Weathering Wood Dana Hogan Grade 9 1

Problem  How is wood effected by varying environmental solutions? 2

Research  According to dictionary.com, weathering is to discolor, disintegrate, or affect injuriously, as by the effects of weather  Acid Rain: a form of precipitation containing high amounts of nitric or sulfuric acid  Causes: emissions from fossil fuels, vegetation decay, and volcanoes  How acid rain is formed:  Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide join with compounds in the air, creating sulfuric and nitric acids  Acid rain is a secondary air pollutant  Secondary air pollutants formed when several primary pollutants (pollutants that are emitted directly into the atmosphere such as carbon monoxide from vehicles) react with one another  Acid rain has very damaging effects on forests, taking nutrients from the soil and harming branches and needles of trees.  Bacteria break down compounds around them in order to gain energy  This is a key part to the carbon cycle because without this the carbon from organic materials would remain trapped underground 3

Hypothesis  If the wood is placed in the varying environmental solutions, then the acid rain will weaken the wood the most. 4

Materials  20 wood samples  75mL distilled water .6g salt  15mL sulfuric acid  30g soil  pH paper  20 Petri dishes  Force meter 5

Procedure 1. 4 pieces of wood placed in empty container 2. 4 pieces of wood placed in 30mL distilled water (rain) 3. 4 pieces of wood placed in 30mL distilled water and.6g salt (salt water) 4. 4 pieces of wood placed in 15mL distilled water and 15mL sulfuric acid (acid rain) 5. 4 pieces of wood placed in 30g soil (soil) 6. pH balanced of each solution tested 7. All wood samples left in sealed containers for 18days 8. Strength of wood samples tested 6

Variables  Independent variable: environmental solution wood samples are in  Dependent variable: strength of wood  Control: 4 pieces of wood in empty containers  Constants: size and type of wood samples, size of Petri dish, area of testing 7

Quantitative Data 8

Solution of Wood SampleStandard Deviation Control2.13 Rain3.4 Salt Water0.28 Soil2.1 Acid Rain0.6 Solution of Wood SampleAverage Newtons Needed to Break Wood Sample Control23.33 Rain12.76 Salt Water10.09 Soil9.6 Acid Rain5.47 9

Qualitative Data  Wood samples in acid rain appeared discolored (beige/pink color)  Wood samples in salt water and the salt water itself had a brown, gooey mold  Wood samples in rain appeared slightly yellowed  Wood samples in soil appeared unaffected  Soil was drier than when the wood samples were placed in it 10

Conclusion  Acid rain eroded the wood samples the most  Soil had the 2 nd greatest weakening effect  Salt water had the 3 rd greatest weakening effect  Rain eroded the wood samples the least  The hypothesis that if the wood was placed in the varying environmental solutions, then the acid rain would weaken the most was accepted 11

Thanks “Acid Rain.” NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 11 Oct “The Effects if Environmental Factors on Wood Decay.” All-Scince-Fair-Projects.com. N.p., Aug Web. 11 Oct “Variables in Your Science Fair Project.” Sciencebuddies.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct “What is Acid Rain?” epa.gov. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 June Web. 11 Oct Winkler, Robert. “Is Acid Rain Killing Off Wood Thrushes?” NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 11 Oct Maczulak, Anne. "hazards in the air." Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 Feb "Decomposition of Organic Matter." Library.ThinkQuest.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec "Weathering." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com LLC, Web. 6 Dec

Thanks  Thank you for listening.  Questions? 13