Acid Rain Lab

Collaborators: Logan L, Sophia K, Andrew K and Fatou S.

Introduction:
According the Environmental Protection Agency, "acid rain" is a term referring to a mixture of wet and
dry deposited material from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids.
Wet deposition refers to when the acid chemicals in the air are blown into areas where the weather is wet and
the acids fall to the ground in the form of rain, snow, fog, or mist. In areas where the weather is dry, the acid
chemicals may become incorporated into dust or smoke and fall to the ground through dry deposition. This dry
deposition can stick to the ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees. Dry deposited gases and particles can be
washed from these surfaces by rainstorms which leads to increased runoff. This runoff water makes things such
as lakes and rivers more acidic; therefore negatively harming the environment. About half of the acidity in the
atmosphere falls back to earth through dry deposition. The EPA states that the precursors of acid rain formation
result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily
emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel combustion. Acid rain occurs when these gases
react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow
these compounds across state and national borders, sometimes over hundreds of miles. Acidity is measured
using a scale called the pH scale that goes from 0 to 14. 0 is the most acidic and 14 is the most alkaline while a
solution with a pH value of 7 is neither acidic nor alkaline; in other words, neutral. Normal rain is generally
always slightly acidic because it mixes with naturally occurring oxides in the air and has a pH of about 5-6.
However, acid rain typically has the pH value of about 4. In this lab, the affects of acid rain on our environment
and ecosystems will be put to the test.

Hypothesis
If waters of varying pH levels are added to different types of plants every other day then the group of plants
watered with the most acidic water will die sooner and be the least healthy compared to those in other groups.

Parts of the Experiment

The independent variable is the pH of the water.

The dependent variable is the effect on the plants.

The controlled variables are the exposure to sunlight, the amount of water added, the temperature, and
the amount of time the experiment was conducted.

The experimental groups were the 2 groups exposed to the lowest levels of pH.

The control group was the plants exposed to water with a pH of 6.

Materials

Grass

3 marigold plants

3 petunia plants

Regular water (pH of 6)

Water with apporixmate pH of 4

Water with approxiamate pH of 2-3

Potting soil

Ruler

Method
1. Take 3 samples of each type of plant (grass, petunia, marigold) and label them A, B and C.
2. Measure the heights of each type of plant then water each plant with the correct type of water.
3. Every 2 days water each sample with the correct water type. and record observations.
4. Continue to water and observe the plants for 2 weeks.
5. On the last day observe the appearance of each plant and measure the new height.

Data

( Click Acid rain pics link for remaining data)

Data Analysis
After two weeks of being watered with the most acidic water of the three, it is apparent that the C marigolds
petals turned brown and shriveled up and their roots were the shortest. Merigold B wasnt effected as badly and
the petals still had yellow color to them. Their roots were a little bit shorter than Merigold As but not as short as
Merigold C. Other plants, including the grass and the petunias experienced the same results. The Petunia lost a
bit of its color but there was no decay on the petals. Petunia B also lost some of its color and there were a
couple splotches of decay. Petunia was the most effected as one of the flowers shriveled up, they lost the most
pigment out of the three and had the most decay splotches.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this experiment proved the hypothesis to be correct. The plants exposed to the water with
the lowest pH experienced the most extreme effects while the plants exposed to water with a neutral pH and a
pH of about 4 were much healthier after 2 weeks. The A group was the healthiest while the C group was the
least healthy. The petunias and the marigolds showed their health through their flowers while the grass showed
its health through the height of the grass. Through this experiment one can easily recognize that acid rain is not
good for our ecosystems and can cause plants to grow slower or even die. As acid rain falls on a forest it goes
through the leaves of the trees and sinks down into the soil below. Acid rain can also end up in rivers and lakes.
Some types of soil can help to neutralize the acid with their "buffering capacity", however other soils are
already slightly acidic and these are particularly susceptible to the effects of acid rain. According to studies from
NC State University, acid rain can effect trees in several different ways, such as, dissolving and washing away
the nutrients and minerals in the soil that help the trees to grow, can cause the release of harmful substances
such as aluminum into the soil, and can wear away the waxy protective coating of leaves, causing damage that
will prevent them from being able to photosynthesize properly. A combination of these effects weakens the
trees, making them more susceptible to be attacked by diseases and insects or injured by bad weather. It is not
just trees that are affected by acid rain, other plants may also suffer like flowers and grass from the experiment.
In addition to the impacts it has on plant life, acid rain runs off the land and into the aquatic systems such as
streams, lakes and marshes. As the acidity of a lake increases, the water becomes clearer and the numbers of
fish/ water animals decline. Some species of plant and animal have a greater ability to survive in acidic water
than others. Freshwater shrimps, snails, mussels are the most quickly affected by acidification followed by fish
such as minnows, salmon and roach. The acidity of the water can cause deformity in young fish and can prevent
eggs from hatching properly. However, according to NCSU, the acidity of the water does not just affect species
directly, it also causes toxic substances like aluminum to be released into the water from the soil, harming fish
and other aquatic animals. Lakes, rivers and marshes each have their own fragile ecosystem with many different
species of plants and animals all depending on one another to survive. If a species of fish goes extinct, the
animals that feed on it will eventually die off as well. If the extinct fish used to feed on a particular species of
large insect, that insect population will start to grow, this in turn will affect the smaller insects or plankton that
are eaten by the larger insects. As discussed previously in the introduction, acid rain is mainly caused by our
coal emissions. Therefore we must take action to help save our environment by cleaning up our smokestacks
and exhaust pipes. According to the EPA, reducing SO2 emissions can be done by using coal containing less
sulfur, washing the coal, and using devices called scrubbers to chemically remove the SO2 from the gases
leaving the smokestack. Also, power plants can switch fuels as burning natural gas creates much less SO2 than
burning coal. Similar to scrubbers on power plants, catalytic converters reduce NOx emissions from cars. These
devices have been required for over 20 years in the United States, and it is important to keep them working
properly (epa.gov). Another way to help reduce acid rain is using alternate energy sources. There are other
sources of electricity besides fossil fuels. They include nuclear power, hydropower, wind energy, geothermal
energy, and solar energy. There are also alternative energies, such as natural gas, batteries, and fuel cells,

available to power automobiles. In conclusion, acid rain can ultimately kill plants, pollute aquatic systems, and
kill animal species. If we stand by without taking action to prevent these effects, our environment will
increasingly go down hill.

Citations
"Reducing Acid Rain." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
<http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/reducing/>.
"Tweak to NC Law Protected Duke's Coal Ash Pits." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/678814.htm>.
"What Is Acid Rain?" EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
<http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/>.
"What Is Acid Rain?" What Is Acid Rain? NC State University, n.d. Web. 01 May 2015.
<http://www.ncsu.edu/project/bio183de/Black/chemreview/chemreview_reading/acid_rain.html>.