Acid Rain LESSON PLAN

Learning objectives Learning objectives:

PLTS APP
strands 25 strand 1 (HSW)

Elements and Analyse data from a Team workers: carry AF5 Working with
compounds show wide range of out practical activities evidence
characteristic secondary sources, cooperatively.
chemical properties and use findings to Independent
and patterns in their provide evidence for enquirers: support
behaviour. scientific conclusions using
explanations. reasoned arguments
and evidence.

Starter Differentiation Resources

What is acid rain? Show the Extension National Geographic acid

video clip to outline the causes Challenge students to use the rain video
and effects of acid rain. Pause at Internet or text books to find (see URL at the end of
00:17 and name the substances out more about the causes of this lesson plan)
that cause acid rain. acid rain. Teacher and
Acid rain practical Students add Technician Notes
a few drops of acid rain to Include an explanation of
samples of limestone and marble, the chemistry outlined in
and observe the effects. the video, and details for
the short practical.
Acid rain practical
Small pieces of limestone
and marble; teat
pipettes; dilute
hydrochloric acid

Main Differentiation Resources

Jigsaw activity analysing and In mixed-ability home groups, Teacher & Technician
presenting data on the effects of task D could be allocated to Notes
acid rain: lower-achieving students. Activity sheet 1
Allocating tasks Students Expert sheets A, B, C,
allocate questions in home and D
groups of four.
Data analysis Students in
expert groups analyse data
and make graphs.
Poster making Students
explain data to each other in
home groups, and produce
poster to display and explain
graphs.

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 Acid Rain LESSON PLAN

Plenary Differentiation Resources

Poster evaluation Display posters Extension:

around the room. Students circulate and Students feedback on
peer evaluate the posters by writing on research task (see
a separate piece of paper one thing Main differentiation
they like about each poster, and giving above).
one suggestion for improvement.
Poster feedback Allow time for home
groups to read feedback and to make
changes if time allows.

Homework

Write an article describing and explaining one effect of acid rain.

Learning outcomes
Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7
Identify Identify patterns Interpret data Select and Identify
straightforwar in data presented in a variety of manipulate data quantitative
d patterns in in various formats, from secondary relationships
data formats, including recognising sources, and use between
presented in line graphs. inconsistencies them to variables.
various Draw Draw contribute to
formats. straightforward conclusions conclusions.
conclusions from that utilise
data presented in more than one
various formats. piece of
supporting
evidence.

Useful weblinks

Starter Acid rain video:

http://www.natgeoeducationvideo.com/film/1233/acid-rain

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 Acid Rain TEACHER AND TECHNICIAN NOTES

In the main activity of this lesson, students analyse recently collected scientific data about the
effects of acid rain. They present this data graphically, and share their findings with others.

Before the main activity there is a brief introduction to the causes of acid rain, and a very quick
practical to observe the effects of acid rain on limestone or marble.

Equipment required per group:

Starter
What is acid rain?
Video clip go to http://www.natgeoeducationvideo.com/film/1233/acid-rain

Acid rain practical

Per pair:
Piece of limestone or marble
Teat pipette
Watch glass or petri dish
Approximately 5 cm3 of 1.0 mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid, labelled acid rain

Main
For each home group:
1 copy of Activity sheet 1 (task sheet)
1 copy of Activity sheet 2 (expert group A)
1 copy of Activity sheet 3 (expert group B)
1 copy of Activity sheet 4 (expert group C)
1 copy of Activity sheet 5 (expert group D)
At least 4 pieces of graph paper
Poster-making materials

Health and Safety notes:

Students must wear eye protection for the short practical task, and must not touch the
acid.

Starter
1 What is acid rain? Show the video. Pause at 00:15 and tell students that the blue
and red molecules represent nitrogen dioxide (NO2), made mainly in vehicle engines.
The yellow and red molecules represent sulfur dioxide (SO2), made when sulfur-
containing fuels, for example, coal, are burned in power stations.

The production of acid rain in the UK, Western Europe, and the USA has declined since
the 1980s. However, recently industrialised countries, such as China, have seen a
decrease in rain pH since this time.

Tell students that the main focus of the lesson is analysing data to find out about the
effects of acid rain.

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 Acid Rain TEACHER AND TECHNICIAN NOTES

2 Acid rain practical In this very short practical, students use a teat pipette to drip
acid rain onto a sample of limestone or marble. They observe fizzing as bubbles form.

Acid in the rain reacts with calcium carbonate to produce carbon dioxide gas, water,
and a soluble salt. This reaction damages limestone and marble buildings and statues
in areas affected by acid rain.

Main

This is a jigsaw activity, in which students analyse data about the effects of acid rain.
Allocating tasks Divide students into groups of 4. These are home groups. In home
groups, students allocate the tasks on Activity sheet 1.
Data analysis Students leave their home groups and join with two or three others
doing the same question. These are expert groups.

In expert groups, students answer their allocated question using data from the
relevant Activity sheet (Activity sheet 2 for expert group A, Activity sheet 3 for expert
group B, Activity sheet 4 for expert group C, and Activity sheet 5 for expert group D).

The patterns in the data are:

A Over time, the concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air increased overall, and
the concentration of nitrogen dioxide showed little change. The rain pH decreased.
This suggests that perhaps the decrease in rain pH might be caused by the
increase in concentration of sulfur dioxide. Of course, we cannot assume a causal
correlation.
B There are three correlations: as rain pH decreases, plant height decreases, and
so do leaf area and the main root length.
C There are two correlations: as rain pH decreases, the mass loss of stone
increases. As rain pH decreases, there is a greater decrease in concrete strength.
D The scatter graph shows that, overall, as pH increases, so does the number of
fish species.
Poster making Students return to their home groups. They explain their charts and
graphs to each other. They then make group posters to describe the effects of acid rain.
The posters can include their charts and graphs, as well as descriptions of the patterns
shown on the graphs, and pictures to illustrate the effects.

Plenary
1 Poster evaluation Home groups display their posters in the classroom. They move
around and look at each others posters. On a piece of paper next to each poster they
write one thing they like about each poster, and one suggestion for improvement.

2 Poster feedback Home groups read their feedback and make changes, if time allows.

Useful web links

Starter:
http://www.natgeoeducationvideo.com/film/1233/acid-rain (video)

Use the search term acid rain damage in images to find pictures of damage caused by acid rain.

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 Acid Rain ACTIVITY SHEET 1

Allocating tasks

In your home group, decide who will answer each question below.

A How have the amounts of acid rain gases in Shanghai, China, changed over time? How has
the rain pH in Shanghai changed over time?

B What effect does acid rain have on soya bean plants?

C What effect does acid rain have on cement and stone?

D What effect does acid rain have on the number of fish species in lakes?

Analysing data
Leave your home group. Get together with two or three people from other groups who are
doing the same question. This is your expert group. In your expert group:

1 Look carefully at the data on your expert sheet. Can you spot any patterns?

2 Draw a line graph or bar chart to represent your data. Each person in the expert
group needs to produce a line graph or bar chart.

3 Describe the patterns shown on your line graph or bar chart.

Back in your home group

4 Return to your home group. Show them your graph or bar chart, and explain what
it means.

5 Make a group poster to describe some effects of acid rain:

Stick on your graphs and charts.
Explain what the graphs and charts show.
Add pictures to illustrate the graphs and charts.

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 Acid Rain EXPERT SHEET A

Expert group A

Acid rain in China

Your question is:

A How have the amounts of acid rain gases in Shanghai, China, changed over time? How has
the rain pH in Shanghai changed over time?

What to do

1 Look carefully at the data below. Can you spot any patterns?

2 Draw line graphs or bar charts to represent the data.

3 Describe the patterns on your line graphs or bar charts, and decide what to tell your
home group about them.

Data

Concentration of sulfur Concentration of nitrogen

Year Rain pH
dioxide gas in the air (g/m3) dioxide gas in the air (g/m3)

2003 42 58 5.0

2004 56 62 4.8

2005 60 61 4.8

2006 52 56 4.6

2007 56 56 4.5

Data adapted from Shanghai Environmental Bulletin, 2008.

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 Acid Rain EXPERT SHEET B

Expert group B

The effect of acid rain on soy bean plans

Your question is:

B What effect does acid rain have on soya bean plants?

What to do

1 The data below was collected by scientists in Wuxi, China.

Can you spot any patterns in the data?

2 Draw line graphs or bar charts to represent the data.

3 Describe the patterns on your line graphs or bar charts, and decide what to tell your
home group about them.

Data

Main root length

Rain pH Plant height (cm) Leaf area (cm2)
(cm)

7.0 45 101 13

4.5 42 75 11

3.0 40 69 10

Data adapted from K. Wen et al., Chemosphere 2011, 84, 601608.

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 Acid Rain EXPERT SHEET C

Expert group C

The effect of acid rain on cement and stone

Your question is:

C What effect does acid rain have on cement and stone?

What to do

1 The data below was collected by scientists in Bologna, Italy, and Beijing, China. Can
you spot any patterns in the data?

2 Draw line graphs or bar charts to represent the data.

3 Describe the patterns on your line graphs or bar charts, and decide what to tell your
home group about them.

Data

Mass loss of calcium carbonate stone

Rain pH
after soaking in rain for 14 days (%)

5.6 0.20

5.0 0.45

4.0 0.50

Reduction in concrete strength

Rain pH after soaking in rain for 90 days (for pH 5.6 and 3.5)
or 66 days (for pH 1.0) (%)

5.6 14

3.5 20

1.0 60

Note: The scientists used solutions of different pH instead of rain.

Data adapted from:

E. Franzoni and E.Sassoni, Science of the Total Environment, 2011, 412413, 278285.

Cement: S. Xie et al. / Atmospheric Environment 38 (2004) 4457 4466

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 Acid Rain EXPERT SHEET D

Expert group D

The effect of acid rain on the number of fish species in lakes

Your question is:

D What effect does acid rain have on the number of fish species in lakes?

What to do

1 The data below was collected from 30 lakes by scientists in New York State, USA. Can
you spot any patterns in the data?

2 Draw a scatter graph to represent the data in the tables below.

Draw one cross for each point.
You will need the axes below:
x axis: pH (from 4.5 to 7.0)
y axis: number of fish species (from 0 to 11)

3 Describe the pattern on your scatter graph, and decide what to tell your home group
about it.

Data

Lake pH Number of fish species Lake pH Number of fish species

4.5 0 5.7 3
4.6 0 5.8 9
4.8 0 5.8 11
5.0 0 6.0 3
5.0 2 6.1 4
5.2 1 6.2 9
5.2 2 6.3 2
5.2 3 6.3 4
5.3 0 6.3 5
5.4 1 6.3 9
5.5 1 6.7 6
5.5 1 6.7 7
5.6 0 6.7 8
5.6 4 6.8 10
5.6 5 7.0 4
Data adapted from: D. Malakoff, Science, 2010, 339, 910911.

Oxford University Press 2013 This resource sheet may have been changed from the original.
 Tornado Time TEACHER AND TECHNICIAN NOTES

The science of tornadoes

Three short experiments help pupils understand how a tornado develops. The experiments can be
demonstrated or set up as a circus if the equipment or preparation time is limited. Once Experiment
2 (cloud in a bottle) and Experiment 3 (tornado in a bottle) have been set up initially, other groups
can use the same equipment.

Equipment required per group:

Starter
Activity sheet 1
Weather forecast (online, or from a newspaper)
Main
Practical sheet 1
small bottle filled with hot, coloured water (no air gaps); either loosely screw on the lid or
cover the top of the bottle as it is lowered into the water.
tank tall enough for the bottle to be completely covered (e.g., a fish tank)
large plastic drinks bottle with lid
small amount of warm water (about 20 ml); if the teacher is demonstrating this, a small
amount of rubbing alcohol may be used for better results
match or splint
heatproof mat
two large plastic drinks bottle
connector or duct tape
water

Tornado bottles can be prepared in advance. The weakest point is the join so seal the join
firmly with duct tape. You can purchase connectors that are specially designed to join two
bottles from toy shops these are more secure.

Health and Safety notes:

Take care with water. Mop up any spills, and take care if the floor is wet. Use hot (not
boiling) water for Experiment 1. Take care with lit matches. Blow out the match before it is
held inside the bottle. Put the hot match on a heatproof mat.

Starter

1 Looking at the clouds

Students look out of the window to decide what the features of the clouds in the sky are. Activity
sheet 1 gives guidance on classifying the clouds. All students should be able to explain their choice
and come to the same conclusion. Alternatively, use the website
http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/cloud_viewer_web.pdf to match features of
the clouds outside with named clouds in the cloud viewer.

2 Describing weather

Ask students to use words to describe the current weather. They can describe the temperature,
humidity, wind speed and direction, and precipitation (rain, snow). Compare the words they have
chosen with words used in a real weather forecast.

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