Acid+Rain+Impact+on+Building+Materials


 * THE EFFECT OF SYNTHESIZED ACID RAIN ON LIMESTONE, CONCRETE, AND GRANITE. Robert Romeo and Sam Dicke. ** The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of synthesized acid rain with varying pH levels on common building materials. Samples of limestone, concrete, and granite were massed, then submerged in synthesized acid rain solutions for 96 hours. It was hypothesized that limestone and concrete would lose mass, especially when submerged in the 3.0 and 4.0 pH solutions, and that granite would remain unaffected by all three pH levels of synthesized acid rain. As predicted, samples of limestone tested in 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 pH synthesized acid rain all lost mass. Results of this study on concrete samples proved inconclusive, as samples in all three pH levels gained mass in small increments, which could result from a failure to fully allow the solution to evaporate from the concrete before massing it a second time. Granite, as hypothesized, showed no change in mass in the 3.0 and 4.0 pH solutions and negligible change in mass after submersion in the 5.0 pH synthesized acid solution. Studies done in the future should aim to determine if the gain in mass the concrete samples experienced is merely an anomaly due to method error or a correct result.


 * Keywords: ** acid rain; pH levels; dilution, limestone, granite, concrete, mass

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Graph of masses before and after acid baths. Hard to see the differences because of the great difference in the original mass of each sample. Apologies

All of our samples stewing in their respecive acid solutions

Article Citations: Cornell University News Service (2006, June 5). Acid Rain Causing Decline In Sugar Maples, Say Researchers. //ScienceDaily //. Retrieved March 3, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/06/060605081212.htm

DeHayes DH, Schaberg PG, Hawley GJ, Strimbeck GR. 1999. Acid Rain impacts on Calcium Nutrition and Forest Health. Bio Science.

Kimball, JW. 2003. Acid Rain. Kimball’s Biology Pages: Acid Rain. [].