Given below are two statements:
Statement I: Acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients in the soil.
Statement II: Acid rain does not dissolve naturally occurring toxic substances.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.
Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
Acid rain is rainfall (or other precipitation) made acidic mainly by sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released from burning fossil fuels; these gases combine with atmospheric moisture to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid, which then fall back to earth.
Statement I is correct: acid rain lowers the soil pH and leaches out (dissolves and washes away) essential plant nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and potassium from the soil, thereby reducing soil fertility over time.
Statement II is incorrect: acid rain in fact does the opposite of what this statement claims — its acidity dissolves and mobilises naturally occurring toxic substances (such as aluminium and other heavy metals) that would otherwise remain bound in rocks and soil, releasing them into soil water and streams where they can harm plants and aquatic life and even enter drinking water supplies.
Therefore, Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect, since acid rain does mobilise toxic substances rather than leaving them undissolved.
Similar Questions
Give below are two statements:
Statement I : Thermal pollution, usually effluent from cooling systems of power plants or other industries, alters water temperature in a lake or stream.
Statement II : Humans also cause thermal pollution by altering vegetation cover and run-off patterns.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Major contributor to carbon monoxide emissions in metropolitan areas of India is/are:
The most important pollutants that cause degradation of water quality in rivers and streams are
(a) Bacteria
(b) Nutrients
(c) Metals
(d) Total dissolved solids
(e) Algae
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:The most dominant source of Benzene emissions in ambient air is
Major sources of oxygen demanding waste in fresh water systems are
(a) Agricultural run-off
(b) Food processing
(c) Ore mining
(d) Sewage effluent
(e) Landfill sites
Choose the correct option from those given below: -
Which of the following pollutant gases is not produced both naturally and as a result of industrial activity?
Which of the following pollutants is the major cause of respiratory diseases?
Assertion (A): In urban areas, smog episodes occur frequently in winters.
Reason (R): In winters, a lot of biomass is burnt by people for heating purposes or to keep themselves warm.
Choose the correct answer from the code given below:
With increase in temperature, the dissolved oxygen content in a water body will:
In the formation of Surface Ozone, which of the following do play an important role?
(a) Oxides of nitrogen
(b) Oxides of sulphur
(c) Sunlight
(d) Carbon monoxide
Choose the correct answer from the code given below:
Important Questions from Pollution
Which of the following isnota common component of photo-chemical smog?
Which of the following is NOT the main objective of Ganga action plan?
Which of the following pollutants causes water pollution ?
Presence of which pathogenic microbe in water is indication of contamination?
Which of the following isnota vehicular pollutant?
