how do you get acid rain? and what chemials are in the acid rain?

Question: how do you get acid rain? and what chemials are in the acid rain?

Asked by tunc1 to Hermine, Katy, Laura, Nathalie, Paula on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: General.
- Paula Salgado answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Basically, acid rain is rain that has an unusually low pH. It becomes acidic because of the presence of certain components (mostly from pollution) that lower it’s pH.
  
  The most common chemicals that cause acid rain are sulfur and nitric oxides because they can react with water to form sulfuric acid and ntiric acid:
  
  SO2 + O2 → HO2· + SO3
  
  In the presence of water, sulfur trioxide (SO3) is converted rapidly to sulfuric acid:
  SO3 (g) + H2O (l) → H2SO4 (l)
  
  Nitrogen dioxide reacts with OH to form nitric acid:
  NO2 + OH → HNO3
  
  Hope that helps! 😉
- Nathalie Pettorelli answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi tunc1,
  
  Acid rain is caused by emissions of compounds of ammonium, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. You get acid rain mainly through industrial emissions. Hope that answers your question 😉
- Katy Mee answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Acid rain is when gases certain react with water droplets in the atmosphere to form an acidic solution (i.e. pH lower than pure water, pH7). These gases are normally caused by burning of fossil fuels, so for example by power stations, vehicles burning petrol or gasoline, houses burning wood or coal, etc.
  
  The common gases (greenhouse gases) emitted from burning of fossil fuels include CO2 (carbon dioxide), SO2 (sulphur dioxide) and NOx (nitrogen oxides). These can all react with water (H20) in the atmosphere to form acidic solutions. Many parts of Scandinavia, such as Sweden and Norway, have been hugely affected by Britain’s burning of fossil fuels in the past….our powers stations in particular were responsible for producing large quantities of sulphur dioxide and NOx gases which drift over to Scandinavia produce acid rain and have caused damage to wildlife amongst other things.
  
  In more recent years, international legislation has meant reductions in emmisions of SO2 and NOx, which has gone someway towards reducing acid rain, but it still exists.
- Laura Dixon answered on 21 Jun 2010:
  
  Acid rain is caused by chemicals like ammonium, carbon ,nitrogen and sulfur from emissions (cars, trains, planes, homes, factories, etc.) being released into the atmosphere and interacting with water molecules forming acid rain.
- Hermine Schnetler answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  Acid rain is crated from rain with higher levels of hydrogen lowering the waters ph. Chemicals react with the water in the atmosphere which can create acid rain, simply put polution

Question: how do you get acid rain? and what chemials are in the acid rain?

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