C1 - Air Quality

Question 1

What is the atmosphere made up of?

Answer 1

78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
1% Argon
Less than 1% of H2O and CO2 and other gases

Question 2

What are the five pollutants?

Answer 2

• Carbon dioxide
• Carbon monoxide
• Particles of carbon
• Sulfur dioxide
• Nitrogen oxides

Question 3

Name one result of pollution which causes direct harm to humans

Answer 3

Vehicle exhausts contain pollutants which contribute to breathing problems like asthma (carbon monoxide).

Question 4

Name one result of pollution which causes indirect harm

Answer 4

CO2 made from burning fuels in factories or cars can lead to an increase in global warming which could bring all sorts of problems such as rising sea levels, disruption to farming, more hurricanes.

Question 5

What is a hydrocarbon?

Answer 5

• A compound containing hydrogen and carbon atoms only
• Fuels such as petrol, diesel fuel and fuel oil are mixtures of hydrocarbons
• Many power stations also burn hydrocarbons e.g. natural gas

Question 6

Name the main element that makes up coal

Answer 6

Carbon

Question 7

When a hydrocarbon fuel burns, with what substance in the air do the hydrogen and carbon atoms combine?

Answer 7

Oxygen

Question 8

When hydrocarbons burn in plenty of oxygen, the atoms involved rearrange themselves into carbon dioxide and what else?

Answer 8

Water

Question 9

Atoms can disappear completely in some chemical reactions, true or false?

Answer 9

False, no atoms disappear in the reaction they just get shuffled around.

Question 10

Are the properties of reactants and products always the same or can they be different?

Answer 10

Very different, when atoms rearrange themselves in a reaction, the products that are formed have their own properties which can be very different from the properties of the reactants.

Question 11

What removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Answer 11

It can be naturally removed by plants, plants use up CO2 from the air when they photosynthesise. CO2 also dissolves in rainwater and in seas, lakes and rivers.

Question 12

What atoms make up carbon monoxide? Under what conditions is carbon monoxide produced?

Answer 12

One oxygen atom attached to a carbon atom. Is produced if theres not enough oxygen available when fuels burn.

Question 13

What are the particles of carbon otherwise known as and what kind of pollution do they cause?

Answer 13

Particulate carbon (tiny particles of carbon). Air pollution is made if they escape into the atmosphere and falls back to the ground as soot.

Question 14

Describe briefly how the pollutant sulfur dioxide is produced

Answer 14

Many of our fuels are hydrocarbon-based, like petrol and natural gas. Some are just carbon-based, like coal. These fuels contain loads of impurities as they’re extracted straight from the Earth’s crust. Some fuels contain traces of the element sulfur and when the fuel burns, the sulfur burns too. When sulfur atoms burn, they combine with the oxygen in the air to produce the pollutant sulfur dioxide.

Question 15

How does sulfur dioxide leave the atmosphere?

Answer 15

Acid rain. When the sulfur dioxide emitted from vehicle engines and power stations reacts with the moisture in clouds, dilute sulfuric acid is formed. Eventually much of this acid will fall as acid rain.

Question 16

What effects does acid rain have on the environment?

Answer 16

Acid rain causes lakes to become acidic, killing plants and animal. It also kills trees and damages buildings and statues made from some kinds of stone e.g. limestone.

Question 17

Describe how nitrogen dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are burnt

Answer 17

Fossil fuels burn at such high temperatures that nearby atoms in the air react with each other. Nitrogen in the air reacts with the oxygen in the air to produce small amounts of compounds known as nitrogen oxides - nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Question 18

Give the formulas of nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

Answer 18

Nitrogen monoxide - NO

Nitrogen dioxide - NO2

Question 19

What effect do nitrogen oxides have on the environment?

Answer 19

Similar to sulfur dioxide, when they’re formed they usually end up in the atmosphere which is where they stay until they react with moisture in clouds. This produces a dilute nitric acid which eventually falls to the Earth as acid rain.

Question 20

What do catalytic converters do?

Answer 20

They convert harmful nitrogen monoxide into harmless nitrogen and oxygen. They also convert the very toxic gas carbon monoxide into the less harmful gas carbon dioxide.

Question 21

Name two things that everyone could do in order to reduce carbon dioxide pollution

Answer 21

Use public transport (less petrol would be burnt overall)

Walk (No petrol used)

Question 22

How do MOT tests help combat air pollution?

Answer 22

Helps to monitor and maintain air pollution levels as there is a legal limit on the amount of polluting emissions that cars can give out.

Question 23

Why should you question the results of an experiment if the experiment was only done once?

Answer 23

Results may be inaccurate, perhaps because of experimental error, inaccurate instruments, or values changing.

Question 24

If both air pollution and cancer increase, does that mean air pollution causes cancer?

Answer 24

No, there are other factors that could cause cancer and not just the one they are investigating. More details need to be provided as to the size of their sample and the results they got. Other scientists would need to repeat the experiment and get the same results. Also if one thing does cause something else it doesn’t mean that it will definitely make it happen it’s just that the risk of getting cancer is increased in a high pollution area.

Question 25

Why is it a problem that the human population is rapidly increasing?

Answer 25

The more of us there are, the more food must be produced, the more fuel is burnt and the more land is used up. This all puts a lot of pressure on the environment.

Question 26

Give an example of a scientific advancement that contributes to environmental problems

Answer 26

Science-based technology such as computers. They are full of poisonous substances and this becomes a problem when it comes to computer disposal. They are often dumped in landfills which poisons the land for the people, animals and plants that live there.

Question 27

What is a sustainable development?

Answer 27

Ways of using natural resources to meet our needs without messing things up so that the future generations can’t meet theirs.

Question 28

Give an example of a renewable resource that could be used to provide energy for our homes

Answer 28

Solar energy can be used to heat water and generate electricity. Wind turbines on the roofs of houses can be used to generate electricity.

Question 29

Name one result of pollution which causes direct harm to humans

Answer 29

Carbon monoxide contributes to breathing problems like asthma from vehicle exhausts

Question 30

Name one result of pollution which causes indirect harm

Answer 30

Global warming which could bring all sorts of problems such as rising sea levels, disruption to farming, more hurricanes.

Question 31

What removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Answer 31

It can be naturally removed by plants, plants use up CO2 from the air when they photosynthesise
CO2 also dissolves in rainwater and in seas, lakes and rivers.

Question 32

Describe briefly how the pollutant sulfur dioxide is produced

Answer 32

Some fuels contain traces of the element sulfur and when the fuel burns, the sulfur burns too. When sulfur atoms burn, they combine with the oxygen in the air to produce the pollutant sulfur dioxide.

Question 33

What effects does acid rain have on the environment?

Answer 33

Acid rain causes lakes to become acidic, killing plants and animal. It also kills trees and damages buildings and statues made from some kinds of stone e.g. limestone.

Question 34

Describe how nitrogen dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are burnt

Answer 34

Fossil fuels burn at such high temperatures that nearby atoms in the air react with each other, nitrogen in the air reacts with the oxygen in the air to produce small amounts of compounds known as nitrogen oxides - nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Question 35

Give the formulas of nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

Answer 35

NO

NO2

Question 36

What effect do nitrogen oxides have on the environment?

Answer 36

React with the moisture in the clouds and turns into acid rain which causes lakes to become acidic, killing plants and animal. It also kills trees and damages buildings and statues made from some kinds of stone e.g. limestone

Question 37

Why should you question the results of an experiment if the experiment was only done once?

Answer 37

Could be inaccurate due to experimental error, inaccurate instruments, or values changing.

Question 38

If both air pollution and cancer increase, does that mean air pollution causes cancer?

Answer 38

No, there are other factors that could cause cancer and not just the one they are investigating, it’s just that the risk of getting cancer is increased in a high pollution area. More details need to be provided as to the size of their sample and the results they got. Other scientists would need to repeat the experiment and get the same results.

Question 39

Why is it a problem that the human population is rapidly increasing?

Answer 39

More food must be produced, the more fuel is burnt and the more land is used up. This all puts a lot of pressure on the environment.

Question 40

Give an example of a scientific advancement that contributes to environmental problems

Answer 40

Science-based technology such as computers. Full of poisonous substances and this becomes a problem when it comes to computer disposal, poisons the land.

Question 41

Give an example of a renewable resource that could be used to provide energy for our homes

Answer 41

Solare panels and wind turbines