Forest Biology & Tree improvement

• Chlorine Hydrolysis Chemistry: When chlorine gas ($\text{Cl}_2$) dissolves in water, it hydrolyzes almost instantaneously to form hypochlorous acid ($\text{HOCl}$) and hydrochloric acid:

$$\text{Cl}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} \rightleftharpoons \text{HOCl} + \text{H}^+ + \text{Cl}^-$$

Hypochlorous acid then partially dissociates based on water $\text{pH}$:

$$\text{HOCl} \rightleftharpoons \text{H}^+ + \text{OCl}^-$$

• Disinfection Efficacy: Hypochlorous acid ($\text{HOCl}$) is electrically neutral and lipophilic, allowing it to rapidly penetrate negatively charged bacterial cell walls and membranes (roughly 80 to 100 times more germicidal than the negatively charged hypochlorite ion, $\text{OCl}^-$).
• Conclusion: Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are correct.

Correct option: (1) Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are true.

• Definition of Environmental Science:
• An integrated, multidisciplinary academic discipline that analyzes the systemic interactions and energy/matter flows between the environment's physical, chemical, and biological components, alongside human impacts on natural ecosystems. (Correct answer: Option 4)