The presence of SO2 in the atmosphere and the sulfuric acid that it produces res

Question

The presence of SO2 in the atmosphere and the sulfuric acid that it produces result in the phenomenon of acid rain. Uncontaminated rainwater is naturally acidic and generally has a ph value of about 5.6. The ph of acid rain is about 4. This acidity has affected many lakes in northern Europe, the northern United States, and Canada, reducing fish populations and affecting other parts of the ecological network within the lakes and surrounding forests. The ph of most natural waters containing living organisms is between 6.5 and 8.5, but freshwater ph values are far below 6.5 in many parts of the continental United States. At ph levels below 4.0, all vertebrates, most invertebrates, and many microorganisms are destroyed. More than 300 lakes in New York State contain no fish, and 140 lakes in Ontario, Canada, are devoid of life. The acid rain that appears to have killed the organisms in these lakes originates hundreds of kilometers upwind in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions. Some of these regions are recovering as sulfur emissions from fossil fuel combustion decrease, in part because of the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1990, which required that power plants reduce their sulfur emissions by 80%. If the ph of a 1.00-in. rainfall over 1400miles2 is 3.80, how many kilograms of sulfuric acid, H2SO4 , are present, assuming that it is the only acid contributing to the ph? For Ka1, sulfuric acid, is very large and Ka2 is 0.012.

Explanation / Answer

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I don't know where you got all the text or the problem, but there is a problem. Sulfur dioxide doesn't produce sulfuric acid.

Instead it produces "sulfurous acid". What we call sulfurous acid is actually an equilibrium between aqueous sulfur dioxide and hydrogen ions and bisulfite ions.

SO2aq) + H2O(l) <==> H+ + HSO3-

Therefore the entire premise of the question is suspect.

In reality, a small portion of the acid in acid rain actually is sulfuric acid, but it is small. It results from the oxidation fo SO2 to SO3 before it reacts with water.

2SO2 + O2 --> 2SO3
SO3 + H3O --> H+ + HSO4-

Cheers!

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