How’s the Air Out There? Using a National Air Quality Database to Introduce First Year Students to the Fundamentals of Data Analysis

Chemistry is increasingly data centric and the undergraduate
curriculum
needs to adjust to keep up. To address this, we created the Air Quality Activity, a new first-year undergraduate activity
where students use Microsoft Excel to analyze a unique subset of atmospheric
ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) measurements
from the Canadian National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program.
Through this activity students develop their numeracy, graphicacy,
and proficiency with Excel. Moreover, students are equipped with a
foundational approach to data analysis they can leverage throughout
their studies. To make this activity possible, we developed an open-source
webbook detailing pertinent Excel operations for first-year students,
and an interactive web-app for the generation, distribution, and exploration
of NAPS data. Students were excited by the analysis of real-world
chemical phenomena in comparison to traditional first-year lab exercises
and appreciated their acquired Excel skills. The Air Quality
Activity is readily adaptable for both virtual and in-person
implementation, entirely open-source, and readily deployable at any
institution wishing to teach data analysis in a chemistry context.