4. Chemical Systems and Equilibrium - Acid Rain 

Acid rain — any form of precipitation containing sulfuric or nitric acid — causes serious effects on ecosystems and aquatic habitats. The website I have selected focuses all on the facts about acid rain and the research conducted to mitigate the negativity it has on natural life. Firstly, the research question had to be determined. Upon reading the entire article, the most clear research question is: how does acid rain affect ecosystems, aquatic habitats, and forests, and how does natural soil chemistry balance the acid? The EPA collected a variety of information using many different methods. The most common method used was long-term environmental data. Some common ways this may be done are by measuring the pH of the aquatic habitats or collecting precipitation weekly. As expected, the findings of these professionals were not great. It was found that acid rain significantly decreases the pH of an aquatic environment, which causes much harm to the ecosystem. Fish eggs not being able to hatch, and toxicity levels increasing in fish (ex. toxic aluminum coming out of soil, clay washing out into the water) are just two examples of many. The significance of this research goes far beyond the depths of acid rain and its negative effects, but also into the harm it causes to the animals and the biotic factors of this environment. I can relate this to in-course concepts like Le Chatelier's Principle and equilibrium shifts. As we learned during our project for Le Chatelier's Principle, when an equilibrium is disturbed, it shifts to the opposite side of the disturbance in order to create a new equilibrium. In a loosely connected way, we can think of the soil as the way to "fix" this disturbance. In a way, it helps establish a new equilibrium after the acidity from the acid rain interrupts the original. As I have already spoken on, equilibrium shifts and Le Chatelier's Principle are interconnected, but also connect to the idea of acid rain and its being "fixed" with the help of natural soil chemistry. 

EPA. (2025, March 19). Effects of acid 

    rain. US EPA; United States 

    Environmental Protection Agency.

    https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects-

    acid-rain