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the American Chemical Society at the Illinois State Fair, August 12-21, 2005, Springfield,
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Disappearing Statues
| Activity: | Demonstrate the effect of acid rain on our environment |
| Objective: | Students will discuss environmental issues such as pollution & acid rain. |
| What is it? | Acids are substances that have a sour taste and strong smell. Lemon juice and vinegar are common acids. Acid rain is formed when pollution in the air mixes with the rain and falls to the ground. In this activity, vinegar will represent acid rain, and an antacid tablet will represent a marble statue in a city park or a concrete building. Both the antacid and marble are made of the same chemical: calcium carbonate. |
Materials:
- Pencil
- Masking tape
- Water
- 2 antacid tablets (no acid content)
- Marking pen
- Vinegar
- 2 droppers or pipettes
- Small paper plate
- Tablespoon
Procedure:
- Using the pencil, draw a face or picture on the smooth side of each antacid tablet.
- Place the two antacid tablets on a paper plate with your drawings facing up. One of the tablets should be on the right side of the paper plate, and the other should be on the left.
- Using the masking tape and marking pen, label one cup “water” and the other “vinegar”.
- Ask your adult partner to help you pour 1 tablespoon of water into the cup labeled “water” and 1 tablespoon of vinegar into the cup labeled “vinegar”.
- Use the marking pen to label one of the droppers with a “W” for water and the other dropper with a “V” for vinegar.
- Using the dropper labeled “W”, carefully place three drops of water onto one of the antacid tablets. Watch what happens to the tablet and your drawing.
- Using the dropper labeled “V”, carefully place three drops of vinegar onto the other tablet. Watch what happens to the tablet and your drawing.
Where’s the Science?
The tablet treated with vinegar is eaten away in much the same way that acid rain eats away at a marble statue, only faster. The vinegar is reacting chemically with the calcium carbonate in the antacid tablet. The calcium carbonate is used up and a gas called carbon dioxide is formed. Acid rain is more acidic than normal rain and is caused by pollution in the air.
----Contributed
by Vicki Finkenstadt, Peoria Section
Peoria American Chemical Society
http://membership.acs.org/p/peoria