An Olympic Blend Nerissa Chan and Brenda Murillo R C Palmer Secondary Floor Location: M125V

I. PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS
With the 2010 Olympics happening in Vancouver this year, we were inspired to take on a project that related to the torch relay portion of the Games. In our experiment, we want to examine the effects of the fuel used for Olympic torches. We want to find out more about the impact of Olympic torch relays on the environment. In addition, we want to experiment with a different fuel alternative to create a more environmentally-friendly relay.

II. METHODOLOGY
To test our hypothesis, we will burn each gas for twenty seconds. The emissions would rise through a glass funnel and then be caught in an upside-down test-tube, which is attached to a ring stand with a clamp. To determine the level of CO2, we will pour bromothymol blue solution into the sample, and then perform an acid-base titration to determine the percentage of CO2 in each. Therefore, this experiment requires a variety of materials including propane, butane, and methane fuel, as well as titration equipment.

III. ABAKTSUS IF DATA
The data we collected from this experiment indicated that the fuels used for the Olympic torch contained a fairly high concentration of CO2. Our statistics show that propane, which contained the highest concentration of CO2,contained a concentration of 12.12% CO2. This is compared to methane, a non-torch fuel, which had the least concentration of CO2 with 4.94%.

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Our hypothesis was correct, methane had the least CO2, but wrong that butane had the most CO2, as it was propane that did. We discovered that methane, a natural gas, had the least amount of CO2, yet it is currently not used as torch fuel. After further research, we determined the reason for this: methane is a gas at normal temperature and pressure, thus making it difficult to be transported, especially in small fuel canisters like the ones used for the relay. Liquefication of methane is still being researched by scientists today and is proving to be costly and difficult.

V. APPLICATION
With the research we have completed, we can use this new information to lessen the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air by the torch. By using methane fuel, the CO2 emissions would be cut in half. However, this would only be possible if methane can be converted into a liquid form in a time and cost-effective way.