How Do You Monitor The Oxygen Percent In Air?
Oxygen accounts for about 21 percent of the gases in the lower atmosphere. If you need to monitor air quality on an ongoing basis with real-time results, you will need a professional instrument, such as the Innova Portable Gas Monitor manufactured by Thermo Scientific. If you are just curious and can wait a week for results, there is a simple method of determining the percentage of oxygen in the air around you. Oxygen is depleted from an air sample as it oxidizes metal. Placing a bit of steel wool in an air sample you have isolated will allow you to measure the oxygen used to rust the steel wool. Tear off a ball of steel wool about an inch in diameter and lodge it at the bottom of the test tube. Add a little vinegar or soapy water and vigorously rinse the interior, then drain the liquid, making sure the steel wool remains lodged at the bottom of the test tube. Turn the test tube upside down. Immerse it in the glass of water. Air will be trapped in the test tube. Mark the initial level
