This Young Scholars Program will bring sixteen high ability secondary students to the University of Wisconsin-Superior during the summer of 1988 for a six-week program that will acquaint them with the scientific methods involved in studying acid deposition. Classroom presentations will introduce students to 1) the sources of atmospheric pollutants, 2) the chemistry of acid deposition and 3) the effects of acidification on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The participants will gain skills in collecting and analyzing chemical and biological data through a series of field trips and laboratory experiments. The program will also stress the role of mathematical modeling in solving scientific problems. The students will use techniques of exploratory data analysis and multiple linear regression to examine data collected by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. Participants will use the data to construct their own model for predicting the pH of acid precipitation and prepare a 30-minute program on their work for presentation at their high schools. This summer program is multidisciplinary in nature and will expose participants to a variety of careers in science and mathematics and enable them to determine the training required for each.
