Lighthouse Initiative for Texas Classrooms

Particulates

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Purpose

To observe and record particulate air pollution.

Procedure

  1. Obtain an index card.
  2. Use a hole punch to make one hole in the card.
  3. Cover that hole on one side only with very sticky tape.
  4. Without touching the sticky side of the tape, observe it either with a magnifying glass or under a stereoscope. Draw your observations and record any particles that already seem to be stuck to the card.
  5. Place the card, sticky side out, somewhere in the school or out of doors.
  6. Observe the card the next day. Again, draw observations and record any particles that are stuck to the card.

The activities you can do with this are varied; it lends itself to graphing, predicting, interpreting, etc.

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