Several types of classroom activities are presented here. The first one is an ELSI debate. The second activity is a role-playing scenario. Both of these are suitable for middle and high school students. The third activity is a soot analysis experiment designed to test air samples for black-carbon pollution. It is best suited for high school students with a good understanding of basic algebra; however, younger students also can participate in activities as described below.
Grade school children may be introduced to pollution in the air by collecting and comparing samples collected on different days over a month; or once a week for the year. They can make simple scientific observations about how dirty the air is. Arrange the samples side by side on a bulletin board or chart so that they may be compared . Discussion questions can include the following:
Does the blackness change?
What are some of the reasons that cause the change?
Does the spot change with the direction of the wind?
Does it change after a rain?
Do the spots change seasonally?
Is there a difference between samples collected indoors and outdoors?
Older students may want to experiment with the diffences in measurements between the exhaust of a car and that of a truck. Students may measure the difference in nonsmoking homes from those with smokers.
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