1. 12-3 Acid Precipitation
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2. A. What causes acid precipitation?
1. Precipitation (rain, snow, or sleet) that contains a high concentration of acids.

3. A. What causes acid precipitation?
2. Burning of fossil fuels releases nitrogen and sulfur which combine with water vapor in the atmosphere.

4. A. What causes acid precipitation?
3. Sulfuric and Nitric acids form and fall as acid rain.

5. A. What causes acid precipitation?
4. pH can be used to measure how acidic(1-6) or basic (8-14) a substance is.

6. A. What causes acid precipitation?
5. Pure water is neutral and has a pH of 7.

7. B. How acid precipitation affects soils and plants
1. It lowers the pH of soil and water.

8. B. How acid precipitation affects soils and plants
2. An increase in the concentration of acid is called acidification.

9. B. How acid precipitation affects soils and plants
3. Plants suffer because some nutrients get dissolved and washed away while the roots become damaged.

10. C. Acid Precipitation and Aquatic Ecosystems
1. Ph levels that are too low kill fish.

11. C. Acid Precipitation and Aquatic Ecosystems
2. Acid also causes aluminum to leave soil and enter water source which slowly suffocates fish by getting stuck in their gills.

12. C. Acid Precipitation and Aquatic Ecosystems
3. In the spring, acidic ice from winter melts and enters water which causes acidic shock (sudden increase of acid).

13. D. Acid Precipitation and Humans
1. Released aluminum and mercury may find its way into fish, crops, and water.

14. D. Acid Precipitation and Humans
2. Possibly linked to respiratory diseases.

15. D. Acid Precipitation and Humans
3. Negatively affects fisheries and forestry.

16. D. Acid Precipitation and Humans
4. Dissolves calcium carbonate which is common in concrete, marble, and limestone.

17. E. International Conflict and Cooperation
1. One problem with acid precipitation is that pollutants may be released in one spot and fall in another spot.

18. E. International Conflict and Cooperation
2. For example, some acid rain that falls in Canada in produced by the US.
3. The Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement was signed in 1991.