Effects of sulfuric acid on plant materials and structures

Acid Rain Lab Report

Acid rain used to be a really hot topic, but people do not talk about it that much anymore. Despite that, it is still an important issue. With more of a move toward environmental concerns in recent months, however, acid rain may well come back into the spotlight. When it does, more people will begin to realize just what acid rain really is and how much damage it actually does to plants, animals, and the environment in general. Sulfur dioxide is released into the air when coal and oil is burned, and this compound is one of the most prominent makers of acid rain (Davis & Cornwell, 1991). Oxides of nitrogen are also prominent components (De Nevers, 1995). They react with water vapor that they find in the atmosphere to convert themselves into nitric and sulfuric acids. These then come back to the earth in precipitation of many kinds, but rain is the most common (Davis & Cornwell, 1991).

These particles can travel hundreds of miles before they come back to earth, so not living near any place that mines, drills for, or processes coal or oil does not make a person immune from the effects of acid rain. The acids in the rain get into the lifecycle of the areas that they fall on. If the acid is in a large enough quantity it can kill living things, but most of the time plants and environments are only damaged and changed by it (De Nevers, 1995). Acid rain can erode limestone and affect buildings and statues (Davis & Cornwell, 1991). It can also get into lakes and streams and rivers, causing damage to the ecosystem and all of the plants and animals that use it, including man (Davis & Cornwell, 1991). It harms aquatic life and crop production and essentially affects everything that it comes into contact with (De Nevers, 1995). Most people do not realize it, but there are easy experiments which can be done that show how harmful and significant acid rain really is.

Materials and Methods

Because sulfur dioxide is converted into sulfuric acid, which bonds with water vapor in the atmosphere and results in acid rain, one of the best ways to look for the effects of that acid rain is to look to see how sulfuric acid directly affects specific items. That can be done by placing a few drops of sulfuric acid onto the selected items and waiting a few days to see what the results are. Being careful is key, because sulfuric acid is very dangerous. A well-ventilated hood and protective gloves should be used.

The other materials needed for this experiment are:

100 ml sulfuric acid (H2SO4), concentrated

Large Petri dishes with covers nylon stocking aluminum foil leaf, a flower petal, and a stick

Discussion

As could be seen from the experiment, acid rain is damaging to all types of materials. Flower petals are certainly more delicate than leaves, and leaves are more delicate than sticks, but none of that seemed to make a marked difference. All of the items were similarly damaged by the sulfuric acid, which would indicate that the strength of a particular plant or organism would have little to do with how well it would hold up under acid rain. This shows very clearly that something must be done to combat acid rain and to stop the damage that is being caused to the planet. There are other, alternative fuels that can be used, and when there are fewer coal and oil particulates in the atmosphere the entire world will benefit and breathe easier.