Air Quality Flashcards
How was the earth’s atmosphere formed?
Probably from gases given off during volcanic eruptions
Name 2 things that cause air pollution
Vehicles and power stations
What elements are found in hydrocarbons
Hydrogen and carbon
What is given off by incomplete combustion?
Carbon monoxide and carbon particulates
Name three gases that are pollutants
Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
How would you recognise an outlier
The result is different to all the others
How are the molecules in a gas arranged?
There is no structure, and lots of space between them
Has the earth’s atmosphere always been as it is today?
No
Can particulates be released by natural processes?
Yes
What 2 gases make acid rain?
Sulfur dioxide, and the nitrogen oxides
What do hydrocarbon fuels form when they burn in oxygen?
Water and carbon dioxide
Where are the nitrogen oxides form?
In hot car engines, from the nitrogen and oxygen in the air
What is the range of a set of results?
The difference between the highest and the lowest results
What is the mean?
The average
What is correlation?
A link between a factor and an outcome, but one does not need to cause the other.
What proves a causal link?
One factor always causes an outcome
What is the law of conservation of matter?
Matter cannot be created nor destroyed
The nitrogen oxides, as a group, are written how?
NOx, NO goes to NO2
An oxidation reaction does what?
Adds oxygen
A reduction reaction does what?
Removes oxygen
Name a disadvantage of biofuels?
They use land which could be used for growing food.
Name an advantage of biofuels?
They are carbon neutral in that the carbon that is released is being trapped again to produce more fuel.
Name a natural process that releases pollutants
Volcanoes
How is carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere?
It dissolves in the sea and can be trapped in sedimentary rocks, and fossil fuels. It is removed by photosynthesis which can also be converted to fossil fuels.