RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD

Author:  Leonard Fretzin
Name of Organization: University of Illinois, CTER3 graduate school class
E-mail address:  lfretzin@worldnet.att.net

Project Summary

Students who participate in the project will measure the acidity of rainwater in their environs, and the acidity of the nearest body of water which may be a stream, river, pond, or lake.  The data obtained in these measurements will be collected, collated and finally distributed to all the participants to examine, analyze, and make hypothesis about the causes of their local pollution or lack thereof, and the findings in other parts of the world with acid rain pollution problems.

Participants

  • Grades Targeted: 6 - 12
  • Number of Classes/Participants : not limited
  • Locations : worldwide
  • Special Characteristics: participants should be science students and their teachers; the project is especially suited to junior high physical science, high school environmental science, earth science, and chemistry.
  • Recruiting:
    Posting sites/lists:  The Global Schoolhouse

                                      The Collaboratory Project

Posting date: June 27, 2002

Deadline:  June 1, 2003

 

Contact Person

Objectives of Lesson

  • Outcomes: At the end of the project students will have gained knowledge of the problem and causes of the environmental pollutant known as acid rain.  They will be able to relate this problem on a global scale and identify sources of the pollution on an international scale.  Areas where the problem is greatest will be identified by empirical data collected by numerous participants, and the environmental impact will be identified in each area where a problem exists.

 

  • Each class will have the opportunity of dividing up into research groups, data recording groups, 'in the field data' collectors, mathematicians, and data analysts.

  • Each student will have opportunity of selecting the specialty area that he or she wants most to work on.

  • Each instructor will have overall responsibility to guide the group and make assignments when necessary, so that all the positions are covered.

 

  • Subject Area: Research Group
    skill 1 - The group will use the library and the internet to access a knowledge base about the subject of acid rain, its causes and its consequences.
    skill 2 - Organizing a group, and the division of labor to insure that each area of the topic is covered by one or more individuals, and finally, the correlation of the findings.

  • Subject Area: Data Collecting and Recording Group
    skill 1 - Students will devise ways of collecting samples of rainwater, and the water from nearby natural streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.
    skill 2 - Students will learn how to use and measure the acidity of water samples in units of pH using short range pHydrion test papers.

  • Subject Area: Mathematics and Data analysis Group
    skill 1 - obtaining and recording data from the data collecting and recording group, and as it becomes available from distant researchers.
    skill 2 - analyzing data and the geographical and meteorological conditions of the groups location to determine possible sources of pollution


Resources Needed

  • Telecommunications:
    Required: Computers connected to the internet
    Optional:  Fax 
  • Hardware:
    Required: IBM or Mac computers with modems and printers.
    Optional:  Scanners, digital cameras
  • Software:
    Required: Netscape or Internet explorer, MSWord or Works
    Optional: MS Excel
  • Other:
    Required: Narrow range (4.8 - 6.7) pHydrion paper and color chart.
    Optional:  If locally unavailable this will be supplied by the Project Coordinator

Activities

  • Observation: Students will observe the measurement of the pH of water samples and observe the local environmental conditions which may be indicative of a pollution problem (such as dead fish or algae) that may exist in nearby lakes, rivers, streams, or ponds.
  • Discussion/Analysis: Student groups will gather to report and discuss their findings and the findings of other students around the world that are collected at the Project Website.
  • Creation/Synthesis: The students will try to prove or disprove the hypothesis that acid rain is caused by the pollutant producers talked about in the literature and media.
  • Exchange: Students will download their CONCLUSIONS to the Project Coordinator and will enter the site to see what other students have done.  They will then be able to exchange opinions and evaluations with distant student researchers.
  • Evaluation: The Project Coordinator, participant teachers, parents, and other interested parties will evaluated the overall success of the project with an eye to eliminate any faults or other problems.

Time Frame

Time Commitment: Individuals and groups participating should not have to spend more than two weeks on the project.  Supervising teachers may vary the project's time span depending upon the age of the students, and the requirements of other curriculum coverage.

  • Project Span: Start June 27, 2002;  End June 1, 2003

Schedule of Activities will be determined by individual supervising teachers, or in the case of individual student participation, by the students, themselves.

Evaluating Student Outcomes

Outcomes: Students will experience and practice scientific methods of sample collection, sample analysis, data collection, the integration of data through spreadsheets and graphs, and the methods of research and analysis of the problem of acid rain.

Criteria: By the end of the project, each student will learn how the scientific method is used to understand the world we live in.


Project Evaluation

By whom: Teachers, project coordinator, parents, and other interested individuals.
Format: Largely using html documents on the project coordinator's website

How to Register






 
 
 
Where: 
 
With The Collaboratory Project, The Global Schoolhouse, or the Project Coordinator






When: Registration is ongoing.






Deadline: May, 2003






 
 
 
Information to Include
 
1. Name of school or individual:
   
2. Teacher or individual's e-Mail Address:
   
3. Location: (City, State, Country).
   
4. Latitude: ___________ Longitude: ________________

PROJECT REGISTERED!

June 29, 2002

Leonard Fretzin,

 

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FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATION

 

 

A short summary of the project idea:

The idea of this project is to have students actively pursue an issue of environmental importance, without requiring them to master a complicated analytical method in order to obtain data...

The measurement of pH to determine the acidity of rain and other sources of water, using pHydronium papers affords a simple methodology which students from 6th grade through high school can easily master…  What's most important is that acid rain is a relevant real world problem…

 

The procedures I've followed in completing the project:

I have listed this project with The Collaboratory Project at Northwestern University, and with The Global Schoolhouse…  Participating students from different parts of the county and the world will gather data following the project directions… 

Students will e-mail me with their data and other information…  This information will be placed on the websites so that all the participants can access it…

 

Describing the process in some detail:

Students who participate in the project will measure the acidity of rainwater in their environs, and the acidity of a nearby body of water which may be a stream, river, pond, or lake…  The data obtained in these measurements will be collected and posted to a web site so that all the participants can examine, analyze, and make hypothesis about the causes of pollution in their area and in other parts of the world with acid rain pollution problems…

 

What I have done:

In preparation for this project, I tested the procedures using some pH papers that were available to me at home on some rainwater, and a nearby pond… 

 

What I've learned:

I learned that a different narrow range pH paper would provide greater sensitivity and accuracy.  However I do not have access to any supplies or the catalogs of scientific supply houses.  The pH paper that I used measures a range of 4.8 - 6.7, which is suitable but it would be better to use paper with a range of about 3.0 - 6.8…

 

What I liked about the project:

I think it will be fun to work with teachers and students from all around the world; and also exciting to get meaningful results…

 

What I didn't like and would change the next time:

This is a hard question to answer.  I think that the hardest thing about this project will be the work required to post the data, and help students analyze it…

 

Current project status:

I've listed the project with two collaboratory sites, but haven't received any requests from students or teachers to join.  I've also e-mailed all the teachers I know in the hope that some of them may be teaching summer school and would like to encompass the project in their curriculum…

I've registered the project with the The Global Schoolhouse and with The Collaboratory Project.  It remains to attract a body of teachers and students, which is a problem at this time of the year…