Name; RATE, One fart} in a Million [parts] ‘Understanding Parts Per Million (PPM) and Atmospheric Gas Concentrations One part per million is one penny out of $10,000. ‘One part per million is one second in 12 days of your life. One part per million is one pinch of salt on 20 pounds of potato chips. One part per million of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere can have a huge effect. Introductio: Imagine a jar filled with one million marbles. Five hundred of those marbles are blue and the rest are all white, It's pretty easy to see and count the different marbles. Now imagine particles many times smaller than these marbies, such as gas molecules. How can a scientist count these tiny molecules? An atmospheric chemist studying the parts of the Earth’s atmosphere is dealing with very tiny amounts of molecules within a huge sample of air. The amount of molecules of gas ina huge sample of air is usually expressed in parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb). For example, a notation of 350 ppm of Carbon Dioxide (CO,) means that for every 1 million parts of air studied, 350 of them are CO>. A notation of 50 ppb of water vapor means that for every 1 billion parts of air studied, 50 of those parts are water vapor. A part of a million or a part of a billion is difficult to visualize! The activity that follows offers some help in forming a visualization of what a million or billion of anything would be equal to by describing the amount of food color in a solution if the amount is very, very small. 1.) Using masking tape and a marker, label the cells of your ice cube tray 1-10. 2.) In cell #1, place 10 drops of food egloring. 3.) Take 1 drop of the food coloring from cell #1 and transfer it to cell #2, 4.) Use a clean dropper to add 9 drops of water to cell #2. Stir the mixture. 5.) Take one drop of the mixture from cell #2 and transfer it to cell #3. 6.) Use a clean dropper to add 9 drops of water to cell #3, Stir the mixture, 7.) Repeat this process for cells #4 - #10, 8.) Complete the questions below.Analysis and Comprehen: Qn: ‘Work with your group to answer these questions after you have finished your ten dilutions. 1L.} In which cell is the color most intense? Why? ! 2.) in which cell is the color least intense? Why? 3.) in what cell did the liquid first appear colorless? Does this colorless cell contain food coloring? How do you know? How would you express the parts of this colorless cell as a fraction (Hint: You diluted each cell by 1/10}? 4,) Change these percent concentrations of greenhouse gases iiito parts per miltion (ppm) (Hint: 1 ppm = 001%) Carbon Dioxide (CO2}: 038% ppm Methane (CHa): .00017% = ppm Nitrous Oxide (N20): .000031% = ppm 5.) How can you apply what you discovered inthis activity to greenhouse gases and their effect on Earth’s climate?