Environmental Chem

[Bryant]

soil testing???? what kind of thing do they mean by that? testing for chemicals or nutrients? (i am a complete novice when it comes to chemistry)

[gneissisnice]

soil testing is usually testing for nutrients, or checking if the levels are safe (like nitrates, phosphates, and pH).If I remember correctly, you add water to the soil sample, shake it up, and then add the indicator solution or tablet.

[Bryant]

thanks. i know some about nitrates and ph levels from ecology, but when you test, what kind of specific instruments are used??

[gneissisnice]

Basically they just give you some tablet to put in the water-soil mixture and it changes color. You use the key it comes with to tell how much of the substance it has. Or they just give you acid and other reagents like that to test for ions. Like acid in a limestoney soil sample will make it fizz.

[Bryant]

thanks. this event sounds pretty fun, but i haven't taken any chemistry classses, but i am a huge ecology fan, so hopefully it'll help.(will it?)

[eathousemd]

I love things that fizz!!! Limestone Limestone Limestone. I wanna do this event, maybe it'll help as my future career as a farmer in west Idaho. I hate potatoes, but I'll make this exception. Massachusetts ....Idaho...what's the difference?!

[ScienceIsMyLife]

I'm so psyched that this year is focussing on water testing, since I'm awful with soil samples
I did this event at regionals last year and placed third. Now that I've finished chem I hope some of the more chemistry-based questions will be more doable, but as previously stated, it has a lot of ecology to it...which can be good or bad, I guess

[Mr. Cool]

I joined this event this year. 1)because it looks fun and 2)it has to do with 8th grade science, which means it will be easy in school.

[SOM.is.my.life]

Is it just me, or does the links on the page looks more like agriculture than chemistry? Still, it looks pretty interesting...

[dickyjones]

Well, in my opinion, even the rules make the event look more agriculture than chemistry. I'm not quite sure yet what sort of chemistry questions they'll give.