Pollution Check-Up

What are we breathing?

There are particulates in the air that contribute to air pollution and although we may not “see” them all the time, they are there. To find out how much air pollution is around you, here’s a simple experiment. You will need 3 index cards, petroleum jelly and tape.

Smear index cards on one side with petroleum jelly. Put 2 cards next to each other, smeared sides out. Tape the cards to the outside of the window. Do this on a day that is not raining or snowing. Keep the third index card inside to compare with later.

Bring in one card at the end of the day and see how dirty it looks by comparing it to the clean card. Save the dirty card. In about a week, bring in the other card and compare to the dirty card that was only out one day. Next, compare the card to the clean card that was never outside. How dirty do you think the air is?