• ChemAirPoll Detectives

    UCL
    #UCLChemAirPoll: Clean Air Detectives
    UCL Department of Chemistry | Key Stage 2 Citizen Science Interactive Game (PC Browser Edition)
    🔬 Research Score: 0 pts
    🏅 Badges: 0 / 4
    Mission 1: Inside the Palmes Diffusion Tube ("Molecular Mousetrap")
    Move the TEA (Triethanolamine) Sticky Mesh at the top of the tube using your Mouse or Left/Right Arrow Keys! Catch red-orange NO2 pollutant molecules (+15 pts) while letting harmless blue N2 air molecules float past.
    What Travels Up Our Diffusion Tube?
    NO₂
    Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): Toxic gas from hot diesel car & bus engines. CATCH IT (+15 pts)!
    N₂
    Nitrogen Gas (78% of air) & Oxygen (21%): Harmless clean air molecules. Let them pass!
    PM
    PM2.5 Soot Speck: 30× thinner than a human hair! Measured by our laser sensor (+10 pts).
    H₂O
    Raindrop (-10 pts): Don't let water wash away your TEA chemical mesh! That is why we hang tubes upside-down!
    Roger (UCL Chemistry Mentor): "Inside the top cap of every Palmes tube are stainless-steel meshes dipped in a sticky chemical called triethanolamine (TEA). When NO2 gas diffuses up the tube, TEA traps it as nitrite ions!"
    Mission 2: Formulate Your Hypothesis & Deploy the Diffusion Tubes
    In real science, nobody knows the exact answer in advance! For each location around our school and Bloomsbury, click whether you predict NO2 pollution will be HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW (plus the role of BLANK-01), then deploy all 5 tubes for 4 weeks (672 hours).
    1. Busy High Street Bus StopTUBE-01
    4 lanes of nose-to-tail traffic, diesel buses pulling away, tall street canyon.
    2. School Main Gate Drop-OffTUBE-02
    Cars idling at 08:30 AM and 03:15 PM right where pupils enter the school gates.
    3. Quiet Parallel BackstreetTUBE-03
    Residential side street just 50 metres behind the High Street with cycle bollards.
    4. Neighbourhood Park CenterTUBE-04
    Surrounded by silver birch trees and lawns, 150 metres away from motor traffic.
    5. Sealed Tube Inside School Office DrawerBLANK-01
    This tube stays tightly capped the entire 4 weeks. Why do UCL chemists include an unopened tube?
    Deployment Checklist (2.2m Height)
    1
    Hang Upside-Down: Always point the open end downwards so rainwater cannot enter.
    2
    Height Matters: Cable-tie tubes at 2.0 to 2.5 metres on lampposts—out of reach of passers-by.
    3
    672 Hours of Diffusion: Leave tubes exposed for 28 days so Fick's First Law averages out windy and calm days.
    Member B (Field Engineer): "Click your prediction for all 5 tubes on the left, then click Lock In Predictions to simulate 4 weeks of London weather!"
    Mission 3: UCL Turner Lab — Griess-Saltzman Pink Reveal & 540 nm UV-Vis
    Welcome to the UCL Turner Lab! Click 1. Add Griess-Saltzman Reagent to turn the trapped nitrite into magenta azo dye, then click each tube's G / A / R button to classify it against the WHO & UK limits!
    UCL Turner Lab UV-Vis Spectrophotometer (λ = 540 nm Green Beam)
    Click any tube above after adding reagent to measure absorbance!
    A540: --- AU | NO₂: --- µg/m³
    Traffic-Light Reference Thresholds
    G
    GREEN (< 10 µg/m³): Meets the strict WHO 2021 Annual Health Guideline (10 µg/m³).
    A
    AMBER (10 – 40 µg/m³): Exceeds the WHO health guideline, though under the UK legal limit.
    R
    RED (> 40 µg/m³): Exceeds BOTH the WHO guideline and the UK DEFRA Legal Limit (40 µg/m³)!
    Roger (Lead Chemist): "First click Add Griess-Saltzman Reagent! Watch how the deeper the pink colour, the more 540 nm green light it absorbs according to the Beer-Lambert Law!"
    Mission 4: The Backstreet Superpower & Your UCL Citizen Scientist Certificate
    Your diffusion tube data revealed a huge discovery: walking just one parallel backstreet away from a main road cuts NO2 exposure by over 50%! Choose the healthiest commute route below and stamp your official UCL certificate.
    Route A: High Street Roadside Walk
    Walk right along the 4-lane bus corridor and wait beside idling cars at the main gate.
    Average Exposure: 48.4 µg/m³ (RED)
    Route B: Inside a Family Car in Traffic
    Sit in bumper-to-bumper morning traffic sucking in exhaust from the car vents in front.
    Average Exposure: 38.0 µg/m³ (AMBER)
    Route C: Parallel Backstreet + Park Path
    Walk 50 metres behind the main road through the park canopy and enter via the quiet side gate!
    Average Exposure: 8.6 µg/m³ (GREEN — 82% Cleaner!)
    University College London • Department of Chemistry • 20 Gordon Street
    🏅 #UCLChemAirPoll Junior Citizen Scientist Certificate 🏅
    This certifies that (click name below to edit):
    Future UCL Chemist
    has investigated urban air quality using Palmes Passive Diffusion Tubes, 540 nm Griess-Saltzman Spectrophotometry, and Fick's First Law of Diffusion, and designed an evidence-based Clean Air Walking Plan!
    Final Research Score: 0 pts Verified by: #UCLChemAirPoll Outreach Team
    Grounded in #UCLChemAirPoll (Prof. Andrea Sella & Dr. Stephen Potts, UCL Chemistry) • WHO 2021 Guidelines • UK DEFRA Air Quality Standards
    PC Widescreen Direct-Embed Edition • Use Mouse or Keyboard Arrow Keys
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