acid rain result and conclusion

Conclusion
In conclusion, this research project, Ryegrasss ability to effectively
decontaminate soil from strong pH levels of Acid Rain, has provided
evidence that it is possible to use Ryegrass as an environmental retroactive solution of Acid Rain soil contamination. According to the results
presented in the spread sheets, it is evident that both Ryegrass and
Perennial Ryegrass assist in absorbing low pH levels of sulfuric and
nitric acids out contaminated soil. The supporting evidence includes
the change in the stem and root color in both types of Ryegrass, a
change in the node fixture in Perennial Ryegrass, and most importantly
a change a rise in the pH of the acid rain contaminated soil. These
results were strongly apparent in both the sulfuric and nitric acids with
pHs of 2.0 and 2.5. The roots color would change from white, observed
in the control group, to yellow, and in extreme cases an orange, in the
experimental group. The stem color change was not as drastic as seen
in the roots but it was evident in the Ryegrass that the low pH levels of
acid were effecting the production of chlorophyll. Although, these
surface observations merely suggest what the environment has
already concluded, acid rain contaminates, the Ryegrass with closer
observation proved otherwise. Despite the color change, the Ryegrass
appeared healthy; the turgor pressure maintained a hyposmotic
environment. It appears that the intake of the acid into the vascular
tissue of the plant was not effecting the entire production of food, or
photosynthesis. This statement is feasible because during the
observations of these Ryegrass plants over a period of time the
Ryegrass never died despite the color change.
Secondly, the node change was unexpected in the Perennial Ryegrass
used in the further study. A comparison between a bent node and a
straight node can be viewed on the web page found on the computer.
A node is a joint. In the control group the nodes were joints lacking a
severe directional change. In laymens terms they simply remained
vertical. However, the Perennial Ryegrass that was grown in
contaminated soil with a pH of 2.0 or 2.5 showed a severe directional
change at the nodes. Originally there were various potential
explanations, such as the plant was dying or change of direction to

have the most contact with sunlight. Although, after evaluating the
data and the various plants containing these node changes, these
assumptions were proved invalid. The turgor pressure was maintained
in all the plants, thus eliminating dehydration. When we re-evaluated a
directional change for more direct contact with the sun the assumption
became infeasible because all the plants were in the same location.
Therefore, after
Suggestion
Government agencies and scientists are not the only ones that can
take action to stop acid rain. You can become part of the solution, too!
Understand the Problem
The first step you can take to help control acid rain is to understand
the problem and its solutions. Now that you have learned about this
environmental issue, you can tell others about it. By telling your
classmates, parents, and teachers about what you learned on this site,
you can help educate them about the problem of acid rain. You CAN
make a difference!
Conserve Energy
Since energy production creates large amounts of the pollutants that
cause acid rain, one important step you can take is to conserve energy.
You can do this in a number of ways:
Turn off lights, computers, televisions, video games, and other
electrical equipment when you're not using them.
Encourage your parents to buy equipment that uses less electricity,
including lights, air conditioners, heaters, refrigerators, and washing
machines. Such equipment might have the Energy Star label.
Try to limit the use of air conditioning.
Ask your parents to adjust the thermostat (the device used to control
the temperature in your home) when you go on vacation.
Minimize the Miles
Driving cars and trucks also produces large amounts of nitrogen
oxides, which cause acid rain. To help cut down on air pollution from

cars, you can carpool or take public transportation, such as buses and
trains. Also, ask your parents to walk or bike with you to a nearby store
or friends house instead of driving.
Every time ordinary rain is about to occur (unless the normal rain is
created through commands of any type) there is a 1/7 chance of the
rain being acidic. The acid rain is a greenish-yellow version of normal
rain. When standing directly in acid rain, a half heart of damage is
taken every three seconds. Acid rain cannot kill you, it can only bring
you
acid rain bibliography
Acid rain is a term for rain, snow, or other precipitation produced from water
vapor in the air reacting with emissions from automobiles, factories, power
plants, and other oil and coal burning sources. When these chemical
compounds, composed of sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, react with water vapor,
the result is sulfuric acid and nitric acid. The eastern portion of North America
and the northwest section of Europe are especially susceptible to acid rain. Acid
rain has damaged buildings, forests, crops, and soil; polluted thousands of lakes,
rivers, and streams; and injured millions of fish and other forms of aquatic life.
The purpose of the second edition of this bibliography is to provide a list of recent
articles, books, and documents available in the Robert E. Kennedy Library of the
California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) on the problems of acid
rain published since 1984. This bibliography is organized under the following
headings: (1) "The Causes of Acid Rain"; (2) "The Effect of Acid Rain on Soils,
Plants, and Forests"; (3) "The Effect of Acid Rain on Lakes, Ponds, and Aquatic
Life"; (4) "The Effect of Acid Rain on Health"; (5) "Effects of Acid Rain on
Materials"; and (6) "Acid Rain: Laws and Regulations." A total of 362 citations is
provided. (CW)
Filed under: Acid rain -- Bibliography

Acid rain, 1983-85 : 391 citations / searched by Sheldon Cheney. (Beltsville,

Md. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1985]), by
Sheldon Cheney (page images at HathiTrust)

Acid rain : January 1992 - May 1994 / Karl Schneider. (Beltsville, Md. :
National Agricultural Library, [1995]), by Karl Schneider (page images at
HathiTrust)

Acid rain, 1986 : 223 citations / prepared by Sheldon Cheney. (Beltsville, Md. :
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1987]), by Sheldon
Cheney (page images at HathiTrust)

Filed under: Acid rain -- United States -- Bibliography

Acid rain, 1986 : 223 citations / prepared by Sheldon Cheney. (Beltsville, Md. :
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, [1987]), by Sheldon
Cheney (page images at HathiTrust)

Filed under: Acid rain -- Environmental aspects -- United States -- Bibliography

Review of Literature
On December 4, 1952, London, England, became known to have "Killer
fog," also known as smog. During this winter, London residents burned
excessive amounts of coal to keep their houses warm. As a result of
stagnant air, lacking normal wind currents, and the household habits, a
dense fog layered the city of London. A few days after this horizontal
wall set in; pollutants mixed with other pollutants forming hazardous
fumes. Four days after the "killer fog" started, the pollution was blown
out of place by a new weather pattern, but not before leaving four
thousand dead and many others with associated illnesses. Scientists
have stated that these deaths were directly associated with the
chemical pollutants found in Londons thick "Killer Fog" (Luoma 19-22).
Today, acid rain has attributed to 187, 686 deaths in the United States
(Luoma 22). Although measures have been taken to reduce pollution,
the environment still requires a natural defense to restore the delicate
balance of the eco-system.
Acid rain, the silent killer, results from the emission of sulfur dioxides
and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Although the environment
contributes to the problem, humans are responsible for 90% of the
sulfur emissions and 95% of the nitrogen emissions (Environment
Canada). Today, fuel combustion from cars and fossil fuel coal plants
create a danger for the environment. As the sulfur dioxides and
nitrogen oxides gather in the atmosphere, the gases form sulfuric acid
and nitric acid, secondary pollutants. However, these two chemicals
are hydrophilic (water soluble) and quickly bond with the cloud

precipitation where the pollutants can travel miles before reaching the
earths surface once again.
Uncontaminated precipitation tends to be slightly acidic ranging in pH
between 5.6 and 5.7 (Boyle 17). The abbreviation "pH" stands for
Potential of Hydrogen. Acids and bases are ranked on a scale of zero
(most acidic) to fourteen (most basic), with the pH of seven considered
neutral. The pH scale is logarithmic so water with a pH of 3 is ten times
more acidic than water with a pH of 4. The average pH for acid rain is
4.4, but every year a pH of 2.8 or below is measured in the
northeastern Appalachian Mountains (Boyle 18). Acid rain was
measured in its highest levels in the United States in Wheeling, West
Virginia in 1978. During a three day drizzle the United States EPA
recorded pHs less than 2. In comparison, the pH for lemon juice is 2.1
and vinegar has a pH around 3. Despite the infrequency of these levels
of acid rain it still remains an issue in the United States. The
environment requires an ecological balance in which alkaline or basic
chemicals found in ground cover, streams, and soils buffer the slightly
acidic
acid rain relevance
Acid rain in China
Location
In 2003, acid rain fell on more than 250 cities nationwide and caused direct
annual economic losses of 110 billion yuan ($13.3 billion), equal to nearly three
per cent of the countrys gross domestic product. The regional acid-rain pollution
is still out of control in some southern cities, especially in the southwestern areas.
With the exception of Chongqing, the average pH value of the central districts
was lower than 5.0 and the acid rain frequency was 70 per cent. The acid rain in
southern China was mainly distributed in the Pearl River delta and central and
eastern areas of Guangxi.
Acid rain blamed on smoke from coal-burning factories and power plants is
spreading, with the number of cities suffering from severe levels rising last year
to 218. In Beijing, the government is pouring money into moving polluting

industries out of the capital in an effort to clean up the city before the Olympics in
2008.
Acid rain is one of the environmental costs of surging economic growth. Other
costs include two-thirds of the country's household sewage being untreated in
2004, and heavy pollution tainting some cities air.
Causes
Major causes of acid rain are the rapidly growing number of cars on the roads,
and the increasing consumption of cheap, abundant coal, as the country
struggles to cope with energy shortages and meet power demand. China is the
worlds largest source of soot and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal,
which fires three-quarters of the countrys power plants. More than 21 tonnes of
SO2 were discharged in China in 2003, a rise of twelve per cent on the previous
year. It is estimated that the country will consume more than 1.8 billion tons of
coal in 2005, emitting an additional six million tons of SO2. The growth of nitrates,
due to a swift rise of automobile and coal consumption, plus overuse of fertilizers,
is playing an increasing role in the countrys acid-rain pollution. In short, Chinas
explosive economic growth is outpacing environmental protection efforts.
Possible solutions
The Chinese government has made significant efforts and progress in energy
saving and consumption reduction. Energy consumption has gone down year by
acid rain material & make use
Materials
Materials teacher will need:

plastic table cloth

paper towels

Materials each student will need:

safety goggles

Materials each student group will need:

three cups of vinegar

three cups of water

tablespoon

white chalk

eye droppers

When these gases react with water molecules and oxygen among other chemicals found
in the atmosphere, mild acidic chemical compounds such as sulfuric and nitric acid are
formed resulting to acid rain. Acid rain generally leads to weathering of buildings,
corrosion of metals, and peeling of paints on surfaces. Erupting volcanoes contains some
chemicals that can cause acid rain. Apart from this, burning of fossil fuels, running of
factories and automobiles due to human activities are few other reasons behind this
activity. Presently, large amounts of acid deposition is witnessed in the southeastern
Canada, northeastern United States and most of Europe, including portions of Sweden,
Norway, and Germany. In addition, some amount of acid deposition is found in parts of
South Asia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Southern India. Forms of Acid Rain There
are two forms in which acid deposition occurs wet and dry. Both are
discussed below: Wet Deposition: When the wind blows the acidic chemicals
in the air to the areas where the

Acid Rain Description Of Method

The most environmentally friendly methods include biki ng to work

rather than driving, or simply purchasing a car that will emit less sulfur

and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Such as the new Tesla
vehicle that runs on electricity.

Switching to differ rent sources of energy is widely practiced

today. Houses, communities and even entire coun tries are switching
to the most environment tally friendly source of energy, Wind Power.
Acid Rain is caused when harmful chemicals such as Sulfur Dioxide and
Nitrogen Dioxide are produced from industrial processes. Sources of
Industrial Acid Rain include Electric Power Generation plants. Fossil Fuel
Electrical Plants are the main producers of acid rain. In these plants,
heat energy, produced by the burning of coal, is transferred into
electrical energy by rotating large turbines. The waste heat and a gas
known as flue gas produced are released into the atmosphere. Within
this gas is Carbon Dioxide.
Vehicles are major producers of sulfur, which is present in the fuel.
When this fuel is burned due to the internal combustion engines, Sulfur
is produced and emitted into the atmosphere as a waste gas.
In every case, acid rain affects the pH level of a lake, thereby affecting
the fish and other marine life. Most lakes have neutral pH levels of
about 7. When acid rain pours, the pH drops and causes the lake to
become more acidic. According to some studies, frogs are the only
marine life that can sustain very high acidic levels. Other marine
animals reach their limit at about pH 5.

Observation
Acid rain
Acid rain is the rainfall that has turned acidic due to water vapor
reacting with other pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur in our
atmosphere. Acid rain not only poses a threat to the ecosystem and
environment, but also causes serious damage to buildings and
sculptures worldwide.
Limestone and marbles are very vulnerable to damage by acid rain.
These two building materials contain calcite which easily dissolves in
acid. Acid rain causes serious damage to concrete surfaces and paint
finishes on building surfaces.
Most modern homes and buildings nowadays are made of materials
resistant to acid rain. Even then, acid rain does not spare them. The
steel rods used in manufacturing concrete blocks, corrode faster when
exposed to acid rains. Bricks also start to crumble in acid rain. Bricks
use a special fabric that helps to hold silica grains together. Acid rain
dissolves this fabric easily causing the bricks to become weak and
fragile and this eventually causes bricks walls to eventually collapse.
Scientific Terms
Acid rain, nitrogen, sulfur, ecosystem, calcite
Materials
The materials required for the science fair project experiment:
- 100 grams of marble
- 100 grams of limestone
- 100 grams of brick
- 100 grams of granite
- 1 digital weighing scale
- 4 beakers
- 1600ml of vinegar
- 1 measuring cylinder

1 piece of cloth
1 sand paper
hammer
chisel

Procedure
1. For this science fair project, the independent variable is the type of
construction material tested marble, limestone, brick and granite.
The dependent variable is the weight of the remaining construction
material after a few days. This is determined by measuring the weight
using a digital weighing scale. The constants (control variables) are the
acidity of the vinegar solution, the amount of vinegar used, the initial
weight of the construction material and the length of time the science
experiment is conducted.
2. On the first day of the science fair project, the construction
materials selected to be tested are marble, limestone, brick and
granite. All 4 materials are cleaned and their weight checked to be
ensure that they each weight exactly 100g. If the weight is over
100grams, the specimens weight is reduced using sand paper (or
hammer and chisel, if necessary). The starting weights of the samples
are recorded in the table given below.
3. The measuring cylinder is used to measure 400ml of vinegar and
poured into each of the 4 beakers. The construction materials to be
tested are placed into each of the beakers. The vinegar solution is
used to simulate acid rain.
4. Every day for the next 4 days the specimens are removed from the
beaker, wiped lightly with a piece of cloth and their weight is checked
on the digital weighing scale and recorded in the table given below.

Observation
It was observed that the limestone, followed by the marble, lost the
most weight. The brick lost a moderate amount of weight and the
granite dissolved the least.
Construction
material

The weight of the construction material immersed in

vinegar(gram)
Start

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Marble

100

72

53

39

26

Limestone

100

65

41

22

11

Brick

100

95

89

83

76

Granite

100

100

99

98

96

The graph below represents the results of our science project

experiment.

Conclusion
The hypothesis that limestone would see the greatest amount of
damage from acid rain, is proven to be true.

Acid rain is a serious threat not only to plants and animals, but
also to buildings, monuments, bridges and our very homes.
Buildings and monuments that hold historical value are literally
being dissolved and washed away by acid rain. Even modern
buildings and bridges are not spared. Bridges made of steel are
weakened due to corrosion caused by acid rain. The cost to
major cities, for repairs necessitated by damage caused by acid
rain, amounts to millions of dollars.
Also consider
This science fair project may be repeated, this time, with one set
of specimens exposed to sunlight and the other set kept in a dark
room.
Modify the science project experiment, using other construction
materials like cement, steel, copper, etc.