves were turned either brown or black, It just goes to show how much pharmaceuticals do to one plant imagine how much more effect it will do when our whole country is polluting our waters with pharmaceuticals affecting our lakes, streams, or oceans. Our solution was effective because we got to experience the time the plants had and saw the transformation from when they were healthy before they actually ended up dying and we would be able to show other people how fast things could be affected if they do not stop the habit of throwing down there medicines down their sinks. What made our plan work was that we had to contact companies to get the supplies we needed, the company that helped us out was petco and gave us free sea plants for donations. One of the biggest challenges we have had as a group is that sometimes we do not know what were doing or they do not get explained well to us so we do not really understand what is going on. The thing we did to overcome it was that we give each other help for example if we see that a group member is doing to much work and is stressing out we would help him so he does not feel like he is the only one doing the project. We wish we could be more active on the project and being able to focus on the thing we are supposed to be working on. We feel like if it was like that since the beginning that we would have been done by now.
Step 6: Share It!
We informed others by sending out emails and presenting to students informing them of the effects of pharmaceuticals down pipes. Our group created a brochure and we handed them out to students and their families, letting them know to not throw their old medications down our drainage systems because it affects the environment by poisoning living organisms. Throwing our pharmaceuticals down the drain affects living organisms because our pipes end up leading to the oceans and it effects us because we go to the beach. If we were to explain to another group we would guide them through the process and the steps. Step 1 we got all the materials, Step 2 we got the plants, Step 3 prepare the water to put the plants in, Step 4 we observed the plants before putting the medicine inside, Step 5 we put medicine in all the bowls except one, Step 6 on the next day we started to observe the visible changes and we recorded it on paper and each day we would do the same thing. The following are some of the observations we recorded:
-Plant #1
Our solution could have a great impact, as it will lead to less pharmaceutical drugs reaching our beaches, streams, and lakes, thus making water sources much cleaner and underwater life that much better. Fish, plants, and all other kinds of underwater species are severely affected by pharmaceuticals reaching our waterways, and simple steps can be taken to prevent a future catastrophe. Something as simple as cleaning the residue off the little measuring cup given with certain liquid medicines with a paper towel or napkin instead of with water in the sink makes a huge difference, because small amounts add up to huge totals. If everyone in the USA cleaned out that spare mL from their measuring cups, already that would be 300 million mL of pharmaceuticals that would not reach our waterways. Remember, that is only one dose. Imagine the difference it could make if we did it every time someone took NyQuil, DayQuil, or other medications of that sort. We are convinced that if the public is made aware of this pressing issue (which could have a very simple solution), pharmaceutical pollution will exponentially decrease until it is completely, or almost completely, nonexistent. Even something as straightforward as showing visuals and pictures from our experiments could show just how much harm these medications cause. The best way to get this to have a global effect would be to spread awareness. Any kind of awareness helps, whether it is just putting up posters, going out to give presentations, or even through the internet to make sure that it spreads to all corners of the earth. We have not yet taken action to actually raise awareness about our results, but we have two presentations planned as of right now. Hopefully, at a later time, we can show the cause, effect and solution to more people, and they will help spread the word about our results. If people were to bear in mind the consequences of their improper medication disposal, the issue would cease to grow, and eventually resolve itself. Be that as it may, the public cannot be forced into doing something they do not want to do, whether they know the future effects of their actions or not. That is precisely why research on this topic must reach the public’s ears, to communicate what can eventually happen to the nation’s, and world’s, water supplies.
This was probably the project with the most community outreach that I have ever done. In this project, we had to apply for the Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge, in which high school students must form small groups of three or four, find an issue that is affecting their local community, and create a hypothetical solution and try to implement and measure its effectiveness through an experiment. It is divided into 8 stages that include researching the issue, creating a hypothesis, designing an experiment and gathering data, analyzing that data, constructing a conclusion, sharing your results with the community, describing the global impacts of your results, and providing documentation of the entire process. The Siemens Challenge does not have to concern water, but since we were studying the water cycle in Chemistry, and the history and influence of water on society in Humanities, it only made sense to make our experiments revolve around a water-based issue.
Once we were divided into our groups, our first job was to decide what issue we would wan to tackle. For homework, each member of the group had to research different dilemmas, and then pitch those issues to the group, and then the group had to vote to decide its issue. My group unanimously chose a single topic after the first round of presentations, and that issue was pharmaceutical pollution reaching our waterways. Our research revealed to us that underwater ecosystems were going through horrible challenges, such as the death of bacteria necessary for underwater life, intoxication of plants, and sex change in fish (causing them to stop reproduction, among other issues). Since pharmaceutical pollution is a fairly new theory, there was no specific test that had been conducted to determine whether or not pharmaceuticals were the specific cause of these issues, and we wanted to design an experiment that would clearly determine whether or not medications could be pointed to as the root of the matter.
Our process for this project was fairly simple, and in the design we faced very few obstacles when compared to other groups. The first step in our process was gathering our materials for our experiment, and this is where we faced our only bump in the road. Our group wanted to conduct our experiment on a controlled ecosystem with multiple kinds of underwater life (fish, plants, etc.), but we were not permitted to due so because of legal matters. This derailed our moral more than it should have, but we were satisfied when we were told that we could conduct our experiment on plants; and that is how we proceeded. Petco® was generous enough to donate four underwater plants to us, and each of those plants was placed in a different bowl. In each bowl we added 1,120 mL of water, and 5 mL of Top-fin® Water Conditioner and 1 mL of Seachem Flourish plant conditioner to help prepare the water for the plants. In the bowl that held plant #1, we added 4 ibuprofen pills. In the bowl that held plant #2, we added no medication as this would be our control variable and would allow us to compare our results to something. In the bowl that held plant #3, we added 30 mL of DayQuil and Walgreen's Multi-symptom Night time Cold and Flu Relief. In the bowl that held plant #4, we added 4 ibuprofen pills, 3 Advil pills, and 30 mL of both DayQuil and Walgreen's Multi-symptom Night time Cold and Flu Relief. After that we left the plants in a safe location where they still received the sunlight that they needed to survive, and recorded daily observations.
Throughout this project I learned an immense amount in both Humanities and Chemistry. In Humanities, I specifically was completely entranced when we studied water privatization; what it is, how it is done, and the effects it has on those implementing it and those it is being implemented for. We also learned about some of the struggles people around the world face in trying to access water, and how they resolve those issues as best as they can. We also looked at the history of water in relevance to human society, and performed case studies on some of the earliest recordings of water domestication. In Chemistry, we learned about the water cycle in extreme detail, from precipitation to water sheds and evapotranspiration. We also learned about pH and what effects pH levels have on underwater life and humans. In addition, we learned about dissolved oxygen, turbidity, coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, and other maladies that can be found in waterways, their effects on life, and how to measure them. This project also taught me things that do not fall under either of these categories that I know I will use later in life. Some of those things included how to sound professional over the phone when speaking with adults and experts over the phone, how to ask for donations from companies, and how to divide a huge amount of work between a small amount of people. In addition, my research skills simply continued to improve through this project.
I am happy to say that despite all of our doubts and concerns, both our final products were completed by the deadline and display all the work, time and dedication that we put into this project, as well as all the learning and growth that we experienced over the last three months. They included our Final Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge Application, and our Festival Del Sol Documentation Panel.
Siemen’s We Can Change the World Challenge Application
Title: Drugs Down the Drain
Summary: In this project we tested the if pharmaceutical pollution is poisonous to the environment, and at what levels it begins to kill certain living organisms.
Topic Area: Water conservation and clean up
Are you continuing work on a project that was begun before the Challenge opened in September 2013? No
Step 1: Identify and Research an Environmental Problem or Issue That Has Global Impact
- Identify an environmental issue that your team will address and state the negative effects of this problem. Explain why you chose this topic. Describe the environment and/or people impacted by the problem. Include the population, size and other relevant data.
- Discuss your team's research. What publications and media review, prior observations, and/or collected data did you use to develop your problem statement? You must provide the list of references and citations below.
There are many factors of pollution, but an issue that seems to be fabricating into the one that poses a large threat is the improper disposal of medical drugs. Yes, some of the very substances 21st century humans rely on to heal ailments, are causing an entirely new malady. This is being caused by the improper disposal of pharmaceutical drugs and antibiotics. When these medications are flushed down the sink or toilet, whether they are liquid or solid medicines, their harmful journey begins. They travel with the water through pipes, tubes, and sewage systems, eventually reaching large bodies of water such as streams, lakes, rivers, and of course, oceans.1,4,6 The lack of education regarding the disposal of medical drugs is what is fueling this growing disaster; proper guidance for the public about appropriate disposal will help slow this escalating problem. Society must ask itself, does it want to be known for creating problems that devastated countless ecosystems, while standing by idly watching, or does it want to be known for taking responsibility of its actions, not letting others suffer for its mistakes?
That being said, there is no such thing as a perfect world. There are people that will change for their ways and people that will overlook the issue and carry on with their routine. If there is not a change, eventually the freshwater and ecosystems in streams, lakes and rivers that life depends and relies on will cease to exist.1,3,6,7,8 The effects of this horrible compulsion still continue to grow for one simple reason; the public is not conscious of the situation. There is not enough public awareness regarding the effects of drained medicines.
The disposal of unused, unwanted and expired medication is simply not treated correctly in the United States. The general public is simply not educated to the point where they are motivated enough to create change.1 As long as city residents are kept in the dark, water will continue to be poisoned, local ecosystems will continue to suffer, wildlife will continue to diminish, and the overall quality of water will continue to downgrade.1,3,4,8 More in depth research should be conducted because of the threats that this issue poses to society’s lifestyle, in more than just water usage. One study showed that there is a possibility that the improper disposal of drugs could lead to increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, because the bacteria reproducing itself in the water that has been contaminated must find a way to continue its existence. There is also some evidence that suggests that if water were to be polluted to with an anti-cold medicine, there is a possibility that the bacteria that will grow in that water source will adapt to be immune to that same anti-cold medicine if it were used on a sick human. In addition, it has been confirmed that pharmaceuticals polluting local waterways interfere with the growth and reproduction of aquatic organisms, such as fish and frogs.
Many beneficial end products could come about if actions were taken now. Research must be conducted to investigate at what point medical pollution becomes truly poisonous, how close waterways here in San Diego are to reaching that level, and find a way to raise awareness about this growing issue.
Bibliography
- Batt, Sharon. "Pouring Drugs Down the Drain." Http://www.macalester.edu. Herizons, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.macalester.edu/academics/environmentalstudies/students/projects/endocrinedisrupterswebsite/articles/16183034.pdf>.
- "California Association of Sanitation Agencies." No Drugs down the Drain. California Association of Sanitation Agencies, 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.casaweb.org/tags/no-drugs-down-drain>.
- Carcamo, Cindy. "Officials: Don't Dump Drugs down the Drain." The Orange County Register. The Orange County Register, 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.ocregister.com/articles/water-218884-down-medications.html>.
- Gregory, Phil. "News Article." Legislation Would Prohibit Hospitals From Dumping Prescription Drugs Down The Drain. WBGO News, 3 Feb. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.wbgo.org/newsarticle/legislation-would-prohibit-hospitals-from-dumping-prescription-drugs-down-the-drain>.
- "LACSD Website - Homepage - NoDrugs." LACSD Website - Homepage - NoDrugs. LACSD, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nodrugsdownthedrain.org/NoDrugs/>.
- "No Drugs Down the Drain." No Drugs Down the Drain. County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, Environmental Programs Division, 23 Feb. 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://ladpw.org/epd/hhw/nodrugs.cfm>.
- "U.S. Food and Drug Administration." Disposal of Unused Medicines: What You Should Know. FDA, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fda.gov/drugs/resourcesforyou/consumers/buyingusingmedicinesafely/ensuringsafeuseofmedicine/safedisposalofmedicines/ucm186187.htm>
- Washam, Cynthia. "Drugs Down the Drain: The Drugs You Swallow, The Water You Drink." Acs.org. ChemMatters, Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/chemmatters-feb2011-drugs.pdf>.
Step 2: State Your HypothesisResponse should be no more than 50 words.
If the level of pharmaceutical pollution continually increases in a regulated sample of water, then the quality of life for underwater species will steadily decrease.
Step 3: Plan and Design Your ProjectNow that your team has identified the problem and formed a hypothesis, describe the plan and design of your project:
- What is your team's action plan? Your action plan should include processes and materials that are eco-friendly or sustainable. Include experimental design, project steps (including communication and tracking plans), timeline for completion, necessary resources, and proposed method.
- What variables did you select to measure the potential solution's impact on the issue or problem?
- Describe your team's data collection processes, including what data you plan to collect.
- Specify how each member of the team will contribute to the project.
- Define the role of your Team Advisor/Mentor in your project.
- Identify any other individuals who will help with your project and define their roles (this includes teachers, parents, classmates, and community, business and organizational leaders). If there were none, you must indicate the following in this section, "We confirm that no one other than the team members and Team Advisor/Mentor helped or participated in this project."
Action Plan:
Our plan is to determine the effect of pharmaceutical drugs in underwater life. We will do so by testing plants in natural source water and adding different types of medicine to see what effects happens to the pants. Also, we’ll be getting waters from different lakes/streams around San Diego; including Eastlake Lake, Heritage Lake, and Lower Otay Lakes. Then testing the dissolved oxygen levels to find out the average levels for around this area. In our group for this project we each have a Stage where we’ll take over for a bit. Andres Escobedo was in charge of stage one, Carolina Castro was in charge of the second stage, Alyssa Castro was in charge of the third stage and Rafael Rosas was in charge of the final stage. Even though the work is a bit spread out we will all contribute during each stage to get the best results. Our two advisors, Aliza Cruz and Laszlo Folks, helped with transportation to the site where we needed to collect materials and water. They also guided us throughout the project and made sure we did the best possible for the experiment. Petco helped by donating plants which we could test and parents took us to buy any materials that we would have needed.
Week-By-Week Schedule:
January 20-January 24: Collect data and research amounts of pharmaceutical drugs and the effect of them in the oceans. Find companies that’ll help us know more about our subject and what we could do to prevent drugs down the drain.
January 27-January 31: Develope experiment and variables included. Collect all materials and water samples. Try to start testing waters individually.
February 3-February 6: Test different water (with plants) before and after pharmaceutical drugs. Add an exact amount, observe and repeat. Actual test in between adding the medicines.
Materials:
- glass containers
- medicine (Ibuprofen, Advil, DayQuil, Walgreens Multi Symptom Nighttime cold and flu relief)
- Topfin® Betta Water Conditioner and Seachew Flourish.
- waters from San Diego lakes around HTHCV.
- pH and dissolved oxygen tests
Select Variables:
Independent Variable: amount of medicine being added to the water.
Dependent Variable: amounts of dissolved pH and dissolved oxygen.
Control Variable: the plants being used with the pharmaceutical drugs.
Data Collection Process:
Our experiment is inspired by the amount of pharmaceutical drugs that reached our ocean. Our group will show how different amounts of medicines, affect plant life in the oceans, thus affecting mammals. We will be testing waters from around San Diego to see what is in normal waters around us prior to experimentation. After collecting our data we will get four(4) of the same tanks, with the same amount of water, and the same plants. Different medicines, such as Ibuprofen, Advil, DayQuil, and Walgreens Nighttime Cold & Flu relief will be added to each tank, after letting them sit for 24 hours at a time, then we will write down observations. This step will be repeated but more medicine will be added to see how much of it can be drained while it is still safe enough for the plants to stay alive. We will be testing the plants for pH levels and dissolved oxygen levels from lakes around San Diego and comparing them to the results of the water with the pharmaceutical drugs. By doing this we will show how much damage we are causing to the oceans, rivers and streams and it’ll let us know if pharmaceutical drugs are cause, or part of the cause, for dirty and unsafe underwater life.
Step 4: Analyze and Provide Results
- Describe all qualitative and quantitative data collected by your team, including charts, tables, graphs, written notes, sketches, photographs, or video.
- Describe the effectiveness of the solution based on the qualitative and quantitative data collected.
- Explain any key findings derived from the data collected.
- Did your hypothesis impact the problem it identified? Explain how the hypothesis helped to solve the problem by changing the physical attributes of a locality, social behaviors of people in the community, local/global government policies, or any combination of the above. Did you modify the plan over time as the project evolved?
We began gathering our qualitative data by taking pictures of the plants just after the medicine was placed into the water. At first, the plants seemed to be completely healthy, with minimal browning leaves when we first procured from Petco®. In addition to this data, we included written observations of how the plants looked physically. Plant #4 had the longest, most outstretching leaves coupled with a single dead, decomposing leaf. Plant #3 was the smallest plant, and one of the stems of the leaf had a purple root. In addition, Plant #3 had a leaf with a yellow tip and another leaf with a hole. Plant #2 had by far the most aesthetic pleasing shape. Plant #1 was the smallest and had a dying leaf at its bottom. All four plants had moss growing on their bases. After those observations were made, we began the process of preparing our materials for the experiment. When our quantitative data collection began, we added 1.12 L of water to each of the bowls. So as to make sure contaminants were not present, we added 1 mL of Top Fin® Betta Water Conditioner and Seachem Flourish plant conditioner before we put in the plants. We added 4 pills of ibuprofen to Plant #1, 30 mg of Dayquil and Walgreen’s Multi Symptom Nighttime Cold and Flu relief to Plant #3, and 3 ibuprofen pills, 2 advils, and 30 mg of Dayquil and Walgreen’s Multi Symptom Nighttime Cold and Flu relief to Plant #4. No medicine was added to Plant #2, as it was our control variable. All our measurements and observations, as recorded in our chemistry notebook and charts shown in Step 8, proved that as the amount of pharmaceutical pollution increases, the quality of underwater life decreases. We have yet to begin raising awareness about our findings, but when we do so we plan to organize presentations, emails, and other simple methods to help spread the word. Some of the findings that we found included that liquid medications seem to be more deadly to underwater plants than solid pills, and that it takes relatively small amounts of pharmaceuticals to begin to kill the simpler organisms living in the water. Our hypothesis did impact the problem it identified regarding pharmecutical pollution because it proved to be correct, and that medication intoxicate under water ecosystems. As more pharmaceuticals were placed in the water, life became harder and harder for the plants; the water was way over the safe pH level, and there was no filter to bring new dissolved oxygen into the water. In fact, it was clear through our tests and visual observations that the plants stood no chance of surviving.
Step 5: State your Conclusion
- State your solution and what was learned.
- Describe how your solution is innovative.
- Explain your conclusion based on your data.
- Is your solution effective?
- What made the plan work?
- What challenges occurred along the way?
- How did your team overcome those challenges?
- What would you do differently if given the opportunity?
Responses should be no more than 1000 words and no less than 200 words and address each of the items above. Do NOT embed any images, charts, etc. in this section. Those items may be included as attachments in Step 8 and may be referred to in your text. All sources must be cited
Our solution was to prevent people from throwing there pharmaceuticals pollution, and people treat this like its something they have to do, its a habit for them. We wanted to find out how effective it could be to actually put medications through plants which were placed in bowls filled with water like if it were to be a lake or a stream. Our data was based on pictures, and it was also based on writing down our observations on how the plants changed each day. In the conclusion for our data, our plants ended up dying, the greenish color of their leaves were turned either brown or black, It just goes to show how much pharmaceuticals do to one plant imagine how much more effect it will do when our whole country is polluting our waters with pharmaceuticals affecting our lakes, streams, or oceans. Our solution was effective because we got to experience the time the plants had and saw the transformation from when they were healthy before they actually ended up dying and we would be able to show other people how fast things could be affected if they do not stop the habit of throwing down there medicines down their sinks. What made our plan work was that we had to contact companies to get the supplies we needed, the company that helped us out was petco and gave us free sea plants for donations. One of the biggest challenges we have had as a group is that sometimes we do not know what were doing or they do not get explained well to us so we do not really understand what is going on. The thing we did to overcome it was that we give each other help for example if we see that a group member is doing to much work and is stressing out we would help him so he does not feel like he is the only one doing the project. We wish we could be more active on the project and being able to focus on the thing we are supposed to be working on. We feel like if it was like that since the beginning that we would have been done by now.
Step 6: Share It!
- How did your team inform others about your project and get them involved? Be sure to include quantitative information on the number of people that got involved.
- What resources did your team use to extend your project's impact? (e.g. creating a website and/or a marketing tool that includes a description of the project.) Include documentation of a communication strategy, and provide specific detail on who and how many people you reached.
- Explain in detail how you could replicate the project in other communities. How might they benefit? What unique challenges does someone replicating your project have to keep in mind?
We informed others by sending out emails and presenting to students informing them of the effects of pharmaceuticals down pipes. Our group created a brochure and we handed them out to students and their families, letting them know to not throw their old medications down our drainage systems because it affects the environment by poisoning living organisms. Throwing our pharmaceuticals down the drain affects living organisms because our pipes end up leading to the oceans and it effects us because we go to the beach. If we were to explain to another group we would guide them through the process and the steps. Step 1 we got all the materials, Step 2 we got the plants, Step 3 prepare the water to put the plants in, Step 4 we observed the plants before putting the medicine inside, Step 5 we put medicine in all the bowls except one, Step 6 on the next day we started to observe the visible changes and we recorded it on paper and each day we would do the same thing. The following are some of the observations we recorded:
-Plant #1
- white little things/ particles
- some leaves fell off
- one of the leaves attached is red/orange
- smells like old dead water
- attached leaves are brown
- roots are not attached
- water is mostly clear but a bit foggy
- smells normal
- mostly green
- some brown edges on leaves
- roots are attached but some fell off
- leaves are pretty droopy
- water is dark brown
- plant is dark green with brown/black edges
- smells worse out of all of them
- smells like wet dog
- plant looks pretty dead except for dark green
- orange/brown water
- leaves are dark green/brown
- smells like plant #3 but a little less strong
- droopy leaves
- seems pretty dead
- Describe how your solution could have global implications.
- How would you implement your solution on a global scale?
- Provide examples you have undertaken, if available.
Our solution could have a great impact, as it will lead to less pharmaceutical drugs reaching our beaches, streams, and lakes, thus making water sources much cleaner and underwater life that much better. Fish, plants, and all other kinds of underwater species are severely affected by pharmaceuticals reaching our waterways, and simple steps can be taken to prevent a future catastrophe. Something as simple as cleaning the residue off the little measuring cup given with certain liquid medicines with a paper towel or napkin instead of with water in the sink makes a huge difference, because small amounts add up to huge totals. If everyone in the USA cleaned out that spare mL from their measuring cups, already that would be 300 million mL of pharmaceuticals that would not reach our waterways. Remember, that is only one dose. Imagine the difference it could make if we did it every time someone took NyQuil, DayQuil, or other medications of that sort. We are convinced that if the public is made aware of this pressing issue (which could have a very simple solution), pharmaceutical pollution will exponentially decrease until it is completely, or almost completely, nonexistent. Even something as straightforward as showing visuals and pictures from our experiments could show just how much harm these medications cause. The best way to get this to have a global effect would be to spread awareness. Any kind of awareness helps, whether it is just putting up posters, going out to give presentations, or even through the internet to make sure that it spreads to all corners of the earth. We have not yet taken action to actually raise awareness about our results, but we have two presentations planned as of right now. Hopefully, at a later time, we can show the cause, effect and solution to more people, and they will help spread the word about our results. If people were to bear in mind the consequences of their improper medication disposal, the issue would cease to grow, and eventually resolve itself. Be that as it may, the public cannot be forced into doing something they do not want to do, whether they know the future effects of their actions or not. That is precisely why research on this topic must reach the public’s ears, to communicate what can eventually happen to the nation’s, and world’s, water supplies.
Stage 4 Panel (the stage for which I was Manager):
Water Wonders:
New York Times Water Privatization Editorial
Project Reflection
This project helped me learn a huge amount in both academics and group work. In regards to myself, I noticed that I was trying to achieve all the goals I set for myself at the end of last semester. I specifically tried to make a conscious effort on trusting others to complete the work that was assigned to them, and this was the first project where I willingly made the effort to do so. As to working in groups, I found that the best way to ensure productivity and avoid confusion about the work that needs to get done is to, everyday before you start doing any work, sit down as a group and set individual goals, goals for pairs of people, as well as overall goals for the group. This is the first project in which I did something like this, and I think everyone in my group would testify to its simple effectiveness. I also learned an enormous amount about water; not just about what is in it, but the history of water and how its value has evolved along with human society. As previously stated, in Chemistry we learned about pH, which is how basic or acidic the water, turbidity, which is the clarity or murkiness of the water, dissolved oxygen, which is the amount of oxygen that is carried in the water (which has a huge influence on what can live in that water and where in the water it can live), and many other maladies that important to measure for when conducting water quality tests. I also had no idea that there were so many massive problems, especially locally, that revolved around water. I also had no idea about the incredibly simple steps that individuals, including myself, could take to stop contributing to these problems. I also learned a lot about global issues. For one, I learned about water privatization in first and third world countries, as well as some of the arguments for and against water privatization. This project also brought to my attention to a fact that previously did not believe was true; earth and its water supplies simply cannot continue to support the way of life that we have grown accustomed to, and it is bad enough without billion-dollar corporations trying to take control of waterways for commercial purposes.
Overall, I do believe this project was a success, but there is one aspect of this project that I am extremely proud of. Shockingly, the facet of this project that I am most proud of would be the NY Times Water Privatization Editorial that we had to write. I am so proud of this because of how condensed the writing had to be due to the word limit. I am a person that speaks, and writes, a lot, so condensed writing is definitely not my strong suit. Yet in this editorial I made an argument that I am extremely proud of, where I made all of my views very clear, and still stayed two words below the limit. Out of everything that we did for this project, I believe the editorial would be what I pulled out during a POL because I think it clearly shows an important step forward in my education as a writer. It is extremely surprising to me that I am most proud of this because science is my natural calling in life, this was an extremely science-based project, yet I am most proud of a small Humanities aspect of this project.
I also think it was a great idea to apply for the Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge because it looks great on a college application, it was a new experience that I think none of us would have been exposed to if it wasn't for this project, it exposed many problems that need to be resolved now, but more than anything, it gave our project a sense of real-world importance that other projects have lacked. It also made it very clear that we were not just doing a project for a grade at school, but we were trying to find a solution to a problem that really could cause worldwide change.
In the end, I also believe that our final exhibition at Festival Del Sol was a tremendous success. Every groups panels looked complete, thorough and professional, and some of the interactive pieces made the exhibition exciting for little kids too. If you just walked around the classroom, you could tell that all the students were being very specific and professional in their presentations, and answered any questions as best they could when they were asked. Finally, from the way that the parents were reacting to us, and to other groups, you could tell that all that came to our exhibition were extremely impressed. All in all, this was probably the most successful Exhibition I have been a part of.
This project helped me learn a huge amount in both academics and group work. In regards to myself, I noticed that I was trying to achieve all the goals I set for myself at the end of last semester. I specifically tried to make a conscious effort on trusting others to complete the work that was assigned to them, and this was the first project where I willingly made the effort to do so. As to working in groups, I found that the best way to ensure productivity and avoid confusion about the work that needs to get done is to, everyday before you start doing any work, sit down as a group and set individual goals, goals for pairs of people, as well as overall goals for the group. This is the first project in which I did something like this, and I think everyone in my group would testify to its simple effectiveness. I also learned an enormous amount about water; not just about what is in it, but the history of water and how its value has evolved along with human society. As previously stated, in Chemistry we learned about pH, which is how basic or acidic the water, turbidity, which is the clarity or murkiness of the water, dissolved oxygen, which is the amount of oxygen that is carried in the water (which has a huge influence on what can live in that water and where in the water it can live), and many other maladies that important to measure for when conducting water quality tests. I also had no idea that there were so many massive problems, especially locally, that revolved around water. I also had no idea about the incredibly simple steps that individuals, including myself, could take to stop contributing to these problems. I also learned a lot about global issues. For one, I learned about water privatization in first and third world countries, as well as some of the arguments for and against water privatization. This project also brought to my attention to a fact that previously did not believe was true; earth and its water supplies simply cannot continue to support the way of life that we have grown accustomed to, and it is bad enough without billion-dollar corporations trying to take control of waterways for commercial purposes.
Overall, I do believe this project was a success, but there is one aspect of this project that I am extremely proud of. Shockingly, the facet of this project that I am most proud of would be the NY Times Water Privatization Editorial that we had to write. I am so proud of this because of how condensed the writing had to be due to the word limit. I am a person that speaks, and writes, a lot, so condensed writing is definitely not my strong suit. Yet in this editorial I made an argument that I am extremely proud of, where I made all of my views very clear, and still stayed two words below the limit. Out of everything that we did for this project, I believe the editorial would be what I pulled out during a POL because I think it clearly shows an important step forward in my education as a writer. It is extremely surprising to me that I am most proud of this because science is my natural calling in life, this was an extremely science-based project, yet I am most proud of a small Humanities aspect of this project.
I also think it was a great idea to apply for the Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge because it looks great on a college application, it was a new experience that I think none of us would have been exposed to if it wasn't for this project, it exposed many problems that need to be resolved now, but more than anything, it gave our project a sense of real-world importance that other projects have lacked. It also made it very clear that we were not just doing a project for a grade at school, but we were trying to find a solution to a problem that really could cause worldwide change.
In the end, I also believe that our final exhibition at Festival Del Sol was a tremendous success. Every groups panels looked complete, thorough and professional, and some of the interactive pieces made the exhibition exciting for little kids too. If you just walked around the classroom, you could tell that all the students were being very specific and professional in their presentations, and answered any questions as best they could when they were asked. Finally, from the way that the parents were reacting to us, and to other groups, you could tell that all that came to our exhibition were extremely impressed. All in all, this was probably the most successful Exhibition I have been a part of.