[highschooler needing help]

I'm a high school honors student and was just needing a little help.  I was wondering if anyone knew the formula for the breaking down of algae in a swimming pool. It's amazing how the pool chemicals you add just break it down so I was just wanting to know if any of you intellectual people could help me out. I really just need to know the formula and an explanation where I can understand.

[Arkcon]

Well, this is a little tough.  You're the second person I've seen today who believes there's a formula for complex things like biomass or cellular tissue.  And that's just not true.  The trick with destroying microbes, like algae, is that living things use energy to drive cellular processes, which keep them -- alive.  Being alive means keeping the cell together, constantly repairing any damage.  Chlorine kills living things.  Once dead, their own out of control enzymes destroy themselves. Once that starts, the chlorine attacks the orgainic material.