Acid Rain
What is the pH of rain in your area? Students take pH measurements for rain in their neighborhood
and compare it with other students' findings. This activity is
best when conducted over several weeks during a rainy time of
year.
Materials
 pH test
strips
 1 plastic 1-oz. cup for each
student
What
To Do
 DISTRIBUTE one cup and five test strips per
student. Students take cups home. Each time it rains, students
COLLECT rain water in their cups. They TEST the water with one
strip of pH paper, and bring the pH paper to class.
 DRAW a map of the
neighborhood on a wall chart. Students PIN their paper on the
map in the location where they collected the rain water. On successive
rainy days, student PIN additional papers to the right of previous
ones.
As a class, DISCUSS the pH of water in the neighborhood. Did
the pH change over time? Was the pH different in different areas?
What are some possible reasons for this?
What's Happening? Find out more from our acid
rain hotlist.
Challenge: Test the pH of a river. Does the pH vary
for different sections of the river? Are there other water sources
you can test in your city? Be sure to share your results in our
pH Exchange.
|
