APES

Describe how acid rain/deposition forms.

(SO2) and (NOX) are released into the atmosphere and carried by air currents and wind. Once the SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids, and will cause a blend with water and other materials before dropping to the surface.

List the chemical compounds that are responsible for acid

deposition/rain and their sources. sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

Describe the effects of acid rain (deposition)?

Acid rain can change the composition of soil and bodies of water, making them uninhabitable for local animals and plants. Most fish species can't survive a water pH of below 5. When the pH becomes a 4, the lake is considered dead. Acid rain damages forests, especially those at higher elevations. It robs the soil of essential nutrients and releases aluminum in the soil, which makes it hard for trees to take up water. Trees' leaves and needles are also harmed by acids and The effects of acid rain, combined with other environmental stressors, leave trees and plants less able to withstand cold temperatures, insects, and disease. The pollutants may also inhibit trees' ability to reproduce. Acid rain can also damage buildings, monuments, and statues.

List two anthropogenic sources and one natural source of nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide that contributes to the formation of acid deposition.

Burning of fossil fuels and sewage Forest fires, cows (methane) or volcanoes

RESEARCH what areas of the United States have the greatest problem with acid deposition/rain. Explain why these area are more vulnerable to acid deposition/rain.

In areas such as mountainous parts of the Northeast United States, the soil is thin and lacks the ability to adequately neutralize the acid in the rain water. As a result, these areas are particularly vulnerable and the acid and aluminum can accumulate in the soil, streams, or lakes.

What are some solutions to acid deposition?

Sunlight increases the rate of most of the SO2 and NOX reactions...When humans burn fossil fuels, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released into the atmosphere. These chemical gases react with water, oxygen, and other substances to form mild solutions of sulfuric and nitric acid.

Based on the pH of pure water, normal rainwater, and acid rain, which has the greatest number of OH- ions and which would have the greatest number of H+ ions? How do you know? (if you don't remember, google the pH scale)

Typical acid rain because it is 10 times greater according to the PH scale

Contrast wet and dry acid deposition.

Wet deposition is what we most commonly think of as acid rain. The sulfuric and nitric acids formed in the atmosphere fall to the ground mixed with rain, snow, fog, or hail. The dry deposition has acidic particles and gases that can also deposit from the atmosphere in the absence of moisture as dry deposition. The acidic particles and gases may deposit to surfaces (water bodies, vegetation, buildings) quickly or may react during atmospheric transport to form larger particles that can be harmful to human health. When the accumulated acids are washed off a surface by the next rain, this acidic water flows over and through the ground, and can harm plants and wildlife, such as insects and fish.

How can acid rain be naturally buffered? Why are some locations able to naturally buffer acid rain?

With limestone...Many forests, streams, and lakes that experience acid rain don't suffer effects because the soil in those areas can buffer the acid rain by neutralizing the acidity in the rainwater flowing through it.

What is the pH of (a) pure water, (b) normal rainwater, and (c) acid rain?

a) 5.2 b) 5.6 c) 4.2 and 4.4