Effects of Acid Rain Lab

Objectives:

To visualize the effects of acid rain on a living organism.

Questions:

How does simulated acid rain affect the germination of a lima bean?

Materials:

• 3 cups or containers
• 3 Ziploc bags
• 15 dry (not canned) lima beans (soak in warm water overnight before using)
• paper towels
• tap water
• vinegar

Procedure:

1. Prepare the simulated “rain.”
   1. Number each of the cups or containers as 1, 2, or 3.
   2. Cup #1 “Rainwater:” Fill cup or container with 2 cups of plain water (tap water would be fine).
   3. Cup #2 “Mild Acid Rain:” Fill cup or container with ½ cup vinegar and 1 ½ cups of water.
   4. Cup #3 “Strong Acid Rain:” Fill cup or container 2 cups of vinegar.
   5. Soak a paper towel in each of the cups.
2. Label each Ziploc bag as 1, 2, or 3.
3. For each bag place the respective paper towel in with 5 presoaked lima beans.
4. Write a hypothesis answering the question posed at the beginning of the lab.
5. Observe their growth over the next 5 days adding more liquid if necessary to the paper towels.

Data:

Example of Data Table:

Day	# of Beans that have Germinated	Observations
Bag 1 – Rainwater
1
2
3
4
5
Bag 2 – Mild Acid Rain
1
2
3
4
5
Bag 3 – Strong Acid Rain
1
2
3
4
5

Lab Report:

Create a lab report that includes the following elements:

1. Introduction: This section should be in paragraph form and include the following elements:
   1. What is acid rain?
   2. How does acid rain occur?
   3. Do background research. How does acid rain affect plants? Is it currently a problem for plantlife?
   4. Hypothesis
2. Data: This section should include the following:
   1. Completed data table.
3. Results/Conclusion: This section should be in paragraph form and include the answers to the following questions:
   1. Did your results support or refute your hypothesis? Why or why not?
   2. Summarize your results.
   3. What percentage of beans germinated in each type of “rain?”
   4. What were some sources of error in your experiment?
   5. Other than plants, what other things are damaged by acid rain?
   6. What are some ways of reducing acid rain so that it will not continue to harm
      organisms in the environment?

 

From a Georgia Virtual Learning assignment source