Discussion
This lab was performed to show the effects of chemical weathering on rocks of the same size and composition by placing each one in a different solution. It was hypothesized that the 50% vinegar solution would cause the greatest amount of chemical weathering and that the 10% vinegar solution would cause less chemical weathering than the 50% vinegar solution. It was also hypothesized that the soda water would cause less chemical weathering than the 10% and 50% vinegar solutions and that the distilled water would cause the least amount of chemical weathering. Each hypothesis was formed based on the pH level of each solution. When rocks are exposed to acid in water, the water reacts with the minerals in the rock, speeding up the erosion of the rock (Aaron, 2018). It was suspected that the more acidic the solution, the more chemical weathering would occur. Because the 50% vinegar had a pH of 2, it was the most acidic and the distilled water had a pH level of 6, making it the least acidic of the four solutions. The 10% vinegar had a pH level of 4 and the soda water had a pH level of 5.
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The 50% vinegar caused a decrease in the mass of the rock by 1.9 grams. This result was expected as stated in the hypothesis. The distilled water did not cause a change in mass at all for the rock, making it the solution that caused the least amount of chemical weathering. The 10% vinegar did in fact cause less chemical weathering than the 50% vinegar, with a change in mass of 0.1 g. Although it was hypothesized that the soda water would cause less chemical weathering than both the 10% and 50% vinegar solutions, it actually caused the same change in mass as the 10% vinegar at a loss of 0.1