Acid Rain
Acid Rain and the Effects of our Monuments and Churches The two controlled experiments that I chose to do, do not involve trees or plants, which I think a lot of people will be doing. I wanted to explore the devastation that acid rain does to our historic monuments and beautiful churches. My first controlled experiment is based on the Statue of Liberty. It is made of copper so I am using pennies in my experiment. (nps.gov. n.d.) My observation is that acid rain corrodes metals. My question: does acid rain corrode metal? My hypothesis is the obvious, yes metal structures are in danger of being corroded because of acid rain. That is also my prediction. The experiment will take place over a one month period. I will take two pennies (minted before 1983) and place each one in their own glass. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. n.d.) I will then place ½ cup of water with a pH level of 4.5 in one glass and a ½ cup of water with a pH level of 5.6 in the other glass. After the one month period, I will note the differences between the two pennies and determine if the penny in the acidic water is more corroded then the penny in “normal” water. That will be my result. For my next controlled experiment, I had beautiful cathedrals in mind. My question is: does acid rain damage stained glass? My hypothesis is that acid rain does damage stained glass. My Prediction will be that a crust will form on the stained glass that has been sprayed with acidic water. (ideaconnection n.d.) My experiment will take place over a year period. I will take two pieces of stained glass and spray each one three times a day. One will be sprayed with water with a pH level of 4.5 and the other stained glass will be sprayed with water with a pH level of 5.6. After the one year period, I will note the differences between the two stained glass pieces. This will determine if the stained glass sprayed with acidic water is more damaged then the stained glass
References: Ideaconnection. (n.d.). Deterioration of stained glass due to acid rain. Retrieved from http://www.ideaconnection.com/solutions/597-Deterioration-ofstained-glass-du-to-acid-rain.html nps.gov.(n.d.) Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/stli/faqs/aqs.htm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Acid rain experiments-experiment 9- looking at acid effects on metals. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/education/experiment9.html