Question

Why does the sulphur dioxide and the nitrous oxide mixes with the water vapour present in the clouds ? Not with other gases such as oxygen etc.

Answer 1

Apart from the sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, other gases present in the atmosphere such as oxygen, carbon dioxide etc also dissolve in water. Hence, they will also mix with the water vapour present in the atmosphere. However, unlike SO₂ and NO₂ (which form sulphuric acid and nitric acid respectively), oxygen does not form form any acid on mixing with water Similar is the case with nitrogen. It does dissolve in water, but does not form any other compound on dissolving in water. Also, CO₂ forms a very weak acid called carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) on dissolving in water.