teacher’s notes
student’s notes
Chemical weathering of
limestone: my breath and
rock chippings from the
car park: teacher’s notes
Level
This activity is designed for students aged 11-14. It can
be used to reinforce work on the reactions of carbonates
with acids as well as the chemical weathering of rock.
Topic
The chemical attack on limestone by rain that is
naturally acidic (containing dissolved carbon dioxide)
and ‘acid rain’ (rain that is more acidic because of
dissolved pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides).
Description
Students blow through a straw into water containing a
little Universal Indicator and note that the water
becomes slightly acidic because carbon dioxide from
their breath dissolves in it. They then add limestone
chippings to the water and note that the solution
gradually becomes neutral as the calcium carbonate in
the chippings reacts with the acid.
Teachers may prefer to do the activity using ground
limestone (available from garden centres) rather than
limestone chippings. This has the advantage of speeding
up the activity (the colour change occurs in a few
minutes rather than an hour or so) but the disadvantage
of using a somewhat less familiar material).
Context
Pupils should know the pH colour scale of Universal
Indicator; that green is neutral, that yellow, orange and
red colours indicate increasing acidity and that green /
blue, blue and purple indicate increasing alkalinity.
They should also know that the air they breathe out
contains more carbon dioxide than the air that they
breathe in.
Teaching points
Avoid using the term ‘acidic gases’. Acids are only formed
when gases such as carbon dioxide are dissolved in
water; the gases are not themselves acidic.
To show that the colour of the indicator is changed by
the limestone and is not a natural reaction with the
atmosphere, you may wish to set up a control at the
same time that contains no limestone fragments.
Timing
To carry out the initial part of the activity and complete
the table takes about 15 minutes, depending on how
quickly the class works. Colour changes due to the
limestone reaction take up to an hour.
Apparatus
Each student (or group) will need
eye protection
250 cm3 beaker
drinking straw
Chemicals
Each student (or group) will need
A few limestone chippings (these can often be found
on drives or car parks – check that they are in fact
limestone by confirming that they fizz when hydrochloric
acid is added). Alternatively marble chips (calcium
carbonate) can be used. If ground limestone is to be
used, several grams of this will be required (available
from a garden centre).
A little Universal Indicator solution in a dropping
bottle with a colour chart.
Safety notes
Wear eye protection.
Only allow one pupil to blow down each straw – then
throw the straw away.
Emphasise that pupils should not ‘suck up’ the water –
blowing only is allowed.
It is the responsibility of the teacher to carry out an
appropriate risk assessment.
The activity
Students blow through a straw into water containing a
little Universal Indicator and note that the water
becomes slightly acidic because carbon dioxide from
their breath dissolves in it. They then add limestone
chippings to the water and note that the solution
gradually becomes neutral as the calcium carbonate in
the chippings reacts with the acid.
Points to bring out
Carbon dioxide from the respiration of animals (and of
ourselves) is one factor that increases the carbon
dioxide content of the atmosphere. The burning of fossil
fuels also does this.
Carbon dioxide dissolves in rain forming very dilute
carbonic acid (this is the reaction that turns the indicator
yellow when you blow into water).
The dilute carbonic acid then attacks limestone. The
reaction is a neutralisation reaction that turns the
indicator neutral (green) again.
Possible extension
Discuss what happens when water containing dissolved
calcium carbonate evaporates in caves to form
stalactites (on the roofs of caves) and stalagmites (on the
floors).
Answers to questions
Q 1. The only way to protect limestone is to remove it
from the weather – by moving it indoors or giving it a
weatherproof coating.
Q 2. Soil water containing more carbon dioxide attacks
limestone faster than rain water. This is an example of
increased concentration increasing the rate of a
reaction. Natural limestone ‘pavements’, such as those in
the Yorkshire Dales, were formed largely by soil water
activity.
Q 3. Rain made more acid by dissolved pollutants such
as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides attacks limestone
even more quickly than naturally acidic rain.