Concerning pure water

Normally, water from even the purest of natural sources is slightly acidic because of its dissolved carbon dioxide. Acid rain is more acidic(pH below 4.0-4.5) compare to normal rain. Acid rain is defined as acid deposition.

Formation of Acid rain

During the combustion of coal and oil, the sulphur impurities are oxidized to sulphur dioxide. When sulphur dioxide dissolves in water, it will form hydrogen ion and hydrogen sulfite ion. The equation is SO2 (aq) + H20 --> H+ (aq) + HSO3-(aq). When falling rain picks up gaseous SO2 from the air, the rainwater which reaches the ground is more acidic than normal. In addition, this matter will become worst when both oxygen and the ozone(O3) in smog convert some SO2 to sulphur trioxide(in sunlight when fine dust is present). SO2 + O3--> SO3.The SO3 reacts with water and forms sulphuric acid. SO3 + H2O --> H2SO4. Sulphuric acid is a strong acid. SO3 also a contributor to acid rain.

Large quantities of sulphur dioxide are released into the atmosphere during volcanic eruption. Power plants, smelting plants, industrial plants, burning of coal and automobile exhausts release additional sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and acidic soot which causes pollution. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide interact with water vapours in presence of sunlight to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid mist. When NO2 reacts with water , it will form nitric acid and nitrous acid. 2NO2 (g) + H2O (l) --> HNO3 (aq) + HNO2 (aq).The formed sulphuric acid and nitric acid remain as vapour at high temperatures. They will begin to condense as the temperature falls and mix with rain; the rain will become sufficiently acidic.

Harmful effects of acid rain

Acid rain ia an extremely destructive form of pollution. It has negative effect on plants and animals. Trees are important natural resources because they provide timber, regulate local climate and forests. However, their roots can be easily damaged by acidic rainfall and causes stunted growth of plant. It may cause death too. Nutrients present in the soil are destroyed by the acidity. The useful microorganisms which release nutrients from decaying organic matter into the soil are also killed off, resulting in less nutrients being available for the plants. The acid rain which falls on the plants will damage the waxy layer on the leaves and makes the plant vulnerable to diseases. Plant germination and reproduction is also inhibited by the effects of acid rain.

Besides that, acid rain also causes harmful to the aquatic animals. Harmful elements (mercury and aluminium) is leached from the soil and rocks and carried into the lakes. The aquatic life hard to survive in the acidic condition. When the pH drops below 5.0, all the fish have died and the bottom of the lake lies covered with undecayed material. Generally, all living organisms are interdependent on each other. If a lower life form is killed, other species that depended on it will also be affected. Every animal up the food chain will be affected.

Architecture and artwork can be destroyed by acid rain. Acid particles can land on buildings and cause corrosion. When sulfur pollutants fall on the sufaces of buildings(made by limestone or marble), they react with the minerals in the stone to form a powdery substance that can be washed away by rain. This powdery substance is called gypsum. Limestone and marble are calcium carbonate. All carbonates are dissolved by acid. CaCO3 (s) + H2SO4 (aq) CaSO4 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l).

Furthermore, We, human also affected by acid rain. Humans can become seriously ill and may die from the effects of acid rain. One of the major problems that acid rain can cause in a human being is respiratory problems. It makes us difficult to breathe especially people who have asthma. The sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in acid rain cause asthma along with dry coughs, headaches, and throat irritations. Acid rain can be absorbed by both plants and animals through direct contact. When we eat these infected plants or animals, the toxins within the plants ir animals will affect us. The toxin will cause brain damage, kidney problems, and Alzheimer's disease.

Solution!!!!Solution...

Acid rain is a big problem but it is not unstoppable. This big problem has to be solved from becoming serious. The acid rain will be reduced as the amount of sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides in the air is reduced. We can do many things to stop this pollution. First of all, conserve energy and pollute less! We use less electricity. We may form a carpool and share vehicle with others. We also use public transportation or walk during short distances. When less energy is used, less coal is burnt, and resulting less acid rain is produced. If coal was cleaned before it is burnt, the dangerous pollutants that cause acid rain will be cleaned away. The sulphur can be washed away as the coal is crushed and washed in the water .

Lastly...... we can reduce the amount of fuel by conserving energy...

All of us must not pollute or destroy the world..The world contains so many beautiful things..we must protect and beutify it..We must not selfish..

SO..let us Heal the world..make it a better place for our next generation and forever...

Caffeine in our daily life!!!

Caffeine..caffeine..caffeine.. All people around the world including me like to drink coffee. There are so many coffee shop such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Black Canyon Coffee and others. All coffee contains caffeine. Actually, what is caffeine??

In 1819, Caffeine is discovered by Friedrich Ferdinand Runge(German chemist).The common name for caffeine is trimethylxanthine and the chemical formula is C8H10N4O2. It is composed of carbon,hydrogen,nitrogen and oxygen based on the chemical formula.Caffeine also known as coffeine, theine, mateine, guaranine, or methyltheobromine. Caffeine is obtained from several plants such as coffee beans, cacao beans, tea and others. It acts as natural pesticide for plants.

After caffeine is purified, it looks like white powder and taste bitter. It is classified as alkaloid. It is odorless and slightly soluble in water and alcohol. Caffeine is known as drug because it stimulates our central nervous system and increases the alertness, heart rate, and respiration. It may alter our mood too. Therefore, overdose of caffeine can dangerous our body. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and even pain reliever also contains caffeine. Caffeine provides the soft drinks a pleasing bitter taste. Therefore, caffeine is known as the world's most widely consumed psychoasctive substance.

100mg of caffeine is considered as normal because it is same to the amount found in a cup of coffee. Caffeine gives us a temporary energy boost and elevates mood. But why caffeine has such a strong effect on us? Why..why??

Caffeine stimulates the brain and acts as a mild diuretic(makes a person urinates more). Adenosine is a chemical; and it contains within the brain. The adenosine will bind with certain receptors. It functions to slow down the nerve cell activity when we are sleeping. However, the structure of caffeine looks similar with adenosine. Therefore, it also binds with the adenosine receptors. Due to it is not really an adenosine, it doesn't slow down the cell's activity but increases it. It may cause the blood vessels in the brain constrict.

Our body will recognize all of this activity as danger. Therefore, the pituitary gland will release hormones and tell the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline. Adrenaline will make our heart to beat faster and the breathing tubes will open up also. Then, the liver will release sugar into the bloodstream for extra energy and the muscles is tighten up. Caffeine also increases the levels of dopamine. Dopamine provides the feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement. Therefore, it makes us energetic and excited.

Besides that, caffeine also causes the body to lose calcium. Drinking lots of coffee will cause osteoporosis.

Therefore, take less caffeine..makes our body more healthy..

Smoking=HARMFUL and DEATH!!!!

Nowadays, when i walk along the street, i saw many people are smoking in everywhere. Not only the olders are smoking, even teenager and children are smoking too. I also saw women smoke. It is so terrible. The amount of people smoke is increasing due the stressfulness in life such as working very hard to earn money; they are also influenced by commercial and friends.

Generally, smoking is the second major cause of death in the world. Smoking causes lung cancer and others dangerous disease. Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco consist of dried tobacco leaves, and other ingredients added for flavor and other properties. Cigarette smoking is known as the act of inhaling and exhaling the fumes of burning tobacco in cigars, cigarettes or pipes.

Why smoking cause cancer and others harmful???why??

Smoking is dangerous because of the tobacco and tobacco smoke. MORE THAN 60 carcinogenic compounds are found in them. The tobacco smoke includes carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and other highly toxic irritants. Therefore, we can imagine that when we smoke, all of these substances will move inside to our body and stay within. SCARRY! Smoking also make us addict to it. Therefore, it is very hard for the smokers to quit smoking.

There are many harmful chemicals within the cigarettes..

Major Harmful Chemicals

Such as the nicotine..people are addicted to smoke due to this chemical..Nicotine is an alkaloid. An alkaloid is composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen(only present sometimes). This chemical is very toxic within our body. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin and mucosal lining of the mouth and nose and also inhalation by lungs. It increases the level of the dopamine(responsible for feelings of pleasure) when it passes into the brain. The acute effects of nicotine subside within minutes

Besides that, the tobacco smoke is very dangerous for smokers because it causes cell mutation. Carbon monoxide presents in the tobacco smoke. Normally, carbon dioxide gas is similar with the gas found in car's exhaust system. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Oxygen will bind with hemogloblin (oxyhemogloblin)and attach to our red blood cells. However, carbon monoxide will compete with oxygen to bind with hemogloblin. This action will deactivate red blood cells. The increased levels of carbon monoxide may cause less oxygen flow into brain. Luckily, our body is able to eliminate most of the carbon monoxide very quickly within a few days of quitting smoking.

In addition, Tar is also a harmful chemical. It is a dark substance that delivers nicotine to the lungs. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, most of the tar is retained for a while in the mucous lining of the lungs and then mostly distributed throughout the body. More of the carcinogens in the smoke are dissolved into the bloodstream as a person drinks beverage which contains alcohol. It is because alcohol is a very effective solvent. Alcohol increases the harmfulness of the tar into our body.

The OTHERS chemicals in cigarettes and tobacco smokes:

a)Benzene-petrol additive

It is a colourless hydrocarbon which obtained from coal and petroleum.It is a very volatile chemical. It is flammable and gives a sweet odour. It is used as a solvent in fuel and in chemical manufacture. It is a known carcinogen and is associated with leukaemia.

b)Formaldehyde-embalming fluid

Colourless liquid and highly poisonous. It is flammable with a strong odor. Most formaldehyde is released into our environment by the burning of fuels and household waste. However, cigarette smoke contains formaldehyde.It functions to preserve dead bodies. It causes cancer, respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems.

c)Ammonia (toilet cleaner)

Act as a flavouring. It will free nicotine from tobacco and turns it into a gas which found in dry cleaning fluids. Higher concentration of ammonia causes the tightness of the chest, pulmonary edema, cyanosis, and a rapid, weak pulse. The ammonia may irritate our eyes and upper respiratory tract, and also the inflammation of the mucous membrane.

d)Acetone (nail polish remover)

fragrant volatile liquid ketone. It is used as a solvent. For example, nail polish remover.

e)Hydrogen cyanide-colourless and poisonous

It has a bitter almond smell. Cyanide is a fast-acting and potentially deadly chemical. It prevents the body cells from using oxygen properly. The cells will die without oxygen. Cyanide is released from natural substances found in some foods(apple seeds and peach pits) and certain plants too. Cyanide is used to make paper, textiles and plastics. It is in the chemicals used to develop photographs. It acts as a pesticide too.

f)Arsenic-very poisonous

Arsenic burns our lips and causes bad breath. Arsenic is taken up by tobacco leaves from the soil. Two forms of arsenic compounds: organic and inorganic. Organic arsenic is formed when arsenic combines with carbon and hydrogen. Inorganic arsenic is formed when arsenic combines with elements such as oxygen, chlorine and sulfur. Organic arsenic is less toxic than inorganic arsenic; inorganic arsenic causes cancer.

There are so many harmful chemicals within the cigarettes. Why should we risk our life?

Stop smoking!! Thinks about the people who concerns and cares us..

Greenhouse gases surrounding us..Horrible

Our wonderful earth constantly receives energy mostly from sun but some is through radioactive processes within earth itself. It also radiates energy to outer space. The earth is covered by a layer of atmosphere. The atmosphere is used to regulate the temperature of the earth. The earth will become cold and lifeless as Mars without atmosphere.

However, the presence of atmosphere can contain gases that absorb and emit infrared radiation which causes the greenhouse effect happen. The greenhouse effect heats the surface of the earth. The presence of greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect. Common greenhouse gases:carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,fluorocarbons...These gases are almost transparent to solar radiation.

The common greenhouse gases:

Carbon dioxide(CO2)-major greenhouse gas

Carbon dioxide is colourless and odourless. It is non-flammable gas. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the plants during the photosynthesis process. Photosynthesis process is important for green plants and other organisms. Conversion of light energy into chemical energy occurs. Besides that, carbon dioxide also release to the air through our human exhalation and human activity. Such as the burning fossil fuels for energy and deforestation. When we burn the fossil fuels, the carbon within it will combine with oxygen and form carbon dioxide. Therefore, the concentration of carbon dioxide keep on increasing throughout years.

Water vapour-most abundant

It is greatly affect the temperature of the earth. The condensation of water vapour to the liquid forms clouds,rain,snow and others. As the temperature of the atmosphere rises, more water is evaporated from ground storage (rivers, oceans, reservoirs, soil). The relative humidity will raise due to the air is warmer which results more water vapor in the atmosphere. Therefore, the higher concentration of water vapor is able to absorb more thermal infrared energy radiated from the earth. The atmosphere becomes warmer and it can hold more water vapour.

Methane(CH4)-flammable(swamp gas)

Methane is colourless and odourless and very effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere compare to carbon dioxide. It is produced by plants decay. Besides that,bacteria which breaks down the organic matter in wetlands and bacteria that are found in cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, termites, and camels produce methane naturally.Methane is used as the fuel. The combustion of methane is highly exothermic.It will release the energy in the form of natural gas. It is used to heat homes and commercial buildings and the generation of electric power.

Nitrous oxide(laughing gas)N2O

Nitrous oxide also a colourless gas but it has sweet odour. Commonly, the heating of ammonium nitrate will produce nitrous oxide. The ammonium nitrate will decompose into nitrous oxide and water vapour.NH4NO3 (s) → 2 H2O (g) + N2O (g). The sources of N2O also come from human activity or natural. The concentrations of nitrous oxide are increasing due to the industrial revolution and the microbial processes in soil and water.

ozone(O3)-triatomic molecule

It consists of three oxygen atoms. When ultraviolet radiation interact with oxygen,it will form ozone. The exhaust emissions from automobiles and pollution from factories leads to greater concentrations of carbon and nitrogen molecules in the lower atmosphere. Therefore, when the carbon and nitrogen molecules are acted on by sunlight, it will produce ozone. Ozone is an important contributor to photochemical smog.

chlorofluorocarbon(CFCs)-Freon

They are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-carcinogenic. They are composed of fluorine atoms, carbon atoms and chlorine atoms.

The 5 main CFCs:

CFC-11 (trichlorofluoromethane - CFCl3)

CFC-12 (dichloro-difluoromethane - CF2Cl2)

CFC-113 (trichloro-trifluoroethane - C2F3Cl3)

CFC-114 (dichloro-tetrfluoroethane - C2F4Cl2)

CFC-115 (chloropentafluoroethane - C2F5Cl)

They are widely used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants,cleaning solvents and others. Therefore,all of these have increased the concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere and caused the stratospheric ozone depletion. In addition, CFCs have a long lifetime in the atmosphere. One free chlorine atom from a CFC molecule can do a lot of damage. It can destroy ozone molecules for a long time.

PRESERVATIVES!!preservatives!!

Generally,all food products have preservatives nowadays. Every manufacturer adds preservatives to their products. Preservative can be categorized as antimicrobial preservative or antioxidant preservative. Antioxidant(oxygen absorbers) to prevent oxidation of food. Many kinds of antioxidant: calcium propionate,sodium nitrate,sodium nitrites, sulfites and etc. Antioxidants also includes BHA and BHT.

BHA and BHT

What is that???

BHA is known as Butylated hydroxyanisole;BHT is known as butylated hydroxytoluene.Both are phenolic compounds which is added to foods to preserve fats.

Characteristics for Butylated hydroxyaniosle

BHA is a mixture of the isomers 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and 2-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. Others name such as BOA, tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole, (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxyphenol, tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol, antioxyne B, and etc. The chemical formula for BHA is C11H16O2. It is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is a white or yellowish waxy solid and has an aromatic odor.It melts at45°C to 63°C and has a boiling point of 264°C to 270°C. BHA is flammable too. It is insoluble in water and freely soluble in alcohol (ethanol, otheralcohols, propylene glycol) , petroleum ether, and fats and oils.However,it can be easily denatured by heat. When BHA enconters with heat, it will emit acid and irritating fumes.

Characteristics for Butylated hydroxytoluene

BHT is known as 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene; methyl-di-tert-butylphenol; 2,6-di-tert-butyl-para-cresol.The chemical formula is C15H24O and composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is white powder.

How to act as preservative???

The oxygen will react with the BHA or BHT and do not oxidize the fats or oils. Therefore, it protects them from spoilage. In addition,both antioxidants are fat-soluble. They are incompatible with ferric salts. They are also used to preserve fats and oils in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They look like multifunctional. Do you agree?

Normally, BHA is generally used to keep fats from becoming rancid. It can be used as a yeast de-foaming agent. The products such as butter, meats, cereals, chewing gum, baked goods, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes, and beer contains BHA. It is also found in animal feed, food packaging, cosmetics, rubber products, and petroleum products.
However,BHT is similar with BHA because it is also used to prevent oxidative rancidity of fats. It is used to preserve food odor, color, and flavor.There are many packaging materials incorporate with BHT. It is added to the cereals and other foods that contains fats and oils.

Conclusion, preservatives play important roles in our daily life..Example:The BHA and BHT..