Acid Rain Webquest
Name: _____________________________
Today, using a combination of websites and a virtual lab, you will be exploring what acid rain is, its causes, and its
impacts on living things.
Go to:
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007877828x/student_view0/chapter4/virtual_lab.html
Read the Background Information, and answer the background questions.
Background Questions
What is acid rain? How is it formed? (check out this link: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what/index.html)
How does acid rain affect the environment? Besides the effect on the environment, does acid rain have any other
harmful effects? (check out this link: http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects/)
What two air pollutants are associated with the formation of acid rain? What are the sources of these air pollutants?
Now, click on the SO2 map. Looking at this map, make a hypothesis about where you expect the rain to be most acidic
and why.
Analysis Questions
According to your pH test result, where in the U.S. is acid rain most severe?
Sulphur dioxide is the main air pollutant associated with acid rain. Which state in the U.S. release the most sulphur
dioxide annually?
Based on your analysis, is there a relationship between a state's sulphur dioxide emissions and the average pH of its rain
water?
How might you explain the fact that Vermont and New Hampshire, states with very low sulphur dioxide emission,
experience acid levels that are among the most severe in the country? (hint: check out this link:
http://www.noao.edu/education/gsmtf/img/winds.gif)
Discuss at least three possible ways YOU personally can reduce acid rain.
On a side note, what is acidification, and what is it doing to our oceans? (check out:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_acidification/ and http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/ )