Activity 3: Air Pollution Model

Supplies

• cups
• water
• food coloring
• instruction sheet

Instructions

• Have students fill cups with water
• Explain that the cup of water will represent the air around us and food coloring will represent the air pollutants we add to the air in our daily lives
• Read instructions out loud having the students follow along

To Read Aloud (or print out for students):

1. You showered and got ready for school.

• Add one drop of blue and one drop of yellow food coloring to your cup if this activity applies to you.
• Blue—VOCs emitted by soap, shampoo, deodorant, hair spray, perfume, and fingernail polish.
• Yellow—CO, NO2, PM10, and SO2 emitted by combustion used to heat the water for the shower. Remember, electric water heaters often depend on combustion too, because a lot of power plants burn fossil fuels to generate electricity.

2. You put on your favorite shirt, which your mom had dry-cleaned for you.

• Add one drop of blue food coloring to your cup if this activity applies to you.
• Blue —VOCs emitted by the dry-cleaning process.

3. Coming to school, you took the bus or rode in a car.

• Add one drop of red food coloring to your cup if this activity applies to you. Red—CO, NO2, PM10, SO2, and VOCs emitted by the engine in your school bus or car.

4. At breakfast, you cooked something or used plastic.

• Add one drop of yellow and blue food coloring to your cup if this activity applies to you.
• Yellow—CO, NO2, PM10, SO2, emitted by cooking lunch, Styrofoam trays, and plastic utensils
• Blue—VOCs emitted by cooking lunch, Styrofoam trays, and plastic utensils.

5. Going home, you will take the bus or ride in a car.

• Add one drop of red food coloring to your cup if this activity applies to you.
• Red—CO, NO2, PM10, SO2, and VOCs emitted by the engine in your school bus or car.

Points to Emphasize and Discuss

• What does the "air" in your cup look like?
• If you could see the air pollutants in the air like you can in your cup, would you want to breathe that in?
• How could you reduce the amount of air pollutants you release each day?