If we pour our acidic solution over different kinds materials, then we expect them to start slowly corrode, and in the span of one week, we think they will all show visible changes, because the H+ atoms will break down the materials and show visibly damage.

Acid rain is rain with a pH level that is lower than that of usual rain, which is 5.0 to 5.5. If the pH of rain is under 5, it’s considered acid rain. Acidic rain forms when nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides from cars and factories are released into the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, these oxides mix with water and other atmospheric gases to form sulfuric and nitric acid, which mix with normal rain, making it more acidic and corrosive than it should be. When acid rain contacts different materials, it slowly starts to corrode and weaken the material. Over time, it can seriously damage structures like buildings and bridges, making them unstable and dangerous. Acid rain can also increase the pH of lakes and ponds. If the pH goes too high, it can kill animals like fish and frogs, eventually making them go extinct and causing instabilities in food chains.

Independent Variable: The different materials we are putting in the solution. Dependent Variable: The amount of corrosion or damage the materials acquired. Controlled Variables: the plastic containers, the temperature of the room the materials were in, the solution of acid, amount of acid poured onto each material, the amount of time the materials were exposed to. and the time the pictures of the materials were took in.

1. Wear gloves, masks, safety glasses, and lab coats to protect our hands and faces and eyes from the acid and its smell.
2. Put the materials in the plastic container and carefully pour the acid solution into the plastic container.
3. Put the duplicates of the materials that we put in the acid solution in water to act as a control and to show the difference between how the materials react to our solution and normal rain.
4. Take pictures of the solutions everyday at 8:00 pm.
5. Take pictures of all the materials so you can compare them after a week.
6. Clean up, put baking soda into the acid solution to neutralize the acid, then carefully drain the acid and the water down the drain, take the materials out of the containers, and clean or throw out the containers.
7. At the end of the week we compared the pictures of day 1 to those of day 7 to see how much the solution affected the materials.

By comparing our two groups, we can see that acid rain is much more destructive than regular rain water. The materials in the water stayed mostly the same, but the acid caused immediate chemical changes. The fact that the chalk and concrete got destroyed in acid but remained solid in water shows that the acid is breaking down the mineral binders that hold them together. We also noticed that while water only caused the wood to swell, the acid actually cracked it as well as it also swelled it, indicating that acid rain damages the internal fibers of building materials. The color loss on the leaf and the screw in the acid, which didn't happen in the water, shows that acid rain removes protective layers, like chlorophyll in plants and anti-rust coatings on metal. Since the glass stayed perfect in both liquids, we can conclude it is the only material tested that is completely immune to this type of chemical erosion.

In conclusion, acid rain was a major global problem in the 1980s that could have seriously damaged ecosystems. Our hypothesis was disproved; although we expected all materials to be affected, glass remained unharmed, proving its resistance to acid rain. In contrast, concrete and wood, commonly used in construction, showed little resistance, making them risky choices in polluted areas. Although new laws have reduced sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions in many regions, acid rain continues to affect developing nations and remains a threat to global infrastructure. Our results confirm that while some materials, like glass, are naturally protected against acid rain, others are more delicate, and countries with high pollution will have to carefully choose their materials or apply acid-resistant coating to them.

The way this relates to the real world is, when acidic rain occurs it damages buildings over time and the damage is obviously expensive. So we did an experiment to test which materials are more sustainable to acid rain, and to find out which materials should be used in buildings to prevent damage and loss.

The sources of error in our experiment were the temperature of the room the materials were in not being the same for the whole experiment, the experiment was not done several times to accuracy,

• Government of Canada. (2018). Acid rain: causes and effects. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/issues/acid-rain-causes-effects.html
• Environment Canada. (1990). The Acid Rain Story. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2024/eccc/en4/En4-547-1990-eng.pdf
• Myers, J. (2023). The end of acid rain. Works in Progress. https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-end-of-acid-rain/
• Government of Canada. (2024). Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement: overview. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-pollution/issues/transboundary/canada-united-states-air-quality-agreement-overview.html
• Grammarly. (2024). Grammarly AI writing assistance. https://www.grammarly.com

I would like to thank me and my partner's parents for buying us the materials and giving us a place to do our experiment. I would also like to thank my teacher, Ms. Khalil for providing us the lab safety equipment like lab coats and gloves.