Factors Affecting the Decomposition of Marble Buildings by Acid Rain :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Factors Affecting the Decomposition of Marble Buildings by Acid RainBackgroundAcid RainNitrogen acids and sulphur dioxides come out of long chimneys andvehicles. These go into the air, and air currents carry the gasesaway, and they react with water vapour and oxygen. This produces H2SO4(sulphuric acid) and HNO3 (nitric acid). The acids become part of acloud, and it falls down to earth, as acid rain or snow. This keister endup miles away from the original source. The acid rain removesnutrients from soil, so plants can not get to them, so this eventuallykills surrounding die. It can also get into lakes and rivers, whichcan kill fish. The same is true for acid snow as it kills fish inrivers and lakes.Rates of responsesThis is how quick a reaction is, you can find out the rate of areaction by seeing how much of it is used up in a particular measuring rod oftime. You could also measure how much is produced as a result of thereaction in a particular amount of time.Reactions take place because of collisions, the particles (can beatoms, ions or molecules) collide, and a reaction occurs betweenparticles. If thither ar to a greater extent collisions, the reaction ordain be much fast. But it also depends on whether the collision has plentifulenergy, to be successful. If at that place is not enough energy, then thecollision will be unsuccessful, but if there is, it will besuccessful, and a reaction will occur. Unsuccessful collisions takeplace when the activation energy is not reached. The activation energyis the amount of energy needed for a successful collision.There are factors which affect the rate of a reaction, and also if thecollisions are successful or not. Temperature rise gives particlesmore energy, and as thy move around more and much quicker they havecollisions. Also it gives particles more energy, so that when theycollide the collisions are more successful. Both these things meanthat there is a faster reaction rate. But, if temperature decreasesthere i s a slower reaction rate, as there is less energy. If there islarger surface area, it also means that reactions are quicker. Thereason for this is that there are more particles exposed to take partin collisions. So the more collisions means, more successfulcollisions, and a faster reaction rate. If surface area is decreased,then there are fewer exposed particles, therefore a slower reactionrate.Also concentration, affects reaction rate. In gases it is thepressure. If there is a greater concentration, then there are moreparticles in the same volume.