Can Alka-Seltzer Act as a Buffer Against Acid Rain?
Background:
Acid rain is a product of rainfall being tainted by atmospheric pollution.This also means that it has high levels of hydrogen ions. When acid rain falls it has negative effects on natural environments such as aquatic life, plants, and infrastructure. The pollutants that taint rainfall is caused by the constant burning of coal and other fossil fuels, such as gas. The pollutants that are found in acid rain are sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Acidic substances can also fall from the sky in forms other than rainfall, such as snow and hail, and can also collect on the ground, as dust or fog, and can penetrate into soil.
Acid rain is extremely detrimental to soil and therefore
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Because sulfuric acid is an example of a pollutant that contaminates rainfall naturally, adding small amounts to distilled water will model acid rain. Synthetic acid rain is used to simulate the effects of acid rain on smaller and controlled scales, such as this experiment. Synthetic acid rain is overall a good tool to use a representation. A possible solution to stop acid rain from seeping into the soil and dissolving nutrients is to add a buffer to soil to counteract the effects of acid rain. Alka-Seltzer is a buffer because in order to maintain a balanced pH level, which is 7, you must have equal amounts a base an acid. Therefore, in order to balance acid rain a base would need to be added. Alka-seltzer tablets are considered a base, meaning that the two substances should cancel out and a create a normal pH level of 7. This, in turn should protect the soil from the harmful acts of acid …show more content…
Sulfuric acid was added to the distilled water, drop by drop until the solution had a pH of about 4.0.
The bottle was labeled “Acid Rain” with a sharpie.
Container 3: Alka-seltzer
650mL of water was added to the container
6 alka-seltzer tablets were dissolved into the water.
The bottle was labeled “Alka-seltzer” with a sharpie.
Container 4: Acid Rain/ Alka-seltzer
650mL of water was added to the container
Sulfuric acid was added to the water drop by drop until the solution had a pH of about 4.0
6 alka-seltzer tablet were dissolved into the solution.
The bottle was labeled “Alka-seltzer & Acid Rain” with a sharpie.
Watering
The pH of each Celosia plant was taken using the pH meter and recorded.
Each Celosia plant was sprayed with 10 sprays with the corresponding solution each day.
Before watering, each day the pH of each Celosia plant was taken with the pH meter and recorded.
After all the data was collected, the average pH for each plant was calculated and recorded.
The average pH for each plant group was calculated, using the individual plant pH and recorded.
Data:
Water: Chart 1
pH
Average ±