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GCSE Chemistry · key term
A gas with the formula SO₂, produced when sulfur in a fuel burns in oxygen.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Specification 8.11, 8.12 · Paper 2
A pollutant gas with the formula SO₂, produced when sulfur reacts with oxygen.
Revise: Sulfur Dioxide PollutionSulfur dioxide gas is produced and may enter the atmosphere.
An acidic gas with the formula SO₂ that dissolves in water and contributes to acid rain.
Specification C6.3f · Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher)
Revise: Atmospheric PollutantsSulfur in a fuel can produce sulfur dioxide. At the high temperatures reached during combustion, nitrogen and oxygen from the air can react to form oxides of nitrogen. These are different routes to air pollution, even when the emissions come from the same exhaust or chimney.
Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher), Paper 4 (Higher)
A gas with the formula SO₂, formed when sulfur impurities in a fuel burn in oxygen.
Revise: Pollutants from combustionIt forms because sulfur was present in the fuel: sulfur dioxide is not an unavoidable product of every carbon-containing fuel. Fuels containing more sulfur can produce more sulfur dioxide when burned under comparable conditions.
If a question asks how an impurity in a fuel produces sulfur dioxide, identify sulfur as the impurity and state that it reacts with oxygen when the fuel is burned.
Build an explanation as a linked chain: sulfur dioxide → dissolves in cloud or rain water → acidic rain → a named problem.
For acid rain, name sulfur dioxide or oxides of nitrogen and explain that they form acids in rainwater.
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