Classroom Activities

Air pollution takes many forms - from particles of soot large enough to see, to individual molecules of ozone and nitrogen oxides. Air quality measurements let people know when the amounts of pollutants pose a health risk. This teaching box is filled with educational resources that help students explore the science of, and solutions to, air pollution.

Students analyze the energy consumption of a hypothetical household to determine the amount of carbon dioxide they are adding to the atmosphere each year.

Students follow steps to dilute a colored dye in water until the dye is one part per million. Then students consider atmospheric gases that are present in trace quantities, like ozone, and discuss how pollutants can be hazardous at very small concentrations.

In this activity, students create molecule models using marshmallows to understand and explain how smog forms.

Students create graphic organizers describing the four major air pollutants reported in the Air Quality Index (ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide) and then identify the pollutants with a guessing game.

In this activity, students observe how rubber bands deteriorate, developing cracks or pits, in locations with different ozone levels.

Students will experiment to understand variations in the amount of ground-level ozone between different places in their neighborhood, town, or city.

In this activity students get a sense of the many ways in which daily activities use natural resources and contribute to air pollution.