Acid rain is measured at a lower level of acidity than pure water.
Acid rain occurs when chemicals are released into the air and then collected in the air and rain. The effects of acid rain depend on the conditions and characteristics of the items that come in contact of the acid rain.
Procedures
If this is for an official science fair project, you should check to see if there are any restrictions against working with vinegar. Follow all regulations for working with small aquatic animals.
Things You'll Need
Worms may be used as one of the aquatic animals in the experiment.
For the simulated ocean life environment, you'll need distilled water, several 6-cup sized containers with lids, aquatic plants and animals, vinegar and a medicine dropper. You will also need to test the environments with pH strips and a data chart to record the results.
Project Preparation
Add 4 cups of distilled water to each container, and then add various aquatic plants and animals. Each container should contain the same quantity and variety of animals and plants. Add varying amounts of vinegar to each container, making sure to leave one container as a control with no vinegar added. Label each container, and record amount of vinegar added into a data chart. Use the pH strips to measure the acidic levels of each environment.
Project Analysis
Observe the different environments over the next several hours and days. Record observations such as the varied activity level of animals and analyze your results.
Tips
Before conducting the experiment, rinse the container thoroughly with distilled water. Do not use any soap or tap water because both contain chemicals that could alter the experiment. Aquatic plants and animals can be purchased from pet stores or bait shops.
Tags: distilled water, each container, plants animals, aquatic animals, aquatic plants, aquatic plants animals