Science Study Guide
Acid Rain and Global Warming
- When gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Hydrogen Chloride, are dissolved in water, there properties are very different from the properties of water alone. These solutions have a sour taste and are able to dissolve materials and metals to a greater extent than water.
- Raindrops dissolve carbon dioxide as they pass through the atmosphere, form an acidic acid solution called carbonic acid.
- Limestone and chalk are more soluble in carbonic acid than in water and when rain seeps through the soil over a long time, acidic water can come into contact with limestone. This limestone can be dissolved and collapses which would be a Sinkhole.
- Carbon dioxide is produced and added to the atmosphere when coal, oil, wood, and gasoline are burned.
- Concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is currently increasing.
- Increase in average temperature is called Global Warming. Global warming and increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide are closely correlated.
- When sulfur is burned sulfur dioxide is produced.
- Sulfur dioxide has a greater solubility in water than carbon dioxide. Rain that contains sulfur dioxide, is called Acid Rain.
- Acid Rain dissolves stone on statues and building. It can kill plants too. It also harms animals.
Drinking Water
- Drinking water can possibly contain minerals from rocks and soil, dissolved fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and other man-made substances.
- The concentration of the substances in drinking water are very low. If they were not as low, the water could be harmful or have a strange taste.
- Concentration of substances in water varies from city to city.
- Sodium Chloride, Iron Chloride, and Calcium Carbonate are examples of substances in our water that are not toxic, but affect the taste of water.
- Water with too much Iron tastes strange and leaves a rust-colored stain in containers.
- Water with excessive amount of Calcium Carbonate is referred to as Hard Water and has a mineral-like taste and soaps do not lather or clean effectively in it.
- Substances that contain Arsenic, Lead, and Mercury are toxic substances that are harmful if present in too high a concentration in drinking water.
- If too much Acid Rain becomes a part of the water supply, drinking waters will dissolve metals.
- When Acidic drinking water passes through lead pipes or pipes having joints seal with lead solder, some of the lead dissolves in the drinking water.
- Drinking Water with a high enough concentration of Lead can cause damage to the brain and other parts of the nervous system.
- Lead seems to affect young children more than adults.
- This is probably because lead is not eliminated from the body quickly, unlike many other toxic substances.
- Instead, it accumulates in the body, so that its concentration increases as time passes.