LaMotte ACID RAIN STUDY OUTFIT ARO User Manual

ACID RAIN

Study Guide

LaMOTTE COM PANY

Helping People Solve Analytical Challenges

PO Box 329 • Chestertown • Mary land • 21620 • USA

800-344-3100 • 410-778-3100 (Out side U.S.A.) • Fax 410-778-6394

Visit us on the web at www.lamotte.com

63604 · 07/07

ACID RAIN STUDY OUT FIT

WARNING! This set contains chemicals

that may be harmful if misused. Read

cautions on individual containers

carefully. Not to be used by children

except under adult supervision

MODEL ARO · CODE 3604

QUAN TITY CON TENTS CODE

1 Rain Gauge 1047

1 Wide Range Com para tor, pH 3.0 - 6.5 2193

1 Wide Range Com para tor, pH 7.0 - 10.5 2196

2 x 30ml *Wide Range In di ca tor *2218-G

2 Test Tubes, 5 mL, w/caps 0230

1 Acid Rain Study Guide 63604

*WARNING: Reagents marked with a * are considered to be potential health hazards. To view or print a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for these reagents see MSDS CD or www.lamotte.com. To obtain a printed copy, contact LaMotte by e-mail, phone or fax.

To or der in di vid ual re agents or test kit com po nents, use the spec i fied code num ber.

TA BLE OF CON TENTS

pH ................................................................................................................................3

Rain..............................................................................................................................4

Ef fects of Acid Pre cip i ta tion........................................................................................6

Mea suring Rain fall with the Rain Gauge ....................................................................8

Mea suring pH ...............................................................................................................9

Testing the pH of Other So lu tion..............................................................................10

Sug ges tions for the Use of the Chem i cal Testing Equip ment....................................12

Notes to the Teacher..................................................................................................12

Glos sary of Terms .......................................................................................................13

Leaf Margin - The border or edge on a leaf. A leaf margin may take many shapes or

14 13 12

9 8 7 6 5

4 3 2

BASIC

NEUTRAL

ACIDIC

Household Lye

Bleach

Ammonia

Milk of Magnesia

Borax

Baking Soda

Blood

Distilled Water

Milk

Boric Acid

Orange Juice

Vinegar

Battery Acid

Fig. 1 The approximate pH values of some common substances.

forms such as smooth, saw-like, or tooth-like. Litmus Paper - Paper which is soaked in a coloring matter obtained from primitive

plants called lichens. In alkaline solution litmus turns blue; in an acidic solution litmus turns red.

Mineral Deficiency Disease - A disease in plants which is caused by the lack of one or more of the important plant nutrients.

Neutral - A substance that is neither acidic nor basic but having a pH of 7.0 on the pH scale.

Nitrogen Oxides - Gaseous compounds of oxygen and nitrogen which can contribute to air pollution.

Nutrient, Plant - Any element taken in by a plant which is essential to its growth. Nutrients are used by the plant to produce food and tissue.

Organic Matter - Animal and plant materials that are decomposed through the action of micro-organisms.

Oxidation - The process by which oxygen combines with other compounds to change their chemical state.

pH - The concentration of hydrogen ions in a substance. A pH scale is used to indicate whether a substance is acidic, neutral, or basic.

Plankton - Very small plants and animals that live in water.

Pollution - The presence of matter or energy whose nature, location, or quantity

produces undesired environmental effects.

Root Hairs - Very small roots of plants which take up nutrients from the soil solution.

Run-off - The portion of precipitation or snow melt that runs off the land into streams or other surface water.

Solution - One or more substances dissolved in a liquid. Sediments - Soil, sand, and minerals that wash from the land into water and settle

to the bottom of streams and lakes.

Smelter - A facility that melts or fuses ore to separate metals.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - A heavy, pungent, colorless and gaseous air pollutant.

Surface Water - All water naturally open to the atmosphere (rivers, lakes, reservoirs,

streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc.); also springs and wells which are directly influenced by surface water.

Weathering - The disintegrating action of the elements (wind, rain, sleet, snow, freezing, and thawing) on rocks and soils.

The pH of a liquid, soil or other substance indicates whether a substance is acidic, neutral, or basic. The pH measurement is based on the number of hydrogen ions (H+) or hydroxyl ions (OH-) there are in a solution of the substance. If the solution has more hydrogen ions than hydroxyl ions, the solution is acidic. On the other hand, if the hydroxyl ions outnumber the hydrogen ions, the solution is basic. When both the hydrogen ions and hydroxyl ions are present in equal numbers, the solution is neutral.

THE pH SCALE

The pH scale ranges from 0 (very acid) to 14 (very alkaline or basic). On this scale a neutral substance is 7 (the mid-point of the scale), an acid substance is lower than 7 on the scale, and a basic or alkaline substance is higher than 7 on the scale. (Fig. 1 ) When an acid and a base react, neutralization occurs. The result is a solution that is not as acidic or as basic as the original substances. It is important to know that the pH scale is logarithmic. Every one-unit change in pH represents a ten-fold change in acidity or alkalinity. In other words, pH 6 is ten times more acidic than pH 7; pH 5 is one hundred times more acidic than pH 7. Pure distilled water has a pH of 7 but quickly becomes slightly acidic when exposed to air. This is also the case with rain water in the atmosphere.

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