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Coal and Its Effects on the Environment

Arthur David Bosnak
Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Pleasant Hill, Tennessee

Subject: Science
Grade: 6

"This project is designed to show young people that they are part of the environment, not outsiders."

Purpose and Description of Project

Arthur Bosnak and his students set out to demonstrate the environmental damage incurred in the mining and burning of coal for an energy source. During the project, they took pictures as they visited a coal-fire steam plant and a hydroelectric dam to study the comparative efficiency and cleanliness of each electricity-producing system. They also carried out several experiments to show graphically the effects of coal mining and burning byproducts on both surface and atmospheric water, plants and soil, and aquatic organisms.

As a result, says Bosnak, the students began to understand the complex problems of supplying energy and how energy production has harmed the land, air, and water. To share their findings with others, the students developed a slide/tape show for presentation to classes at another school. Pre- and post-tests indicated that the show was successful in changing "attitudes and increasing their awareness about environmental issues." In addition, of seven experiments students entered in a regional science fair, two won first-place awards and two took second-place prizes.

Activities

Students reviewed various materials on acid rain and were presented with the results of an acid rain study previously done by other students. They were then divided into groups to work on seven separate experiments to demonstrate in the classroom the effects of coal-burning waste products on air, rain, surface water, plants, soil, and aquatic organisms. The individual in each group who wrote the best lab report represented the group's project at the science fair. Both slides and still photos were taken throughout the experiments.

During the experiments, the students gassed plants with sulfur dioxide (released into the air during coal burning); sprayed plants with solutions of sulfuric acid (produced when the gas reacts with water vapor in the presence of sunlight); and subjected snails, worms, and algae to strip mine drainage, aluminum (leached into soil and water as a result of acid rain), and thermal pollution.

The students also monitored rainfall and collected samples of water from ponds, streams, and seepage areas around both reclaimed and unreclaimed strip mines and measured the pH levels (acid/alkaline balance). The results of these experiments dramatically demonstrated the dangers of pollution. Further, their rainfall monitoring showed pH values from 2.0 to 4.5 (any value below 5.7 indicates acid rain) and brought home to them that such pollution is a personal rather than abstract problem.

Various students went out into the field to collect water samples and photograph strip mines, but the major field trip of the project was the class' photo tours of a coal-fire steam plant and a hydroelectric dam to study the advantages and disadvantages of each method of producing electricity.

Finally, the students developed their prints and slides, wrote and taped a narrative, developed questions to test the slide/tape show's impact, and presented it to other classes.

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

Bosnak and his students used one school camera and two of the teacher's cameras and 16 mm and 300 mm lenses.

Most of the scientific equipment and supplies were borrowed or available at the school. These included a pH meter, a hatch kit, humidifiers and timers, chemicals, heaters, and a spectrophotometer.

Outcomes and Adaptability

In addition to the scientific knowledge his students gained, Bosnak feels that the most important outcome of the project was that students began to realize they "are the keepers of the environment and that whatever they do may influence other parts of the ecosystem as well as themselves." The students' slide/tape presentation was also successful in its mission of bringing this understanding to others. Tests showed that classes viewing the program had an 87.6 percent increase in environmental awareness.

Bosnak believes that most facets of the project could be instituted anywhere, and that the focus could easily be turned to other fuels, such as oil if the project were carried out in a non-coal-producing area.

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