 Pure water has a pH of 7.0.  Normal precipitation has pH of 5.6 › Due to CO 2 mixing with water vapor to make carbonic acid.  Acid precipitation has pH of less than 5.0  Can be in the form of rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog

 SO 2 & NO x released when fossil fuels are burned.  SO 2 & NO x combine with water vapor in atmosphere to make sulfuric acid & nitric acid.  Can fall out of sky, run along ground, and enter water sources.

 Eastern U.S. (Lake Erie & Lake Ontario) has pH of  Most of Europe  Eastern Europe and parts of Scandinavia

 High Population- › higher population, more cars, more fossil fuel usage  More industry › More factories putting out SO 2 & NO x  Type of rocks in soil can alter pH levels › Marble/Limestone- neutralize pH › Granite- less neutralizing power

 Acidification- soil pH drops due to acid precipitation › Soil nutrients are dissolved and washed away › Toxic metals (Al) are released from soil particles & taken up by plants › SO 2 can clog openings in leaves so they can’t get CO 2 to make sugar Adirondack mtns in New York

 Fish are adapted to live at specific pH  Acid precipitation makes water too acidic and many aquatic organisms can’t tolerate changes  Aluminum that leaches out of soil can enter water, attach to fish gills, cause suffocation. Frogs can tolerate pH that is more acidic (pH 4.0) than a fish like a bass which can only live in water that is around pH 5.5

 Acid snow will melt rapidly causing pH of river water to drop rapidly resulting in acid shock. › Causes massive fish kills › Fish & frog may produce fewer eggs which may not hatch › Many eggs that do hatch have birth defects.

 Toxic metals can be leached out of soil by acid & be taken up by crops, water, fish which can poison humans  Irritate respiratory systems  Less fish = decrease in commercial fishing (people lose jobs)  Dissolves building materials › Marble, limestone easily dissolved › Metals can be tarnished › Costly to repair these things.

 Air pollution is released in one location and falls hundreds of miles away.  Air pollution produced in northeastern US falls in southeastern Canada › Created Canada-US Air Quality Agreement (1991) to reduce emissions along border.  China burns mostly coal with few if any pollution laws which affects many nearby Asian countries.

 Explain how acid precipitation forms.  Describe the harmful effects that acid precipitation can have on plants, soil, and aquatic ecosystems.  Describe 3 ways in which acid precipitation can affect humans.  Describe a way in which countries are working together to solve the problems of acid precipitation.