Name: J Middle School
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Question:
Can acid rain damage buildings?
Replies:
Yes. Try putting a few drops of vinegar (an acid) on some baking soda (a
basic) and notice what happens to the baking soda - it dissolves. Baking soda
is sodium bicarbonate (try it with and Alka-Seltzer tablet too, the same thing
happens). The same thing happens when limestone or cement (made of calcium
carbonate) come into contact with the sulfuric acid and nitric acid droplets
in acid rain. You can see evidence of this in big cities where carvings and
statues have been dissolved by acid rain to the point that you can no longer
read the message in the carving or recognize the face on the statue.
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