*Note: This is an abbreviated Project Idea, without notes to start your background research, a specific list of materials, or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated Project Ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.
Smog days are often posted in your local newspaper. Check how many smog days your city has had in the last year, how does it compare to other years? You can also take pictures of your city landscape on high and low smog days. How do the pictures compare? How does smog in the atmosphere affect visibility? What is smog made of? (EPA, 2006)
The Ask an Expert Forum is intended to be a place where students can go to find answers to science questions that they have been unable to find using other resources. If you have specific questions about your science fair project or science fair, our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Climate Change Analyst
How is climate change affecting Earth? What will the changes mean for society? If these are questions that peak your curiosity, then you might be interested in a job as a climate change analyst. Climate change analysts evaluate climate data and research to determine how shifts in the climate will affect natural resources, animals, and civilizations. They use this information to make suggestions about what individuals and governments can do to ensure a higher-quality life for everyone in the face of a changing environment.
Have you ever noticed that for people with asthma it can sometimes be especially hard to breathe in the middle of a busy city? One reason for this is the exhaust from vehicles. Cars, buses, and motorcycles add pollution to our air, which affects our health. But can pollution impact more than our health? Cutting down trees, or deforestation, can contribute to erosion, which carries off valuable topsoil. But can erosion alter more than the condition of the soil? How does an oil spill harm fish and aquatic plants? How does a population of animals interact with its environment? These are questions that environmental scientists study and try to find answers to. They conduct research or perform investigations to identify and eliminate the sources of pollution or hazards that damage either the environment or human and animal health. Environmental scientists are the stewards of our environment and are committed to keeping it safe for future generations.
Occupational Health & Safety Specialist
Many people work in environments that have obvious potential dangers, like collapses in mines, chemicals in laboratories, or machinery in factories, but there can be hazards in almost any job, like repetitive stress injuries from constant computer use or from scanning groceries. Occupational health and safety specialists identify potential hazards in a job, and then figure out ways to reduce the risks of accidents or injuries to workers or to the public. They also investigate accidents when they do happen, writing reports that detail the causes, and making recommendations to prevent future mishaps. Their motto is “safety on the job is no accident.”
The atmosphere is a blanket of gases, surrounding Earth, that creates our weather. Meteorologists study the measurements and motion of the atmosphere, and changing events within it, so that they can predict the weather. This weather forecasting helps the general public and people who work in industries such as shipping, air transportation, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and water and power better plan for the weather, and reduce human and economic losses.
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