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Acid Rain



             Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) .
             Motor-vehicle exhaust contains 50% of nitrogen dioxide; heat and power generation; nitric acid; explosives; fertilizer plants, combustion.
             How does acid rain form. Well, these oxides then, in the atmosphere react with water, oxygen and various chemicals to form their respective acids. The below chemical equations show it all.
             SO2 + H2O --> H2SO3 or sulfur dioxide + water --> sulfurous acid.
             SO3 + H2O --> H2SO4 or sulfur trioxide + water --> sulfuric acid.
             CO2 + H2O --> H2CO3 or carbon dioxide + water --> carbonic acid.
             4NO2 + 2H2O + O2 --> 4HNO3 or nitrogen dioxide + water + oxygen --> nitric acid.
             After the mild solution of acid is formed, they precipitate and fall on earth. The below diagrams from http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/sci/ibbio/ecology/notes/cycles/acidprecip.htm and http://encarta.msn.com/media_461535193_761578185_-1_1/Air_Pollution_and_Acid_Rain.html tell us everything. The diagrams are self-explanatory.
             The basic brief steps of how acid rain forms is as follows:.
             1. Industrial emissions and home appliances release acidic oxides like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide etc.
             2. These acidic oxides then react with the water vapor and oxygen in the atmosphere and form their respective mild acids.
             3. Pollutants may be carried in clouds for long distances before falling, which means that forests and lakes far away from factories may be damaged by acid rain.
             4. Some particles do not mix with water and reaction and thus these fall on to the earth as dry rain.
             5. The mixed particles precipitate. .
             Why are people so worried about acid rain? What problems does it cause? Well, acid rain causes many, many problems. Acid rain affects biotic life, the ecosystem, the biosphere (the life in the environment), the hydrosphere (water cycle), man-made structures; basically everybody is affected by acid rain somehow.
             The acids in acid rain react chemically with any object they contact.


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