GUIDE N° 1

AREA: SCIENCE DATE: September 21th to 25th / 2020

TOPIC: Acid Rain: Effects in living organisms GRADE: Eighth A – B – C - D
TEACHER: Mr. MAURICIO RENGIFO RUIZ B. Sc
STUDENTS NAME:

Grade Motto: “I strengthen myself in the ability to revise and reflect on the challenges and
decisions that entail growing as a person and a citizen who takes care of oneself and acts responsibly
towards my surroundings.”

Introduction

Like the acids found in acid rain, there are others such as the acetic acid, which is commonly known as
vinegar. During this experience we will identify an acid compound that is acetic acid, that will work as an
analogy of the acid rain effects. By using water as a control, we will establish comparations of the effects
of acid rain in living organisms.

You must be careful with the substances that you are going to use, they are not harmful but you will
always have to take precautions by staying focus on the experience that you are developing.

Figure 1. Acid rain production by anthropic emissions. SO2: Sulphur dioxide, NO2: Nitrogen
oxide, H2SO4: Sulphuric acid, HNO3: Nitric acid (taken from: Biswojit & Ahammed 2020)
 GUIDE N° 1

Materials and methods

We will demonstrate the effects of acid on different materials. Use two different jars, in one fill it with
acetic acid, that will resemble acid rain (use vinegar, any brand should work) and the other with water
(the control group). Mark each jar with tape and a sharpie. Use eggshells and leaves to represent living
objects and paperclips to represent non-living objects (like buildings, cars, etc. that get expose to acid).
Add the materials to both jars. Let the jars sit in a protected area, check at your discretion. Like scientist,
make predictions and record your observations throughout the process. What differences do you notice
after one day? After one week? After one week, take out the materials from the jars. What do you notice?
Use your observations to describe the cause-effect relationship of acid on materials. Don’t forget to take
pictures during the process.

Table 1. Complete the following chart with your own data

Water Vinegar
Predictions Observations Predictions Observations
After 1 day After 1 week After 1 day After 1 week
Eggshell

Green
leaf
Paper
clip

Questions

1. Observe what do you describe on the chart, what conclusions can you get from your
observations.
2. Inquire about the effects of acids in living and non-living organisms.

Literature

1. AUDESIRK, T., AUDESIRK, G. & BYERS, B. (2016). Biology Life on Earth. 11th edition. New Jersey,
United States: Pearson.
2. DAMON, A., McGONEGAL, R., TOSTO, P. & WARD, W. (2014). Standard level Biology. 2nd edition.
Pearson education.
3. WALPOLE, B. (2015). Biology, for the IB diploma Exam preparation guide. Cambrige University
Press. Cambrige, United Kingdom.