Acid rain deposition acidifies which components of the environment?

• A. Water bodies and soils.
• B. Only the atmosphere.
• C. Only oceans.
• D. Only rocks.

Answer: (A)

Acid rain deposition acidifies water bodies and soils. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from burning fossil fuels rise into the air, they react to form sulfuric and nitric acids. These acids are carried by rain or dry deposition back to the surface, where they add hydrogen ions and dissolved acids to soils and to streams, lakes, and wetlands. In soils, the added acidity lowers pH, displaces nutrients, and can release toxic aluminum, which harms plant roots and soil microbes. In water bodies, the lowered pH reduces the buffering capacity of the water, shifts species composition, and can stress or kill aquatic life. That combination—effects on both soils and water bodies—is why the correct choice points to both water bodies and soils. The atmosphere isn’t something that gets “acidified” by deposition in a meaningful ecological sense, oceans are included under water bodies but the impact is broader than just oceans, and rocks are only slowly affected through long-term weathering rather than immediate acidification.