B.O.D+Protocol

What to bring to pond: Black bottle with black cap

Procedure: 1. Fill bottle up under water, let all of the air out until the bottle is full with water, then put the cap on under water to make sure no more air gets in affecting the results 2.When back in classroom get bottle from refridgerator to do test 3. Take a sample of water and pour slowly into beaker making sure no air bubbles appear, also get a small sample of dilluted water to compare results 4. Turn on Spec-20 machine and set to ZERO 5. Follow further instructions on machine 6. Then place dilluted water sample in and press READ 7. After the dilluted sample is done put your sample in the machine and press READ 8. Wait for results and then remove sample 9. Once you get your results subtract the B.O.D. result minus the D.O. result to get your final total 10. Enter this number onto the wiki to share with the rest of the class

This test is important because it measures how much oxygen is used by living organisms in the water. If the oxygen in the water is being used too fast and can't be reproduced at that rate then it is not good for the body of water or the ecosystem. B.O.D. also measures how productive the plankton are being at breaking down dead matter. A high B.O.D. means productivity is high and usually can tell us that T.S.S. will be lower. If B.O.D. is low than the productivity of plankton is not sufficient and means there could be a lot of dead organisms or other things floating in the water. Spec-20 machine