Does acid rain form the same way as ordinary rain? Before knowing the answer to this question, it is important to know what acid rain is made of.
Acid rain has a pH below 5.6, it reaches this pH because it is composed of acids from the atmosphere. But how is it formed? It all starts with the reaction of the water present in ordinary rain, see what happens:
1. Raindrops absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), also known as carbon dioxide, coming from the polluted atmosphere;
2. Carbon dioxide reacts with water through the reaction:
H2O + CO2→ H2CO3
As can be seen, the product of the reaction is carbonic acid (H2CO3);
3. When rainwater reacts with the oxides, it becomes acidic, and the pH of pure water that was 7.0 changes to 5.6.
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As is well known, acid rain harms the environment, causes a great mortality of fish in rivers and lakes, causes corrosion of the leaves of plantations, etc. The worst part is knowing that it exists thanks to atmospheric pollution, whose pollutants are generated by industries, vehicles, power plants.
The worst pollutants are generated by industries that use fossil fuels and coal-fired power plants. These pollutants are oxides that combine with atmospheric moisture generating, for example, sulfuric acid (H2ONLY4) diluted, which is the main atmospheric precipitation of industrial pollutants.
The answer to the initial question comes as an alert: acid rain has its formation coming from rain common, what changes is its composition, which is dangerous for man as well as for the environment in which lives.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Carbon gas and acid rain"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/gas-carbonico-as-chuvas-acidas.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
