Abstract

Our general group research question is “how the usage of soil around West Lake is related to west lake pollution". In the bio section, we are researching how the wall around the lake is effecting the biodiversity of the lake. In ESS, we are researching how the wall affects the type of soil found. In chemistry, we are researching what chemicals are found in the lake. Lastly, in physics, we are finding how polluted the lake water is.

We are researching this area because the usage of soil in a developing country like Vietnam is not adequate. It is no longer a natural lake, and this affects the people around the lake.

In bio we compared an area with a shoreline and an area without one to find how the unnatural wall affects the biodiversity. In area 1 where there is a wall, the biodiversity was found to be more diverse. In ESS, it was found that the soil near the wall was loamy sand/ sticky sand. And at the shore area the soil is sandy, these results explain why in area 2 there is less biodiversity, since not many plants can grow in sandy soil.

The wall that is constructed around West Lake has polluted its water; the bottom of the wall is eroded by the water and so, the chemical will flow into the lake. Using the chlorine testing kit and precipitation reaction using NaCl, there are 2.5mg/L of total chlorine in the west lake water and no lead in it.

If the water is polluted then its refractive index is higher compared to distilled water. Using the diffraction grating to calculate the refractive index of water, we found that refractive index of West Lake’s water is 1.36; higher than that of distilled water, the water is polluted.