Ocean Acidification Lab Report

Background: In Ischia Island the water around the island has been acidified for millions of years because of Mt. Vesuvius. This dormant volcano is melting chalk in the sea floor, which releases carbon dioxide into the water acidifying it. This acidification is devastating the life around the island and is still being acidified by the continuous release of CO2. We can use this as an example of what our world might look like if we continue to release carbon dioxide emissions through things such as burning fossil fuels and reducing the carbon banks such by things like deforestation.

In the first part of this lab we will blow CO2 from our breath through a straw. When the gas comes in contact with the water it will slowly begin to acidify it.

The shell that was exposed to the vinegar will have a weaker shell because high levels of acid dissolve the shell. Some sources of carbon dioxide are respiration, smog, pollution, and fossil fuels. The one that impacts the ocean most would be the burning of fossil fuels.

In the Ocean Acidification lab, calcium in the water combines with the carbon dioxide from the breath creating carbonic acid. This acid affects shells like the shell lab. Since the shells are made of calcium carbonate the carbonic acid acts like a corrosive and dissolves the shell

Once the 24-hour period has passed then you will extract the shells from the vinegar beaker and record the mass of those shells and the shells that were not exposed to the vinegar. Record all data and observations on the chart labeling the vinegar shells “experimental” and the other two “control”. Then you will pour 100 ml of vinegar into a 500 ml beaker and 100 ml of salt water in the other 500 ml beaker. Set the timer to 30 minutes and drop one “control” and one “experimental” shell to each beaker at the same time. In your data table you will record the observations of what is happens to the shells while they are exposed to vinegar and the salt water every 5 minutes. Once the 30 minutes are up you will take the four shells out simultaneously with the spoons and place them on a paper towel then proceed to record the masses for all four shells. Ultimately you will test the strength of each shell by dropping a textbook from a one-meter vertical distance on the shell then record all