In General Chemistry, students can collect water samples from three different locations on the JCCC Campus. There is a small pond on campus, a marsh, and modified constructed wetlands.
The modified constructed wetlands were designed to filter water runoff as it leaves the parking area and before it enters the nearby creek using modified soils and native plants. The effectiveness of this constructed area has not been tested.
Students use commercial test kits to do rough analysis of a wide range of parameters, followed by using laboratory methods such as titration to test for specific ions. Then groups will use Atomic Absorption (AA) to measure the amount of selected metal ions found in these natural samples.