Low-resource or low equipment sharing resources


The resources on this page have been selected to support educators in finding CREST project ideas that require little equipment, can be run outside of a lab or at home, and use equipment that doesn’t require much sharing.

Find out more about the different CREST Award levels here: CREST Awards.

At primary level, our curated home learning packs don’t require many resources so they’re perfect to use either in the classroom or at home. For Primary teachers who have CLEAPSS access, we recommend this piece on doing Practical activities within your bubble.

At secondary level, each project brief has an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources you might need. Read the health and safety section carefully before you begin. Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.

If you are looking for further advice on how to get started with CREST, visit our help centre and check out our FAQs.

If you are looking for ideas for running CREST at home, many of the below resources are suitable, and you can still access our Star and SuperStar Home Learning packs below. If you need further support, check out the CREST at home section of the Help Centre.


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5 years ago

Monitoring acid rain

  • Text
  • Dioxide
  • Sulphur
  • Monitoring
  • Levels
  • Investigate
  • Method
  • Nitrogen
  • Atmospheric
  • Measuring
  • Concentration
Investigate air pollution levels by sampling rainwater and finding out about the causes of pollution in your local area.   This resource is published under an Attribution - non-commercial - no derivatives 4.0 International creative commons licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). For more information visit our Terms and Conditions (www.crestawards.org/terms-and-conditions).

Click to edit project

Click to edit project description

Page 1 of 2 Monitoring acid rain In this project, you will monitor levels of atmospheric sulphur dioxide and rainfall acidity. Your results are likely to vary with different weather conditions. This may give you clues about the source(s) of the acid. You should spread your investigation over many months, so that you can compare results for both winter and summer. Getting Started Hopefully, the acid rain in your area will be very dilute. So, you need a method of measuring the small amounts and differences in acidity of your samples. Comparing acidity: Compare the effects of dissolving carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in water. Use a large volume of water and a slow stream of bubbles, so the concentration of dissolved gas increases only slowly. Find a way to monitor the changes in pH. Compare the amount of each gas produced by burning fuels with the effect each has on rain. Investigate how the pH values of sulfuric acid and nitric acid change as they become more dilute. Start with an initial concentration of 1.0 mol dm-3 for each acid and gradually dilute them to known lower concentrations until the pH values rise above pH6. What happens if you keep on diluting? Why won’t the pH rise above pH7? Distinguishing between acids: Find out how to distinguish between sulfuric(VI) acid and nitric(V) acid. Devise a method to measure how much of each is present in samples of acid rain. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide don’t actually react with water to form sulfuric(VI) acid and nitric(V) acid. Find out what does happen. Click to edit project description Monitoring atmospheric sulphur dioxide and acid rain: Find out how sulphur dioxide levels are monitored. Design a method for measuring atmospheric sulphur dioxide in your school grounds. You will probably need to sample continuously for several days to collect measurable amounts. Things to think about Do your overall results suggest any particular local sources of this pollution? Remember, it isn’t just power stations that produce sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Investigate various methods of measuring acidities between pH4 and pH7, to decide which method is most accurate. Useful Resources Arrange a visit to an environmental monitoring site to see how the work is done. The results: Use your results to estimate the concentration of acid rain samples you collect later in the project. Decide a good way to display your results visually, so that sulphur dioxide levels and rain acidity can easily be compared. Is there a relationship between them? Are the results what you expected? Why? Do high sulphur dioxide levels and/or acid rain occur under particular weather conditions? Again, offer explanations for your observations. Take measurements to investigate how weather conditions, such as rainfall and wind direction affect sulphur dioxide levels. Use weather forecasts to plan when to take your measurements.

Challenges for ages 5-11


These challenges take about an hour each. Once you have completed eight of them you can get a CREST SuperStar Award. Start by downloading the Passport. Children can use this to record each activity they complete.

Our curated packs for home learning require very little equipment or resources, so are ideal now that you are back in the classroom. They also add flexibility as students can finish their Star or SuperStar Award at home, if needed.

Each challenge has an organiser card and an activity card. All the instructions to set up the activity are in the organiser card. Read the 'watch out' section carefully before you begin. Children can use the activity card or you can read it through together.

Find out more about Star and SuperStar levels here.


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Projects for ages 11-18


Each of these projects take between ten and thirty hours to complete. The project briefs have an overall challenge, ideas for getting started and a list of resources students might need. Before they begin, students should read the health and safety section carefully. Once students have completed their projects, they can get a CREST Discovery, Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. The amount of time spent on the project and how well they met the CREST criteria determines the level students will be awarded.

Start by downloading the relevant Workbook or Profile Form below. Young people can use these to help them complete their project and record their progress.

Young people should create a plan for their project and a risk assessment before they begin any practical activity, which should be checked by a teacher. You can use the CLEAPSS student safety sheets as well as the rest of the CLEAPSS website to help them.

For Bronze projects, once a student has completed their project, you can sign up to assess it and order their personalised certificate here. Bronze assessment is incredibly easy and can also be adapted for at-home learning if needed due to unexpected lockdowns, meaning parents can always assess when teachers cannot. Check out how to assess a Bronze project here

For Silver and Gold projects student work will need to be submitted online and will be assessed by a CREST assessor. Learn more about assessment for Silver Awards here

Find out more about Bronze level here.

Find out more about Silver level here.

Find out more about Gold level here.


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