Acid precipitation is thought to be the result of water collecting many pollutan

Question

Acid precipitation is thought to be the result of water collecting many pollutants that are present in our atmosphere due to human activity. The term acid precipitation is applied to any precipitation that has a pH lower than 5.6. Acid precipitation was measured in its highest levels in the United States in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1978. During a three day drizzle, the United States EPA recorded pHs less than 2. In comparison, the pH for stomach digestive juices and lemon juice is 2.1 and vinegar has a pH around 3. Acid precipitation greatly affects the life of organisms in environments worldwide. Proteins must be maintained in a specific pH range to fold and function properly. Design and describe a controlled experiment to test the hypothesis that acid precipitation inhibits the growth of Elodea, a common freshwater plant. Do not forget the controls!

Explanation / Answer

The experimental procedure to be followed is given below.

1. Obtain 2 Elodea plants.

2. Place one in a tank with water at pH 6-7 (control) and the other in a tank with acidified water at pH 2.

3. Measure the growth of the plants for 2 weeks.

4. Plot the growth of the plants against days and compare the control and the plant under experiment.

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