Acid Precipitation Acid Precipitation Acid precipitation includes all forms of precipitation rain sleet snow with a high concentration of acids present Acid precipitation forms when water vapor and droplets in the atmosphere combine with sulfuric and nitric oxides This forms sulfur ID: 920721
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Why does acid precipitation form, and wh..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Why does acid precipitation form, and why is it such a serious problem?
Acid Precipitation
Slide2Acid Precipitation
Acid precipitation
includes all forms of precipitation
(rain, sleet, snow
)
with a high concentration of acids present.
Acid precipitation forms when water vapor and droplets in the atmosphere combine with sulfuric and nitric oxides. This forms sulfuric and nitric acids, which have a lower pH than typical rainfall.
Where do most sulfuric and nitric oxides come from?
Slide3Acid Precipitation
pH
is a measurement of the protons present in any given compounds. The lower, the pH, the greater the concentration of protons present.
Typical rainfall has a pH of around 6. However, acid rain typically has a pH from 4 to 5, and can have a pH as low as 3.5!
Compare these pH measurements to other compounds in the pH scale to the left.
Slide4Acid Precipitation
Acid precipitation can affect soils and plants through
acidification
β the process of adding protons to the soil, waters, or to living organisms.
Acidification removes nutrients from the soil, corrodes metal surfaces (causing runoff!) and damages trees and other plants.
Acidification also destroys aquatic ecosystems, killing organisms that cannot adapt to the new acidic pH of the habitat.
Slide5Acid Precipitation
As stated earlier, acid precipitation causes runoff pollution from corroded metals, especially aluminum. Aluminum can build up in aquatic habitats and in living organisms, causing death.
Acidic precipitation has its worst effects in the spring, due to the double whammy of acid rain and melting acid snow flowing into waterways. This results in
acid shock
β a sudden reduction of the pH level of the water.
Acid shock affects fish
and amphibians through death and reduced fertility.
Slide6Acid Precipitation
Acid precipitation affects people in numerous ways:
Causes health problems through ingesting food and water contaminated with aluminum and mercury.
Causes possible respiratory illness through exposure to acid precipitation over time.
Causes economic damage through the disruption of forests and aquatic ecosystems.
Causes economic damages through erosion and corrosion, especially to concrete, marble and limestone (all of these are rich in calcium carbonate!).
Slide7Acid Precipitation
Why is acid precipitation an international problem?
Slide8Acid Precipitation
Because acid precipitation often forms from pollutants hundreds of miles away, the damage done from acid precipitation often happens to areas far from the primary sources of pollution!
For instance, south-east Canada is and has been affected from acid precipitation β much of which originated from pollution generated from the northeast U.S.
Eventually, both countries signed the Canada-US Air Quality Agreement (1991), which has significantly reduced both local air pollution and the damage from acid precipitation.
Slide9Acid Precipitation
Slide10Acid Precipitation
Acid Rain Project
Your table group has been asked to hold a presentation on acid precipitation awareness for a class of middle-school students. You have also been asked to create a fact sheet that can be made available to these students after the presentation.
Your objective is to create a presentation for acid precipitation awareness, and a supplemental fact sheet that goes with your presentation.
Make
sure
itβs
appropriate for middle-school students!
Slide11Acid Precipitation
Acid Rain Project
What information must you include?
What is acid precipitation?
How does it form?
Why is it dangerous? How does it affect forests and aquatic ecosystems?
What can we do to prevent acid precipitation?
Slide12Acid Precipitation
Acid Rain Project
Fact sheet is due Friday Jan. 31, 2014
Presentations will be held in class Monday Feb. 3 and Tuesday Feb. 4. Make sure it is no longer than 8 minutes!
Please refer to the rubric when designing both your fact sheet and presentation.
Sample fact sheet
:
http://
www.ncsu.edu/project/bio183de/Black/chemreview/chemreview_reading/acid_rain.html