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:
- Prepare the simulated “rain.”
- Number each of the cups or containers as 1, 2, or 3.
- Cup #1 “Rainwater:” Fill cup or container with 2 cups of plain water (tap water would be fine).
- Cup #2 “Mild Acid Rain:” Fill cup or container with ½ cup vinegar and 1 ½ cups of water.
- Cup #3 “Strong Acid Rain:” Fill cup or container 2 cups of vinegar.
- Soak a paper towel in each of the cups.
- Label each Ziploc bag as 1, 2, or 3.
- For each bag place the respective paper towel in with 5 presoaked lima beans.
- Write a hypothesis answering the question posed at the beginning of the lab.
- 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:
- Introduction: This section should be in paragraph form and include the following elements:
- What is acid rain?
- How does acid rain occur?
- Do background research. How does acid rain affect plants? Is it currently a problem for plantlife?
- Hypothesis
- Data: This section should include the following:
- Completed data table.
- Results/Conclusion: This section should be in paragraph form and include the answers to the following questions:
- Did your results support or refute your hypothesis? Why or why not?
- Summarize your results.
- What percentage of beans germinated in each type of “rain?”
- What were some sources of error in your experiment?
- Other than plants, what other things are damaged by acid rain?
- 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