What are nitrogen oxides?

Nitrogen oxides are like tiny invisible friends that come from places where things get really hot and smoky.

Nitrogen is a gas we breathe in every day, it’s one of the main ingredients in the air we inhale. Oxides are compounds made when something combines with oxygen, like how iron turns into rust when it meets water and air.

Now imagine your favorite toy truck, when you push it really fast on the floor, it makes a loud vroom! sound. That’s kind of what happens inside a car engine or a power plant: nitrogen gas from the air mixes with oxygen, and because everything is so hot, they join together to make nitrogen oxides, like invisible smoke.

These tiny friends can travel far and wide, sometimes ending up in the sky where they help make clouds or even cause smog, which makes the air look hazy. It’s kind of like when you blow a bunch of bubbles, they float around until they pop!

Sometimes these nitrogen oxides meet water droplets in the air, and then they become acid rain, which can make leaves on trees feel like they’re getting a little sour bath.

So next time you see a car zooming by or hear a loud engine, remember: it’s making some tiny invisible friends called nitrogen oxides!