What term describes precipitation formed when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react in the atmosphere?

• A. Acid Rain
• B. Ozone Layer Depletion
• C. Smog
• D. Greenhouse Effect

Answer: (A)

Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released from burning fossil fuels react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the atmosphere to create acids such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid. These acids dissolve in rain, snow, or fog, producing precipitation with a lower pH than normal, which we call acid rain. This concept links pollution sources to environmental effects like soil and freshwater acidification, structural corrosion, and harm to plants and aquatic life.

Smog refers to a mixture of air pollutants at ground level that degrade air quality, not the chemical makeup of precipitation. Ozone layer depletion describes thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer, which affects UV radiation reaching the surface, not rainfall acidity. The greenhouse effect involves trapping heat in the atmosphere, not the chemical changes that make rain acidic.