ENV 107L

Environmental Science Lab

Class 1

Department of Environmental Science and

Management
North South University (NSU)
 Topic
• Basic components of environment
• Basic laboratory rules and safety
• Basics of scientific methods
 What is Environment?
All the living and non-living factors affecting an organism and
ultimately determining its form and survival is known as
Environment.
Components of Environment:
i) Abiotic: All the non living things are included in this category. e.g.
climatic condition, soil, minerals etc..
ii) Biotic: It includes all the living organisms. e.g. plants, animals,
birds etc..
 Why do we need Environmental Science Laboratory?
Environmental science is a group of sciences that attempt to explain
how life on the Earth is sustained, what leads to environmental
problems, and how these problems can be solved.
Environmental experiment/testing is necessary-
•to determine threats within our environment that can be harmful to people/other organisms.
For example an unknown virus has been released into the atmosphere, so scientists need to conduct tests
(under controlled conditions) to find out what exactly it may (or may not) do.

•to determine the extend of impacts . For example Large spills of hazardous substances can pollute the
soil and then possibly the groundwater which may affect our water usages and may effect our surrounding
environment.

•to limit the exposure to humans, other organisms and environment.

•Some examples of testing parameters include water salinity, soil pH, air temperature etc.

4
Basic laboratory rules and safety
 Lab Safety: Your safety comes first…
List of DOs and DON’Ts in the Laboratory
• Students are not permitted to enter into the lab without the permission
of laboratory supervisor or course instructor.
• Personal belongings (i.e. Bags) should be placed in designated areas.
• Considering the pandemic students are not allowed to enter the
laboratory without wearing a mask and students are encouraged to
wear head cover and hand gloves in the lab.
• Laboratory should be in clean condition after using it. No waste is to be
left in the sinks or desks. Waste (i.e. chemical, biological or items such as
broken glass, hand gloves) should be place in the marked bins in the
laboratory.
• Defective equipment or broken glassware must be reported to the
tutor.
• Drinking and eating is not allowed inside the lab.
• Wash hands properly before leaving the laboratory.
Common Items/equipment
 The Scientific Method
The scientific method is the scientific way to
establish a theory or idea (hypothesis).
This is the basic to find answers to questions about
the world/environment around us.

The Scientific Method involves 7 steps:

Problem or Question (from any scenario)
Research the Question
Form a Hypothesis
Conduct an Experiment to test the Hypothesis
Data Analysis and Results
Draw Conclusion
Writing the Report 9
 Common terms
• Population: Population is generally a large collection of
individuals or objects that is the main focus of a scientific query.
However, due to the large sizes of populations, researchers often cannot test every individual
in the population because it is too expensive and time-consuming. This is the reason why
researchers rely on sample.
• Sample: A sample refers to a smaller, manageable version of a
larger group (population). It is the part of the focused
population containing the characteristics of the larger
population. e.g. particular fish from different waterbodies, different
fishes from different parts of a river, water/soil/plants form particular
area etc.
A population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions
about. A sample is the specific group that you will collect data from.
The size of the sample is always less than the total size of the
population. In research, a population doesn't always refer to people.
 Data Analysis
Data: Data is distinct pieces of information. This is the plural of
datum, a single piece of information. e.g., list of length or weight;
durations of time; age or gender group etc.
Data Analysis: It is the process of systematically applying statistical
and/or logical techniques to describe, summarize and evaluate data. 

• Percentage: It is a number or ratio that represents a fraction of 100.

It is often denoted by the symbol "%“. e.g., 35% = 0.35
 Result Presentation
Graphical presentation

Line graph bar graph 12

Figure

Figure 9. Aerial photo of the study site ca. 1949 and in 1998 (inset) showing the
regeneration of the forest. Photos courtesy of the USDA Field Office, Auburn, Maine.

Tabular Presentation
 Experimental Section
Understanding Scientific method
For this lab exercise, students
will be given data about
marbles of different colour
during the class. The students
have to assume that the
marbles are given in a box and
the boxes will represent any
arbitrary part of the
environment, for example, a
random sample of water from
Hakaluki Haor, and the different
colored marbles will represent
different species/types of fish.
 Procedure:
• Fill in Table 1.1 and Table 1.2. Read over the questions and try to find out the
answers for all the questions for this lab.
• Submit your report after you are done.
Table 1.1
Group Total no of No of white No of purple No of blue No of red No of green No of yellow
Number marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles
1A 241C 34 32 35 42 47 52
2B 422B 78 43 85 75 84 57
3C 386A 56 54 73 65 63 75
4D 406D 63 74 45 88 54 82
Average 363.75 C1 57.75D2 50.75AD3 59.5 D 67.5 CD 62C 66.5 c

Table 1.2.
Group Total % of % of white % of purple % of blue % of red % of green % of yellow
Number marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles marbles
1 100 14.1 C1 13.28 C 14.5 C 17.4 D 19.5 C 21.57 AD
2 100 18.48 BC 10.18 CD 20.14 CA 17.77 CD 19.9 AB 13.5 CA
3 100 14.5 DA 13.99 C 18.9 A 16.83 D 16.3 CD 19.43 CAD
4 100 15.5 CD 18.23 ABC 11.08 C 21.67 A 13.3 CA 20.19 AD
Average 100
 Questions
Q1. Fill in data Table 1.1. In the missing information of the table.
Q2. Fill in data Table 1.2.

Q3. What percentage of the total number of marbles in YOUR (Suppose that you
belong to any of these four groups and mention which one) sample was each of the
colours? Make a bar chart of the percentages of each colour in your sample. Be sure
to label your graph properly in Microsoft Excel.

Q4. Make a bar chart for the average of all the four groups showing the percentages
of each colour marble.
Q5. If there are 4528 marbles in the large container in the front of the room, a) how
many marbles would you predict would be blue based on your sample, and b) how
many marbles would you predict would be blue based on the average of four
groups?
Q6. If your sample contained 1000 litres of water from Hakaluki Haor and the volume
of Hakaloki Haor is 125,000,000 cubic meters, and each of the marbles represents
fish of that colour, how many blue fishes would you expect to find in the whole
Haor based on your sampling? Be sure to include your calculations in your answer. 

Thank you
Thank you 