Target Concept: Acid-Base Titrations, Molarity, Neutralization Reactions. Aligned with NGSS: HS-PS1-2
The Phenomenon: Across the Appalachian mountains, abandoned coal mines expose pyrite to oxygen and water, creating toxic, acidic runoff known as Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). This plummets stream pH and coats rivers in suffocating "yellow boy" iron precipitate. Environmental agencies use active treatment plants to continuously dump basic compounds into rivers to neutralize the acid.
Inquiry Challenge: Perform a continuous titration on a flowing river. Determine exactly how much basic titrant is needed to neutralize the acidic river (analyte) to pH 7.0. If you add too much too fast, the river becomes dangerously basic (pH 10+), resulting in a massive ecological fine!