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National Science Teachers Association
Discovering Science: Lessons Plans and Experiments for the Classroom
Topic: Acid Rain
Grades: 4-5
Allocated Time: Two sessions/20-35 minutes Student Population: __students/_boy_ girls
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards:
4. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes, LS1.A, Earth and Human Activity, ESS3-1.
5. From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes, LS1-1, LS1.C; Sciences, Ecosystems:
Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics, LS2-1.
Common Core State Standards:
English Language Arts, Literature, Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, RL.4.1, RL.4.3;
Writing, Text Types and Purposes, W.4.1; Purposes and Distribution of Writing, W.5.4
Goals for Understanding
Students will learn about acid rain and its effect on the environment.
Objectives
Students will
 test water for its acidity level.
 conduct an experiment to observe how acid rain affects bean plants.
 analyze and respond to an environmental story.
Materials Needed (See science activity attached for additional materials.)
 photos, books about different kinds of pollution and environment
 rainwater and tap water samples
 tweezers
 small jars
 pH paper
Anticipatory Set
Display photos of factories spewing smoke and fumes, buses and trucks emitting exhausts, and
factories depositing runoff in rivers etc. Ask: What environmental problems do you see in this
these pictures? (many pollutants) What parts of our environment are being polluted? (air, water,
soil) Why? (Pollutants seep into these things.)
Instruction (I/Teacher’s role)
Discuss key content words (acid rain, pollutants, pH value, acidity, clouds).
Help students understand that air pollutants are directly related to acid rain.
 Factories and industries that emit smoke into the air, release pollutants. The pollutants gather
together in thick clouds. When it rains, those pollutants fall back to Earth as acid rain.
 Rain that falls at the beginning of a storm is usually more acidic than rain falling at the end
of a storm. The pollutants are acidic. They are absorbed by soil and fall into rivers.
 The amount of acid rain in materials is measured on a pH scale.
 A pH scale has measurements from 0 to 14. Pure water has a pH value of 7, which is neutral.
Substances with values lower than 7 are acids. Those with values higher than 7 are called
bases. Acid rain has a pH value of 5.6 or less, which harms the environment.
 Each year liquid waste is dumped into U.S. coastal waters.
 Experts estimate that acid rain causes farmers billions of dollars a year.
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Guided Practice (We/Students with Teacher’s guidance)
Reinforce understanding of water acidity. Help students gather rainwater and tap water samples
in small, clean, dry jars. Label the samples, keeping them separate. Explain that students will be
testing water acidity. Ask for predictions: Which water might be most acidic and least acidic?
Use tweezers to dip a pH strip into each jar of water. What color does it become? Compare each
color against the color chart. Record results. Let students compare predictions to findings.
Review and Summary
Guide students to write cause and effect sentences to demonstrate how acid rain is a cause of
certain effects on the environment. Mention some possible effects: how it harms plants, animals,
and people. Example: Acid rain pollutes the air. That can harm peoples’ lungs and their breathing.
Independent Learning (You/Student)
Encourage each student to write a paragraph about the water tested. Have students state
predictions, procedures, and results. They should also include conclusions. Ask: What can you
conclude about the water in our area? Ask students to include drawings with labels for clarity.
Checking for Understanding (Assessing)
Review students’ paragraphs and illustrations for accuracy and use of text features.
Cross Curriculum Extension: Language Arts/Literature
Read to children Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg. Discuss the story, and have students
write about it. Ask them to state the main idea and details. Ask: What was the author’s purpose?
Discuss the author’s voice. Ask: How do you think the author feels about the topic? What text
supports your opinion? Discuss character. Ask: In the beginning of the story, what sort of person
was Walter? Did his character change? How? Discuss setting. Ask: Where did most of the story
take place? Draw conclusions. Ask: How might the story affect readers? How might readers feel
about environmental problems? What might they want to do?
Adaptation (Gifted and Talented or English Language Learners)
Ask students to research problems facing the environment and efforts being made to combat those
problems. Invite students to write persuasive essays taking a position on an issue and defend that
position. Encourage the use of content vocabulary and graphic displays of information.
Additional Reading
 Acid Rain, by Peggy Parks
 Acid Rain, by Peter Tyson
 Everything Kids” Environment Book, by Sheri Amsel
 Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People Who Are Helping to Protect Our Planet,
by Harriet Rohmer
 Just a Dream, by Chris Van Allsburg
 Project for a Healthy Planet, by Shar Levine
Additional Resources
 National Science Teachers Association
Science and Children, “Understanding Acid Rain,” November/December 2004, pages 53-54.
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/sc04_042_03_53
Science Scope, “Lichens as Bioindicators,” October 2003, pages 16-19.
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/4/ss03_027_02_16
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
See an animated lesson about acid rain at
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/whatisacid.html
NSTA
Discovering Science
Grades: 4-5
Title: Acid Rain
Demonstration: How Does Acid Rain Affect Plants?
Standards: Next Generation Science Standards
Life Sciences: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics; LS.2
What you need
 three small jars with lids (such as baby food jars)
 masking tape
 markers
 lemon juice
 three growing bean plants
 tablespoon
 chalk
Time
30-40 minutes to set up
3-10 days to observe plants
What you do
1. Label the three jars and 1, 2, and 3.
2. Label the three bean plant containers 1, 2, and 3.
3. Add lemon juice to each jar as follows: Jar 1: Add ½ cup lemon juice; Jar 2: Add ¼ cup
lemon juice; Jar 3: Add no lemon juice.
4. Add ½ cup of water to all three jar—jars 1, 2, and 3.
5. Place the bean plants in their labeled containers in a sunny spot.
6. Water each plant with 4 tablespoons of the solution that is marked for it.
(Example: Water plant 1 with solution 1, plant 2 with solution 2, and plant 3 with solution 3.)
What you found
Plant 1 will show the effects of the “acid rain/lemon juice” solution first. Its leaves will yellow
and begin to dry. In time, plant 2 will start to show the “acid rain” effects but at a slower pace.
Plant 3 should have normal growth. Ask: What happened? What caused the different results?
The results are based on the different amounts of acid (lemon juice) in the watering solution. The
plant that yellowed most quickly was watered with a solution that contained the most lemon juice.
Explore More!
Let students predict how acid rain affects soil/rocks. Then try this.
Place one piece of chalk in three separate jars. Submerge ¾ of one piece of chalk in lemon juice.
Submerge ¾ of another piece in vinegar. Submerge ¾ of the last piece in water. Allow the chalk
to sit in the jars for a few days. Chalk is made of a limestone, which is a type of rock. Lemon
juice and vinegar are acids. Ask: What happened to the chalk placed in those liquids? (It broke
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apart.) Why? (Acids react quickly with limestone.) Record results and conclusions.
Name ____________________________________________________________________
NSTA
Be a Scientist: Ask, Answer, and
Discover!
Draw a plant watered with tap water.
Draw a plant watered with acid rain.
1. What is acid rain? What causes acid rain?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. How does acid rain affect most plants after a period of time?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. What problems are caused by acid rain?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Draw conclusions. Acid rain costs farmers billions of dollars each year.
What might you conclude from that statement?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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5. Solve problems. How would you solve the problem of acid rain?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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