Pollutants
Give an example of a primary pollutant and the matching secondary pollutant.
Nitrogen oxides and VOCs = ground level ozone
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides = acid precipitation
Nitrogen oxides (and VOCs, varying PM) = smog
BONUS 100: Charades! One member of your team must act out a vocabulary word provided by the teacher. If your team gets it right, you get the points!
What is it called when a layer of cool air becomes trapped below a layer of warmer air?
Thermal inversion
BONUS 100: on a normal day with no thermal inversion, explain why warm air rises
Why is PM 2.5 deadlier than PM10?
PM 10 is much larger and will not penetrate lung tissue and get into the bloodstream like PM2.5.
BONUS 100: Charades! One member of your team must act out a vocabulary word provided by the teacher. If your team gets it right, you get the points!
Water passes through a plant and is released through its leaves.
Transpiration
A person brings a reusable water bottle instead of buying plastic bottles. What pollution solution is this?
Reducing plastic waste.
BONUS 100: if anyone on your team currently has a reusable water bottle, show it and get the points
What are the six pollutants originally identified by the Clean Air Act? List at least 4/6
Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, lead, ozone
What is the basic chemical reaction of combustion? Does not need to be balanced.
CH + O2 -> CO2 + H2O + heat/energy
BONUS 100: what is the difference between dirty and clean fuel? Give an example of each.
How can secondary pollutants like smog and ground-level ozone impact human populations?
Irritate respiratory system, worsen asthma and bronchitis, make breathing difficult and irritate eyes
BONUS 100: Charades! One member of your team must act out a vocabulary word provided by the teacher. If your team gets it right, you get the points!
Explain the difference between water withdrawal and consumption.
Withdrawal implies that the water is temporarily removed and will be returned (such as with coolant water used in some power plants).
Consumption means that the water is taken and not returned to its source (such as in irrigation – most of the water will evaporate or transpire).
BONUS 100: name 5/7 members of BTS (real or stage name is accepted)
The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire, resulting in a large amount of media coverage and led to the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1977. What specific changes occurred as a result of this law?
Clean Water Act explicitly prohibits the discharge of pollution into surface waters unless special permission is given.
Name the two air pollutants based on the following descriptions:
a. this air pollutant blocks oxygen absorption in the blood
b. this air pollutant smells like rotten eggs and forms acid precipitation
a. CO carbon monoxide
b. sulfur dioxide
BONUS 100: rock paper scissors another team; win = +100, lose = give 100 points to the winner
What season are ozone action days most likely to be declared?
In the summer, due to the increased heat and sun exposure.
Acid precipitation leads to aluminum and mercury leeching into rivers. How does that impact humans?
Fish will be exposed to high levels of aluminum and mercury, and as bigger fish eat smaller fish, the heavy metals will accumulate and magnify.
Consuming large fish that have accumulated high levels of mercury can lead to neurological problems and organ damage.
What are desalination plants and why are they not used globally?
-water treatment plants that convert ocean saltwater into useable freshwater
-extremely expensive, uses a lot of energy, leaves a lot of chemically treated salt behind that can't be put back into the ocean
What disaster led to the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990? How must oil tankers be constructed differently now?
The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Oil tankers must now be outfitted with a double-hull design.
BONUS 100: Charades! One member of your team must act out a vocabulary word provided by the teacher. If your team gets it right, you get the points!
Why is fertilizer considered a pollutant? (What is a pollutant and how does fertilizer fit this description? How does this lead to hypoxic lakes?)
Pollutants are substances that are detrimental on ecosystems, human health, and natural resources.
Excess fertilizer that is washed into water ecosystems like lakes will:
-cause algal blooms (very rapid algae growth)
-algal blooms -> blocked sunlight, less photosynthesis for underwater plants
-plants and algae die -> bacteria decompose organisms and use up oxygen
-oxygen gone -> hypoxic/anoxic conditions kills fish, continues cycle of death/decomp
Explain the difference between ground level ozone and the ozone layer.
Ground level zone is a pollutant found in our layer of the atmosphere. We breathe it in. The ozone layer is in the stratosphere.
In 1952, London experienced an exceptionally cold winter and a thermal inversion that lasted for 4 days. What did the people of London do that lead to the deaths of 4,000 people? Give specifics.
What did they do and why?
What did that result in?
Burned coal to keep their homes warm.
Released a lot of sulfur dioxides and particulates; this + thermal inversion led to build of up air pollution until it became very toxic
A forested field is bulldozed and paved over to make a parking lot. Explain what impact this would have on the different processes of the water cycle, including transpiration/evaporation, runoff, and infiltration.
Transpiration/evaporation will essentially stop with the paving of the parking lot. There are no plants to transpire. Most of the water will runoff across the pavement into nearby fields or into storm drains. Assuming typical blacktop or pavement is used, it will probably be impenetrable to water, so there will be very little infiltration (and no gra.
BONUS 50: Charades! One member of your team must act out a vocabulary word provided by the teacher. If your team gets it right, you get the points!
What is one form of water conservation focused on agriculture? What are 3 forms of water conservation that can be implemented at home or in a yard?
Agrculture:
-Installing drip irrigation systems for tree crops with high water demands.
-Contour plowing and terracing to slow runoff and increase infiltration.
-Lining irrigation canals to prevent leaks and block evaporation.
Home:
-Low-flow showerheads, dual-flush toilets, efficient dishwashers and washing machines, xeriscaping, gray water systems
NOx/SOx formed from coal plants escape into the air, react with oxygen and water to form sulfuric and nitric acids, results in acid precipitation
Acid precipitation:
- incr. water and soil pH (stress and kill fish, plants, bacteria)
- leach metals from soil (plants unable to uptake nutrients, low productivity)
- metals get into water (mercury builds up in food chain, harms humans when we eat large fish higher up on food chain)
Describe how ground-level ozone forms. List the primary pollutants, necessary conditions, and pollutant sources.
a. Nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
b. Pollutants react in the atmosphere with sunlight and heat
c. Released from vehicles burning fossil fuels
City A is located near the equator next to a river and close to the coast. The city has a new coal plant operating at full capacity. List a potential consequences for each the following:
a. human health
b. environment (primary and secondary)
c. economic
a. increased rates of respiratory illness
b. increased SO2 production --> increased acid precipitation (soil/water quality decrease)
c. healthcare costs increase due to inhaling pollutants; tourism reduced due to acid precipitation damaging soil/river and buildings; agricultural cost due to damaged crops and lower yields
Plastic is a non-degradable form of pollution. What actually happens to it in the ocean? Where in the ocean does it end up?
As the plastic is exposed to sunlight, it breaks apart into smaller pieces. Eventually, the currents concentrate the plastic in a rotating current called a gyre.
A city facing water scarcity can either build a desalination plant or invest in water conservation programs. If energy use and cost are major concerns, which solution is usually more sustainable long-term, and why? (explain why yes to one, and why no to the other)
Water conservation programs, because desalination is energy-intensive and expensive, while conservation reduces demand at the source.