Question

How can coal-burning power plants in the Midwest cause acid precipitation in New York?

Answer 1

Hint: Coal is a combustible i.e. something that can burn. It is black or brownish black sedimentary rock. Coal is mostly carbon which is a chemical element having the symbol C with atomic number 6 and other variable amounts like hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen.

Complete answer:
Coal is formed when dead plants' matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. The main use of coal is it is used as fuel. Coal burns with flame.
Coal-burning power plants in the Midwest cause acid precipitation in New York largely this is due to prevailing winds that guide coal emissions from the Midwest to the North Atlantic and the Northeast.
This acid rain is due to the presence of two gases rising into the air in great quantities and these gases are named as sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide. These two gases are both produced by coal-firing plants. The Midwest produces a large proportion of the coal that is produced in the U.S. Thus wind patterns guide those gases towards the Northeast where they are absorbed in the atmosphere and acidify the rain.

Note:
Sulphur and Nitrogen particles when mixed with water are found in two ways it may be man-made i.e as the emissions of gases from industries or by natural causes like how a lightning strike in the atmosphere releases nitrogen ions and sulphur is released from volcanic eruptions.