LAB FINAL:

LAKE MERRITT CHANNEL WATER QUALITY STUDIES LAB REPORT:

Purpose: The point of this LAB REPORT is to use the scientific method to learn about a real life
situation. In November 2002, Oakland voters passed the bond Measure DD that was designed to
improve access and water quality for Lake Merritt. One of the largest components of DD is the 12th
street project, designed to improve water flow to the lake (and dissolved oxygen levels), and pedestrian
access. We will be focusing on how this will affect the channel that runs though campus.

Scientific Method
The goal of science is to understand the world, and explain what we observe. Scientists try to explain
the world using the scientific method. The scientific method is simply a way to understand what we
see by:
1) Making observations
2) Trying to understand observations
3) Generating a hypothesis, or educated guess as to why what we observe is happening
4) Testing your hypothesis through measurements, experiments, modeling, and data collection
5) Synthesizing the data you have collected, and interpreting your results
6) Revising your hypothesis, and testing again, then publishing results.

The key here is that the scientific method is based on evidence that can be measured and recorded. In
geography, most of our hypotheses can’t be tested in a lab, but instead have to be tested in the field,
out in the real world, where measurements are taken, and data is collected. That’s what we will be
doing in upcoming labs. First, we need to decide what we want to know about the channel. That’s
where you come in.

Procedure:
Due to the covid 19 pandemic, we could not complete our data collection so some other classes data set
is displayed here for your use.
Use the data to write a lab report that will include;

TITLE

INTRODUCTION
Read the background information about Measure DD, and oxygen levels in Lake Merritt from the Lake
Merritt Institute, and answer the following questions in your own words:
1) How does oxygen get into the lake?
2) What makes oxygen levels in the lake low?
3) What problems do low oxygen levels cause?
4) What changes are planned in measure DD to improve water quality?

HYPOTHESES of how water quality will change: (Did you make a hypotheses- put it here)

METHODS AND MATERIALS – What did you do, what did we use, where did we work.

RESULTS of water quality tests collected in the Channel

1) Test results: compare the data, graph it maybe? what do they represent?
2) Other Observation:

DISCUSSION of what the data means:

CONCLUSIONS of how it changed or varied over time, if it did:

LITERATURE CITED

Appendix: LAKE MERRITT ILLUSTRATIONS:

MAPS & PHOTOS