A LABORATORY PROTOCOL ON THE GEOLOGY EXPERIMENT CARRIED OUT AT DAUGAVPILS SECONDARY SCHOOL NO. 3 IN LATVIA

KARST PROCESSES IN LATVIA

Experimental procedure:

  1. Take a piece of paper and make a tube from it.
  • Put the paper tube into a box. Fill the paper tube with soda (which substitutes limestone) and the box with sand.

Put a piece of chalk near the paper tube.

  • Pour vinegar on the soda in the paper tube and on the piece of chalk.
  • Watch the formation of a sinkhole.
  • Put the paper tube away and observe the collapse of the sand.

Expected results:

As you see, there is the chemical dissolution of carbonate rock (soda). The surface layer can stand for a short time, but if the sand collapses (because there is no longer support from the rock), a sinkhole forms.

Limestone (a piece of chalk) does not dissolves very quickly, as it takes a lot of time.