Acid Rain

First, we need to understand acidity and basicity. This is measured on a scale called the pH scale. pH is a scale from 0 to is about as acidic as it gets, while 14 is about as alkaline as it gets. Pure water has a pH of 7.

What is acidity? It is a measure of dissolved Hydrogen ions (H+) This H+ likes to attract negative charges, so the more H+ you have in an acid, the more it “dissolves” things. Weaker acids, like orange juice or soda, have less dissolving power.

What is basicity? Same thing as acids, except now we are talking about an (OH-) The hydroxide ion likes to attract positive molecules and “dissolves” better the more OH- it has. Things like ammonia or soap are bases (soap eats the oily layer on your skin. Too much soap will eat too much and you dry out your skin.)

Now, to the problem Sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides are caused by the burning of coal and petroleum products in cars and power plants. Also found in cigarette smoke.

SO 2 + OH → HOSO 2 HOSO 2 + O 2 → HO 2 + SO 3 SO 3 (g) + H 2 O (l) → H 2 SO 4 (l) [sulfuric acid] NO 2 + OH → HNO 3 [nitric acid]

So, what does acid rain do?

Acid Rain Animation