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Acid Rain

What is acid rain? Acid rain is a result of air pollution. When any type of fuel is burnt, lots of different chemicals are produced. The smoke that comes from a fire or the fumes that come out of a car exhaust don't just contain the sooty grey particles that you can see - they also contains lots of invisible gases that can be even more harmful to our environment. (http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/acid-rain/1#What is Acid Rain?) "Acid rain" is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. (http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/) How is acid rain formed? There are three main causes of acid rain, but both are due to the same gases being released into the atmosphere. Acid rain is caused by the two main air pollutants, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. When these gases come into contact with the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water they combine to form a weak acid. The major cause of acid rain is air pollution by burning fossil fuels, smelting metals and motor vehicles. Acid rain can also be caused naturally by the eruption of a volcano. When a volcano erupts it produces a large amount of sulfur dioxide and it is not uncommon to have acid rain. Acid rain can also be caused by lightning strikes as these naturally produce nitrogen oxide (http://wanttoknowit.com/how-is-acid-rain-formed/) Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these compounds across state and national borders, sometimes over hundreds of miles. (http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/index.html) The range of pH in acid rain and how this is linked to the concentration of acid. Acidity itself is determined based on the pH level of the water droplets. PH is the scale measuring the amount of acid in the water and liquid. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 with lower pH being more acidic while a high pH is alkaline; seven is neutral. Normal rain water is slightly acidic and has a pH range of 5.3-6.0. Acid deposition is anything below that scale. It is

also important to note that the pH scale is logarithmic and each whole number on the scale represents a 10-fold change. (http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/acidrain.htm ) How acid rain affects buildings and statues made of limestone and marble. Older statues, especially those made of marble and limestone, are especially vulnerable to acid rain. This is because the rock contains large amounts of calcium carbonate, which reacts with the acids in the rain. This can cause the stone to turn to gypsum and flake off, ruining the detailing. This effect is cleaned off many statues, but can be regularly seen in graveyards where the headstones show the same erosion effect. Bronze statues are also at risk as the acid oxidizes in the metal causing corrosion. Due to what they are made of, buildings are less affected by acid rain. Older buildings with limestone or marble modeling on the outside can suffer from the same problem as statues. In addition, metalwork within the structure, such as copper pipes and wiring, can oxidize if exposed to acid rain. (http://www.ehow.com/info_8612266_acid-rain-affect-buildingsstatues.html) What affects how quickly acids react with calcium carbonate? It's the concentration of the acid. Limestone and marble are forms of calcium carbonate. Acid rain reacts with calcium carbonate. The stronger the acid the more quickly it effects calcium carbonate and dissolves. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_affects_how_quickly_acids_react_with _calcium_carbonate#ixzz1mqLrVavi)

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