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Retrieved From:http://www.zahie.com/categories/details/science/acid-rain.html
By Saruf Alam
Acid rain has nowadays become a very common experience. It happens everyday globally but no one realizes how dangerous it really is. Many times you usually go out and it starts drizzling. When walking the water feels warm and many people don’t realize that it is acid rain. Note: Acid rain feels warm because it is pH 5.6 and below (pH 5.6 and below is acidic and feels warm). Acid rain has a slow but really dangerous effect on the environment and the world. Do we care? No, and that is what makes it dangerous.
History: People say that the problem – acid rain originated in the 1730’s as that was the height of the industrial revolution. People found out about it in the 1950’s but did not take it seriously but then in the 1960’s it became important to the government. After the 1960’s the problem got worse as the tall chimneys made it easier for more of the harmful gases including sulphur to flow to the clouds. In the 1984’s it became a big problem around the world. The United Nations made an agreement with USA and 24 other nations to control the nitrogen and sulphur emissions to prevent air pollution and acid rain. In the 1990’s, the Clean Air Act set rules to cut down 10 million tones of emissions by January 1, 2000.
What is Acid rain? Acid rain is precipitation or rainfall with pH 5.6 and below. Acid rain is formed when oxides of sulphur and nitrogen combine with the atmospheric moisture and forms nitric acid and sulphuric acid. Many industries and power plants give out sulphur dioxide in our atmosphere. Even worse, they have very high chimneys which make the smoke dissolve into the clouds. Cars also let out lots of nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide which rises up into the clouds. These chemicals are dissolved in the water vapors and fall in the form of acid rain. These huge amounts of water and chemical falls down as rain, snow or even fog polluting our environments and destroying many things in its way.
Nowadays acid rain is happening nearly everyday worldwide. People have not realized the long term hazardous effects of acid rain. But it is one of the factors affecting our environment and habitat. The issue of acid rain affects seems small in front of global warming but it actually is a part of global warming. It is having a significant impact on our lives every second without us noticing it.
As mentioned before acid rain is one of the factors affecting our environment and habitat. How does it affect our birds. Previous studies had shown that calcium-depletion can affect breeding birds in a number of ways. In particular, shortages of calcium-rich foods, such as snails and snail shells, might be critical at egg-laying time, when calcium demand is highest for female birds, or during the nesting period, when calcium supplements are often provided to growing young. However, low levels of soil calcium might also affect a wide range of prey, such as earthworms, millipedes and centipedes, pillbugs and other insects that adult birds need to nourish themselves and feed their young. Fallen, decaying leaves and other natural litter on the forest floor could decompose more slowly under acidic conditions. At the same time, acidic conditions could also increase the amounts of toxic aluminum and heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium and mercury) that the wood thrush ingests. Our birds may be finding less good-quality food and having to work harder to find it.
South Padre Island is a crucial first landfall – a lifesaver – for birds making an arduous cross-Gulf migration from Southern Mexico and northern Central America. While this gorgeous bird hotel is a great way to preserve their habitats, our flying creatures are still in danger of the potential affects of acid rain. How can you help educate others on preventative measures to avoid creating a catastrophe?
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Analyze the information on the diagram below and consider the following:
>Where are you located on that map?
>What is the level of danger in your area?
>What is the difference between your area and the others?
>What may be the reasons for that difference?
>Why should you be concerned?
>What can you do?
>What preventative measures can be implemented?
>What measures may be implemented to prevent, control or eliminate this issue?
As a researcher, you and your team will work towards developing a solution concerning the ramifications of acid rain. As you analyze your information, you will notice a significant difference between your area and others in the United States. Your task is to work together to help educate others on ways to help prevent, control or reduce the amount of acid rain in our areas. By working collaboratively, you will create a multimedia presentation to persuade others on helping implement possible solutions to this potential danger. You must provide the most effective way to help reduce acid rain that will benefit our birds and you must have ample information to support your decision.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT:
Each team member will individually complete steps 1-4. After completion, you will discuss and compare your findings with your team with possible solutions to the information presented.
GROUP ASSIGNMENT:
In your groups, you will analyze all the individual data gathered and compromise on one problem statement to continue your investigation. Once completed you will create a persuasive multimedia presentation to enhance the knowledge of others on this danger and possible solutions.
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Sample Lesson
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/Environmental/acidrain/acidrain.html
5th Grade TEKS
Grade5_TEKS_0811.pdf
Cornel News Teacher Resource Institute
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug02/acid_rain_birds.hrs.html
Texas Water Resources
http://twri.tamu.edu/newsletters/texaswaterresources/twr-v10n6.pdf
National Geographic
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/acid-rain-overview/
Images on the Affects of Acid Rain
http://www.google.com/search?q=acid+rain+affects+animals&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=KJYmUITfGIqA9gT4g4CoCA&ved=0CFUQsAQ&biw=1152&bih=611
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1. Read and analyze the scenario and situation.
Check your understanding of the scenario. Don't be tempted to start thinking about potential solutions or to start looking for information.
1. List your personal understanding, ideas or hunches.
Now that you are familiar with the affects of Acid Rain you will write everything you know about Acid Rain. Describe your thoughts or ideas about how to solve the problem. There are not incorrect answers in this step, just feel free to brainstorm your ideas.
2. List what is known.
With your team use all the information available in the scenario to list everything that you know about Acid Rain. You do not have to conduct any research yet. Just use the information given and write the facts that you already know about ****.
3. List what is unknown.
With your team, make a list about what you do not know and would like to learn. List all the questions you will need to answer to solve the problem.
4. List what needs to be done.
"What should we do?" List actions to be taken, e.g., question an expert, conduct research, go to a board meeting about topic. List possible actions.
5. Develop a problem statement.
You will be responsible for thinking and choosing one of the questions to solve the problem. A problem statement should come from your analysis of what you know. In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe what it is that your group is trying to solve, produce, respond to, or find out. The problem statement may have to be revised as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation.
6. Gather information
Use all the resources available (Internet, library, etc) to research about the problem/topic and find a solution.
7. Present Findings
****Determine how students will present findings****
You and your team will create a multimedia presentation persuading and educating others on possible solutions to reducing, controlling or preventing Acid Rain in our area. Your presentation must have factual information from your research. In order to convince others to view your perspective, you may have to perform as experiment. In this case, make sure all steps taken are completely covered in your presentation.
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5.4 In Grade 5, investigations are used to learn about the natural world. Students should
understand that certain types of questions can be answered by investigations and that methods,
models, and conclusions built from these investigations change as new observations are made.
Models of objects and events are tools for understanding the natural world and can show how
systems work. They have limitations and based on new discoveries are constantly being modified
to more closely reflect the natural world.
(B) Within the natural environment, students learn how changes occur on Earth's surface
and that predictable patterns occur in the sky. Students learn that the natural world
consists of resources, including nonrenewable, renewable, and alternative en
(C) Within the living environment, students learn that structure and function of
organisms can improve the survival of members of a species. Students learn to
differentiate between inherited traits and learned behaviors. Students learn that life cycles
occur in animals and plants and that the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle occurs naturally to
support the living environment.
5.7 Earth and space. The student knows Earth's surface is constantly changing and consists of
useful resources. The student is expected to:
5.8 Earth and space. The student knows that there are recognizable patterns in the natural world
and among the Sun, Earth, and Moon system. The student is expected to:
5.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows that there are relationships, systems, and
cycles within environments. The student is expected to:
(A) observe the way organisms live and survive in their ecosystem by interacting with
the living and non-living elements;
(B) describe how the flow of energy derived from the Sun, used by producers to create
their own food, is transferred through a food chain and food web to consumers and
decomposers;
(C) predict the effects of changes in ecosystems caused by living organisms, including
humans, such as the overpopulation of grazers or the building of highways; and
5.1 Foundations. The student demonstrates knowledge and appropriate use of hardware components, software programs, and their connections. The student is expected to:
(A) use technology terminology appropriate to the task;
(B) save and delete files, uses menu options and commands, and work with more than one software application;
(C) identify and describe the characteristics of digital input, processing, and output;
(D) delineate and make necessary adjustments regarding compatibility issues including, but not limited to, digital file formats and cross platform connectivity; and
(E) access remote equipment on a network such as a printer or other peripherals.
5.7 Solving problems. The student uses appropriate computer-based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems. The student is expected to:
(A) use software programs with audio, video, and graphics to enhance learning experiences;
(B) use appropriate software to express ideas and solve problems including the use of word processing, graphics, databases, spreadsheets, simulations, and multimedia; and
(C) use a variety of data types including text, graphics, digital audio, and videos
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