Name: Gary R Henry
Status: Other
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What is acid rain?
Replies:
If you have ever seen a smoke stack on a cold day then you know that junk
pours out of them and into the atmosphere. While it is up in the air, the
waste gasses sulphur-dioxide and nitric-oxides react with water vapor to
create sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When it rains, these acid droplets come
back to earth. The acid can be harmful to plants and to buildings made out of
limestone, so Congress passed the Clean Air Act to try to cut back on the
amount of air pollution that causes acid rain. You may read the other
messages in the ask-a-scientist archive of old questions to learn more about
acid rain and its effect on the environment.
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
