Paheli observed that most of the fish in the pond of her village were gradually dying. She also observed that the waste of a factory in their village is flowing into the pond which probably caused the fish to die.
(a) Explain why the fish were dying.
(b) If the factory waste is acidic in nature, how can it be neutralised?
(a) Factory wastes are generally highly acidic or basic chemicals. They make life of aquatic animals like fish difficult. Functions like digestion, respiration etc. are carried out by living organisms only in normal conditions which is neither too acidic or basic. Hence fish are dying.
(b) Bases neutralize and destroy the acids. Hence, we can add any base like dry lime, Limestones etc. in the waste to make it neutral and less harmful.