Explain a short note on acid rain
Answers
Acid rain" is a popular term referring to the deposition of wet (rain, snow, sleet, fog and cloudwater, dew) and dry (acidifying particles and gases) acidic components. A more accurate term is "acid deposition". Distilled water, which contains no carbon dioxide, has a neutral pH of 7. Liquids with a pH less than 7 are acidic, and those with a pH greater than 7 are bases. "Clean" or unpolluted rain has a slightly acidic pH of about 5.2, because carbon dioxide and water in the air react together to form carbonic acid, a weak acid (pH 5.6 in distilled water), but unpolluted rain also contains other chemicals
When pollutants such as Sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen dissolve in rainwater, they form strong acids-sulphuric acid and nitric acid, respectively.
Rainwater becomes highly acidic and is called acid rain.
Acid rain can kill trees and cause damage to buildings. It can also lead to the acidification of soil.