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what is the cause of acid rain how is it harmful to the environment

by Anna Beer IV Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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It is caused by emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which react with water molecules in the atmosphere and produce acid rain. Acid rain has harmful effects on the environment, especially on aquatic animals and plants. It has also shown damaging effects on freshwaters, soils and insects.

Acid Rain Harms Forests
Acid rain that seeps into the ground can dissolve nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium, that trees need to be healthy. Acid rain also causes aluminum to be released into the soil, which makes it difficult for trees to take up water.

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What are the negative effects of acid rain?

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What are 3 ways to reduce acid rain?

What are three ways to reduce acid rain? Alternative energy sources should be used, such as solar and wind power. Renewable sources of energy are helping to reduce acid rain, as they produce much fewer emissions. There are other electricity sources as well, such as nuclear power, hydropower, and geothermal energy.

What are the harms of acid rain?

While acid rain cannot harm humans directly, the sulfur dioxide that creates it can cause health problems. Specifically, sulfur dioxide particles in the air can encourage chronic lung problems, like asthma and bronchitis.

What damage does acid rain cause?

What are three ways to reduce acid rain?

  • Filter and detoxify the water used by the factories before returning it to the rivers.
  • Reduce the emission of pollutant gases by industry.
  • Encourage the production and use of renewable energy instead of fossil fuels.
  • Reduce the energy consumption of factories and companies.

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What is cause of acid rain?

Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain.

What is acid rain where does it come from and why is it harmful to nature?

Caused when rain droplets absorb air pollution like sulfur and nitrogen oxides, acid rain weakens trees by dissolving nutrients in the soil before plants can use them.

What is acid rain explain?

Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds such as sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen are released into the air. These substances can rise very high up into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants called acid rain.

What are 5 causes of acid rain?

Man-made or Anthropogenic Causes of Acid RainCombustion of coal and oil.Power plants and manufacturing industries.Automobiles and other vehicles.Volcanic eruptions: The main natural causal agent for acid rain is volcanic emissions.

What are the harmful effects of acid rain Class 8?

The amount of harmful gases like oxide of sulphur and nitrogen in environment also cause the decreasing of pH value and cause acid rain. The harmful effects of acid rain are: Being acidic, if it is mixed with sea or ocean water can harm aquatic animals and can cause severe death. It can cause skin cancer in human.

What causes acid rain Mcq?

The pH of the acid rain drops below 5.6 and it becomes ~4.2 – 4.4. It mostly occurs due to the presence of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen in the atmosphere. Nitrogen and sulphur oxides react with water vapour to form acids. Large amounts of sulphur and nitrogen oxides are emitted from power plants and large industries.

What is acid rain class 9th?

Acid rain refers to the precipitation of acid in the form of raindrops. Sulfur and nitrogen dioxide are the two gases that cause acid rain. When the pH of rainwater drops below 5.7, it is referred to as acid rain.

What is acid rain class 11th?

Answer : When the oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide dissolves in rainwater forming acids and then reaches the earth surface, it is known as acid rain.

What is acid rain for kids?

Acid rain is formed when pollutants called oxides of sulfur and nitrogen, contained in power plant smoke, factory smoke, and car exhaust, react with the moisture in the atmosphere. Dry deposition, such as soot and ash, sleet, hail, snow, smog and low level ozone are forms that acid rain can take, despite its name.

What is acid rain How is it three harmful effects of acid rain?

Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. The SO2 and NOX react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These then mix with water and other materials before falling to the ground.

Is acid rain harmful to humans?

While acid rain cannot harm humans directly, the sulfur dioxide that creates it can cause health problems. Specifically, sulfur dioxide particles in the air can encourage chronic lung problems, like asthma and bronchitis.

Why is acid rain bad?

Acid Rain Students Site: Why is acid rain harmful? Air pollution like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause respiratory diseases, or can make these diseases worse. Respiratory diseases like asthma or chronic bronchitis make it hard for people to breathe.

What causes acid rain?

Respiratory diseases like asthma or chronic bronchitis make it hard for people to breathe. The pollution that causes acid rain can also create tiny particles. When these particles get into people’s lungs, they can cause health problems, or can make existing health problems worse. Also, nitrogen oxides cause ground-level ozone.

What are the effects of nitrogen oxides on the atmosphere?

Also, nitrogen oxides cause ground-level ozone. This ground-level ozone causes respiratory problems, like pneumonia and bronchitis , and can even cause permanent lung damage. The health effects that people have to worry about are not caused by the acid rain, but are caused when people breathe in these tiny particles or ozone. ...

Why are fir trees at risk?

Trees that are located in mountainous regions at higher elevations, such as spruce or fir trees, are at greater risk because they are exposed to acidic clouds and fog, which contain greater amounts of acid than rain or snow.

How does acid rain affect buildings?

Acid Rain Damages Buildings and Objects. Acid rain can also have a damaging effect on many objects, including buildings, statues, monuments, and cars. The chemicals found in acid rain can cause paint to peel and stone statues to begin to appear old and worn down, which reduces their value and beauty.

Why do trees need acid rain?

Acid rain that seeps into the ground can dissolve nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium, that trees need to be healthy. Acid rain also causes aluminum to be released into the soil, which makes it difficult for trees to take up water.

What animals are affected by aluminum?

Unfortunately, this increase in acidity and aluminum levels can be deadly to aquatic wildlife, including phytoplankton , mayflies, rainbow trout, small mouth bass, frogs, spotted salamanders, crayfish, and other creatures that are part of the food web.

How does acid rain affect ecosystems?

The Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems. This figure illustrates the pH level at which key organisms may be lost as their environment becomes more acidic. Not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acid. An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and other organisms along with their environment ...

What happens to trees when they get acid rain?

Acid rain also removes minerals and nutrients from the soil that trees need to grow. At high elevations, acidic fog and clouds might strip nutrients from trees’ foliage, leaving them with brown or dead leaves and needles.

What is episodic acidification?

Episodic Acidification. Melting snow and heavy rain downpours can result in what is known as episodic acidification. Lakes that do not normally have a high level of acidity may temporarily experience effects of acid rain when the melting snow or downpour brings greater amounts of acidic deposition and the soil can’t buffer it.

What happens when acidic particles corrode metal?

The acidic particles corrode metal and cause paint and stone to deteriorate more quickly. They also dirty the surfaces of buildings and other structures such as monuments. The consequences of this damage can be costly: loss of detail on stone and metal statues, monuments and tombstones.

What are the effects of sulfur dioxide on the heart?

Many scientific studies have shown a relationship between these particles and effects on heart function, such as heart attacks resulting in death for people with increased heart disease risk, and effects on lung function, such as breathing difficulties for people with asthma. Learn more about: Sulfur Dioxide. Nitrogen Oxides.

Does acid rain cause pollution?

Nitrogen Pollution. It’s not just the acidity of acid rain that can cause problems. Acid rain also contains nitrogen, and this can have an impact on some ecosystems. For example, nitrogen pollution in our coastal waters is partially responsible for declining fish and shellfish populations in some areas.

Do fish die in acidic lakes?

At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch. At lower pH levels, some adult fish die. Some acidic lakes have no fish.

What is the cause of acid rain?

Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain.

What happens if precipitation becomes too acidic?

However, if precipitation becomes too acidic, these materials may not be able to neutralize all of the acids. Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result.

Is rain acidic or non acidic?

Nature depends on balance, and although some rain is naturally acidic, with a pH level of around 5.0, human activities have made it worse. Normal precipitation —such as rain, sleet, or snow—reacts with alkaline chemicals, or non-acidic materials, that can be found in air, soils, bedrock, lakes, and streams.

How does acid rain affect the environment?

IMPACT OF ACID RAIN ON FORESTS. Acid rain can dissolve certain more soluble elements from the soil, like aluminum. The dissolved aluminum begins to accumulate and can reach toxic levels as it enters local streams and wetlands. Acid rain also removes important nutrients from the soil, such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

What causes acid rain?

The main sources of pollutants that trigger acid rain are vehicles and industrial and power-generating plants. The areas of greatest acidity are in the northeastern United States.

What is the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program?

The National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP), a Federal program involving representatives from more than a dozen Federal agencies, has sponsored studies on how acid rain forms and how it affects lakes, crops, forests, and materials.

What is acid rain?

Acid rain is the term commonly used by scientists to describe rain that is abnormally acidic. What does that mean? Well, plain distilled water, like that used in laboratories, is neutral (not acidic or basic). Since rain naturally has things dissolved in it, it will always be slightly acidic.

What are the hazards of volcanic air pollution in Hawaii?

Volcanic air pollution hazards in Hawaii. Noxious sulfur dioxide gas and other air pollutants emitted from Kīlauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i react with oxygen, atmospheric moisture, and sunlight to produce volcanic smog (vog) and acid rain.

Why are historic buildings affected by acid rain?

Because buildings and monuments cannot adapt to changes in the environment, as plants and animals can, historic structures may be particularly affected by acid precipitation. Scientists are studying effective control technologies to limit the emissions from power plants and automobiles that cause acid rain.

Why are forests more susceptible to pests, disease, and injury from freezing and drought?

Lastly, the combination of reduced calcium and excessive aluminum can make forests more susceptible to pests, disease, and injury from freezing and drought, as a proper balance of these nutrients is vital to forest health. A forest of dead trees damaged by acid rain (Credit: Pixabay).

What happens when acid rains?

Acid rain also causes the corrosion of water pipes. Which further results in leaching of heavy metals such as iron, lead and copper into drinking water. It damages the buildings and monuments made up of stones and metals.

How does acid rain affect agriculture?

Acid rain affects agriculture by the way how it alters the composition of the soil. It causes respiratory issues in animals and humans. When acid rain falls down and flows into the rivers and ponds it affects the aquatic ecosystem. As it alters the chemical composition of the water, to a form which is actually harmful to ...

What is the impact of acid rain on Taj Mahal?

The city of Agra has many industries which emit the oxides of sulphur and nitrogen in the atmosphere. People continue to use low-quality coal and firewood as a domestic fuel, adding to this problem. Acid rain has the following reaction with the marble ( calcium carbonate ):

What is acid rain made of?

Acid rain is made up of highly acidic water droplets due to air emissions, most specifically the disproportionate levels of sulphur and nitrogen emitted by vehicles and manufacturing processes. Often called acid rain as this concept contains many types of acidic precipitation. The acidic deposition takes place in two ways: wet, and dry.

How can we prevent acid rain?

Prevention of Acid Rain 1 The only precaution that we can take against acid rain is having a check at the emission of oxides of nitrogen and sulphur. 2 We have so far seen the details of acid rain and its harmful effect on animals, plants and the monuments. 3 Being responsible citizens, one should be aware of the harmful effects they cause and of the industries which give out nitrogen and sulphur compound wastes unethically.

What are the best ways to reduce acid rain?

Renewable sources of energy are helping to reduce acid rain, as they produce much fewer emissions. There are other electricity sources as well, such as nuclear power, hydropower, and geothermal energy. Among these, the most extensive use is among nuclear and hydropower. Read more:

Can acid rain cause sickness?

It can also influence humans since the acid goes into fruits, vegetables and animals. In other words, we can get really sick if acid rain doesn’t stop, and we eat those things. In general, the acid rain affects men, but not directly.

What is the result of acid rain?

Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO X) are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents. The SO 2 and NO X react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These then mix with water and other materials before falling to the ground.

What is acid rain?

Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms. This can include rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

How does acidic water affect the environment?

When the accumulated acids are washed off a surface by the next rain, this acidic water flows over and through the ground, and can harm plants and wildlife, such as insects and fish.

Where does acid rain come from?

While a small portion of the SO 2 and NO X that cause acid rain is from natural sources such as volcanoes, most of it comes from the burning of fossil fuels. The major sources of SO 2 and NO X in the atmosphere are: Burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Is rain acidic or alkaline?

The lower a substance's pH (less than 7), the more acidic it is; the higher a substance's pH (greater than 7), the more alkaline it is. Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6; it is slightly acidic because carbon dioxide (CO 2) dissolves into it forming weak carbonic acid. Acid rain usually has a pH between 4.2 and 4.4.

How does acid rain affect the environment?

Moreover, also humans are adversely affected since acid rain causes corrosion of steel structures (e.g. bridges) and the weathering of statues and stone buildings.

Why is acid rain so severe?

The phenomenon of acid rain is especially severe in areas that have a high population density compared to rural areas since the number of inhabitants usually positively correlates with the number of cars and therefore leads to more emissions and eventually to more acid rain.

What is acid rain?

Acid rain can be defined as rain or any other kind of precipitation that is unusually acidic, which means that it has higher levels of hydrogen and thus a lower pH-score. It is caused by emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which react with water molecules in the atmosphere and produce acid rain. Acid rain has harmful effects on the ...

What are the effects of acid rain?

Effects of Acid Rain 1 Effects on aquatic environments 2 Effects on animals and plants 3 Effects on forests 4 Effects on global warming 5 Effects on soil 6 Effects on vegetation cover 7 Effects on buildings 8 Effects on health

Why do trees need pH?

Forests, like many plants, need a certain pH-level to grow in an optimal way. If acidity levels are altered due to acid rain, trees may no longer be able to grow. Moreover, the trees and the corresponding ecosystem are more vulnerable to insect destruction, diseases, and damages caused by extreme weather.

How does acid rain affect water?

Also, the groundwater system is eventually affected by acid rain. This leads to an overall drop in pH-levels in the entire water system.

Why is agriculture important in acid rain?

Agriculture also plays an important role as a factor for acid rain. On the one hand, farmers often use excessive amounts of fertilizers and pesticides in order to maximize their crop yields. However, these substances can contain substances like nitrogen compounds which can eventually result in acid rain.

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4 hours ago  · Acid rain and the pollutant particles of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that it is formed from have been linked to human health problems including asthma, heart disease and eye irritation. In addition to forming acid rain, nitrogen oxides are also known to be involved in a reaction which creates tropospheric ozone which is known to cause respiratory problems in …

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7 hours ago Sources of Acid Rain Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides dissolve …

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Url:https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects-acid-rain

22 hours ago  · Best answer When rain falls through polluted air, it comes across chemicals such as gaseous oxides of sulphur, oxides of nitrogen, mists, of hydrochloric acid and phospheric acid etc., pH lowers down from 5.6 to 3.5 sometimes it becomes as low as 2. ← Prev Question Next Question →

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