Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
APES Chapter 15
Friedland
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Air pollution | the addition of chemicals, particulate matter or microorganisms into the atmosphere at concentrations high enough to harm plants, animals, and materials or to alter ecosystems |
| Ground-level pollution | pollution of the troposphere |
| List the major air pollutants | sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, tropospheric ozone and lead |
| Criteria air pollutants | the six major pollutants the EPA must specify allowable concentrations under the Clean Air Act |
| Sources of sulfur dioxide pollution | combustion of sulfur-containing fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline |
| Sources of nitrogen oxides pollution | combustion of fossil fuels, wood and other biomass |
| Sources of Carbon monoxide pollution | incomplete combustion, malfunctioning exhaust systems, poorly ventilated cooking fires |
| Sources of particulate matter pollution | combustion of fossil fuels and biofuels; agriculture, road construction |
| Sources of lead pollution | gasoline additive, oil and gasoline, coal, old paint |
| Sources of ozone pollution | a secondary pollutant formed from the reaction between sunlight, water, oxygen, VOCs and NOx |
| VOCs | volatile organic compounds; easily vaporized organic compounds such as gasoline, lighter fluid, dry-cleaning fluid, oil-based paints, perfumes |
| Source of VOC pollution | evaporation of fuels, solvents, paints; improper combustion of fuels such as gasoline |
| Sources of mercury pollution | coal, oil, gold mining |
| Sources of carbon dioxide pollution | combustion of fossil fuels and clearing of land |
| Effects/impacts of sulfur dioxide pollution | respiratory irritant (makes asthma worse_, hurts plant tissues, reacts with water to form sulfuric acid which leads to acid deposition |
| Equations for formation of sulfuric acid | SO2 + O2 --> SO3; SO3 + H2O --> H2SO4 |
| Effects/impacts of nitrogen oxides | respiratory irritant, ozone precursor, leads to photochemical smog, forms nitric acid which leads to acid deposition |
| Effects/impacts of carbon monoxide | bonds to hemoglobin in blood and interferes with oxygen transport; headaches at low concentrations; death at high concentrations |
| Effects/impacts of particulate matter | makes respiratory and heart disease worse; premature death; contributes to haze and smog |
| Effects/impacts of lead | harms central nervous system; reduces learning and ability to concentrate |
| Effects/impacts of ozone | reduces lung function; makes respiratory symptoms worse; degrades plant surfaces; damages rubber and plastics |
| Effects/impacts of VOC pollution | leads to ozone formation |
| Effects/impacts of mercury pollution | impairs central nervous system; bioaccumulates in the food chain |
| Effects/impacts of carbon dioxide pollution | a greenhouse gas that causes climate change |
| PM | particulate matter/particulates/particles; solid or liquid particles suspended in air |
| PM10 | particulate matter with a size between 2.5 – 10 micrometers |
| PM2.5 | particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in size; more dangerous than PM10 because they can get deeper into lungs and usually made of more toxic substances |
| Effect of PM pollution | large amounts reflect sunlight and can cool the planet |
| Primary air pollutants | air pollutants released directly into the atmosphere |
| Secondary air pollutants | air pollutants formed during chemical reactions in the atmosphere |
| Photochemical oxidants | secondary air pollutants formed when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide; ex: ozone |
| Smog | a mixture of photochemical oxidants and particulate matter |
| Photochemical smog | smog dominated by photochemical oxidants; AKA brown smog |
| Sulfurous smog | smog dominated by sulfur dioxide and sulfate compounds; AKA gray smog |
| Atmospheric brown cloud | a combination of particulate matter and ozone; caused by combustion of fossil fuels and biomass |
| List primary pollutants | CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, PM, many VOCs |
| List secondary pollutants | SO3, H2SO4, O3, HNO3, H2O2, Most nitrates and sulfates ions |
| Natural air polluters | volcanoes,lightning, forest fires, plants (living and dead) |
| Percent of natural polluters | 30% SO2, 44% NOx, 89% VOCs are due to nature |
| What is the largest source of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides pollution? | transportation |
| What is the largest source of sulfur dioxide pollution? | coal-fired electric power plants |
| What is NAAQS? | National Ambient Air Quality Standards; the concentration limits for each air pollutant set by the EPA |
| What is the ozone standard? | not over 0.075 ppm in an 8-hour period for 4 days/year averaged over 3 years |
| Which pollutants still exceed NAAQS on a regular basis? | ozone and PM |
| Why have levels of lead pollutants decreased drastically? | lead is no longer added to gasoline |
| What is the “Black Triangle”? | one of the world’s most polluted areas in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic where lignite is burned for electricity; |
| Formula for ozone | O3 |
| Equation for the forward reaction that creates ozone | NO2 + O2 + sunlight |
| Equation for the reverse reaction that removes ozone | O3 + NO |
| Is ozone a primary or secondary pollutant? | primary |
| What substances make up smog? | ozone and photochemical oxidants |
| Equation for the reaction that creates photochemical smog | the equation for ozone plus NO + VOCs |
| How does temperature affect the formation of smog? | increases emission of VOCs from plants; increases evaporation of VOCs; NOx increases from electricity demand; increase in reaction rate to form O3 |
| Thermal inversion | a warm air layer traps a cold air layer below; causes an increase in pollution concentrations |
| Why did over 1,000 people die in Tianjin, China due to a thermal inversion? | cold snap caused people to burn coal stoves which increased pollution that was trapped by thermal inversion |
| What is the pH of acid deposition? | lower than pH 5.6 |
| What pH causes developmental or reproductive problems in organisms? | less than pH 6.0 |
| What pH is often lethal for some organisms? | less than pH 5.0 |
| How is pH related to metal concentrations? | low pH causes metals to dissolve into water |
| How is acid deposition related to buildings? | acid deposition erodes limestone and marble buildings and statues |
| Fluidized bed combustion | removal of sulfur dioxide emissions during coal burning by passing the gasses through calcium carbonate |
| How can NOx’s be reduced? | cooler combustion temperatures; control the amount of oxygen during combustion; use of catalytic converters in cars; |
| How can Particulate Matter be reduced? | gravitational settling of ash in a smokestack; filtration; electrostatic precipitators; a scrubber |
| How can smog be reduced? | reduce VOC emissions; reduce nitrogen oxides emissions |
| Other ways to reduce pollution | reduce gasoline spills at gas stations, reduce evaporation of dry cleaning fluids; reduce number of wood-burning stoves; add HOV lanes to highways; limit number of cars on highways; add public transportation |
| What is the Acid Rain Program under the Clean Air Act? | allows the buying and selling of allowances to release a certain quantity of sulfur; overtime the number of allowances distributed has gradually been reduced thereby reducing sulfur emissions |
| What are the properties of UV-A radiation? | it passes through the atmosphere; it initiates skin cancer |
| What are the properties of UV-B and UV-C radiation? | they are higher energy than UV-A and can cause significant damage to the tissues and DNA of living organisms |
| How much UV radiation does the ozone layer absorb? | the ozone layer absorbs 99% of all incoming UV-B and UV-C radiation |
| Where is the ozone layer? | the stratosphere |
| What are the equations to form stratospheric ozone? | 2 O2 + UV-C --> 2 O3 |
| What is the equation when ozone absorbs UV radiation? | 2 O3 + UV-C or UV-B --> 3 O2 |
| Which anthropogenic chemicals destroy stratospheric ozone? | chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); a class of chlorine-containing organic compounds often used in air conditioning, aerosol cans, etc. |
| How do CFCs destroy atmospheric ozone? | CFCs + UV --> releases Cl ; Cl acts as a catalyst in the reaction O3 + O --> 2 O2; one Cl can destroy 100,000 ozone molecules |
| What is the ozone hole? | Area over the Antarctic that experiences a seasonal depletion of stratospheric ozone |
| What are the effects of stratospheric ozone depletion? | a 4% increase of surface UV radiation between 1979 and 1992; increased numbers of skin cancer, cataracts and other eye problems |
| What is the Montreal Protocol? | ”The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer”; countries agree to reduce CFC production and 95 other ozone-depleting compounds |
| Why will it take so long to see the amount of stratospheric chlorine decrease? | it should fall to about 1 ppb because CFCs are very stable, un-reactive and difficult to remove from the atmosphere |
| Why is indoor air pollution increasing? | 1. More time is being spent indoors. 2. Buildings are more insulated and tightly sealed. 3. More plastics in buildings that give off VOCs. |
| List some of the major indoor pollutants? | VOCs, Asbestos, carbon monoxide, radon |
| What is asbestos? | a silicate mineral used for insulation that causes lung cancer when the fine fibers get lodged in the lungs |
| What is radon? | a radioactive gas that occurs naturally in some rocks; seeps into homes through foundation cracks; 2nd leading cause of lung cancer |
| What is formaldehyde? | a VOC that is toxic and a carcinogen and is used to make building products such a cabinets and carpeting |
| What is sick building syndrome? | a problem with newer, air-tight buildings that allow a buildup of toxic compounds and pollutants; causes headaches, nausea, throat and eye irritations, fatigue |
| List the four reasons for sick building syndrome | inadequate or faulty ventilation; chemical contamination from indoor sources; chemical contamination from outdoor sources; biological contamination from molds and pollen |
Created by:
ehsanip