EARTH SIMULATOR

When we adhere to the Comenius Project we projected to make two explanatory models of two of the more sever environmental problems afflicting our planet. The increase of greenhouse effect and acid rain are a direct result of human activity

                Para realizar el modelo de lluvia ácida empezamos a trabajar en diciembre. Para llevar a cabo nuestra experiencia preparamos lo siguiente:

To build the model of acid rain we began to work in December. To carry out our experience we prepared the following materials:

-          Several dissection trays in which we grew grass as a model of forests.

-          In the middle of each tray we put small parallelepiped blocks of limestone pretending to be human constructions.

-          Several solutions of nitric acid and sulfuric acid in different concentrations. These solutions served to water the “forests” and simulated the acid rain.

When the “forest” were  grown, we "rained" each tray with the solutions of "acid rain". The control tray was watered with rain without any acid component.

After three months we saw how acid rain damaged forests. The more acid the rain was the higher the number of dead plants was. We also found that the limestone blocks that were most affected were those which had been watered with the more concentrated acid rain.

                We started to build the models of greenhouse effect in January. We needed the followings materials in each model built:

-          A glass bowl as models of atmosphere.

-          Two thermometers, one of them was lay inside of the “atmosphere” and the other one was placed outside.

When we finished building the models, we put them outside our schools. We could check that the inner temperatures were always higher than external ones except at night when the temperatures were very similar. To understand better the results we showed them in a chart which was placed next to models.

Greenhouse Effect

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