acid rain

[Kaylee Clarke 1G]

what is the significance acid rain? what was said in the lecture about it?

[Nicholas Chin 1G]

It's just a real life example of an acidic reaction that he went over in class, and may show up on the test. He just went over the reactions involved.

[305614361]

Acid rain is basically acid deposition and it refers to the many ways in which acidity can move from the atmosphere to Earth's surface. he gave some examples of this in class,

[IanWheeler3F]

If you think about statues made by the ancient Greeks and how long ago they were made you would think that they would be long gone because of the rain eroding them constantly. But they lasted so long because only very recently did CO2 levels spike and increase acidity and cause their destruction. Acid rain is significant since its high strength is a rather recent phenomenon.

[Arnav Saud 2C]

The main importance that he presented about acidic rain is the way acids can be circulated through the earth's atmosphere. He was also explaining the impact of acid rain on biological system and on how its formed.

[Lillian]

He mentioned the processes involved in acid rain and the recent spike in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Not sure if there's more..

[Becca Nelson 3F]

With the burning of natural gases and coal, sulfur dioxide is released into the air. The equation he showed demonstrates how sulfur dioxide and water together create acid rain. Acid rain really hurts the environment, especially our oceans. Acid rain continues to be an environmental problem that is very relevant to conversations of humans impact on the environment today.

[Yun Su Choi 3G]

Is it CO2+water, SO2+water, or both that leads to acidic rain?
Also where in the textbook is this mentioned?

[annabelchen2a]

@Yun Su I'm pretty sure it's box 6E1 in the topic 6E section that goes into acid rain and how it's a regional phenomenon. I personally didn't find the textbook's explanation to be super helpful in understanding what exactly causes acidic rain so I did a bit of research and found that essentially a lot of human activities involve burning fossil fuels, which release quite a few different gases - two of which are So2 and NOx (nitric oxides in general). When these gases go up into the atmosphere they combine with water and oxygen and make sulphuric, nitric, and nitrous acids - and when they fall down in the form of precipitation (acid rain) it can cause damage.

[Eunice_Castro_1G]

Acid rain was just a real life example of CO2 interaction. As CO2 rises, acidic rain increases. Hope this helps!

[gabbi_r2C]

I agree with the responses above; acid rain is just a biological/environmental example of CO2 interaction with water in the real world, as this is an "applied chemistry" course of sorts, so the main purpose was just to demonstrate the usefulness of understanding acid/base interactions and consequences in the real world.

[Cory Poon 3G]

Acid rain is just a phenomenon that happens as CO2 and SO2 interact with water in the atmosphere. These two molecules as well as other molecules can mix with water to form carbonic acid and sulfuric acid, making the rain acidic, affecting the wildlife, structures, and humans it falls on.

[605733348]

Acid rain is bad for the environment.

[dericasu3a]

Acid rain is bad for the environment.

It's bad because acid rain can cause respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma (particularly if you already have chronic respiratory problems already, acid rain can make them much worse). Acid rain can also leach into soils and cause trees to be unable to absorb the proper nutrients they need, or cause them to absorb metals like aluminum. Acid rain can damage objects such as buildings and statues because it's corrosive. Moreover, acid rain can contaminate the waterways and get into the water supply which would not be ideal.