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Chemistry > C1 - Air Quality > Flashcards

C1 - Air Quality Flashcards

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1
Q

What percentage of the air is nitrogen?

A

78%

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2
Q

What percentage of the air is oxygen?

A

21%

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3
Q

What percentage or the air is argon and other rare gases?

A

Less than 1%

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4
Q

What percentage of the air is carbon dioxide?

A

0.04%

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5
Q

How can we find the percentage of oxygen in air?

A

By passing air over heated copper

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6
Q

When was the earth’s atmosphere formed?

A

About 4 billion years ago

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7
Q

Describe what happened during the forming of the atmosphere?

Volcanoes + Clouds -> Oceans -> Photosynthesis -> Shellfish Sedimentation -> Evolution -> Fossil Fuels

A
  • Volcanoes released CO2 and Water Vapour
  • Earth cooled and oceans formed from the condensed water vapour as it rained for thousands of years
  • Tiny bacteria formed in the oceans and photosynthesised to create oxygen.
  • Shellfish took in CO2 to make shells and when they died they became part of the sediment. Over billions of years thick layers of chalk and limestone built up
  • Animals evolved to breathe oxygen instead of CO2 and the animals which took in CO2 died and became fossils and the fossil fuels we have today
  • People burn the fossil fuels and release CO2 back into the air
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8
Q

What did scientists think made up the early atmosphere 60 years ago?

A

Ammonia and Methane

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9
Q

What was the early atmosphere actually mainly made of?

A

Carbon dioxide

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10
Q

Pollutants

A

Gases which are harmful to us and the environment

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11
Q

Give Examples of pollutants

A

Nitrogen oxides, Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide and Sulphur dioxide

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12
Q

Why is Carbon monoxide dangerous?

A

It reduces the amount of oxygen blood can carry

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13
Q

Solid particulates

A

Small solid particles which float in the air

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14
Q

2 Examples of solid particulates?

A

Soot and Volcanic ash

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15
Q

By what percentage have carbon dioxide levels risen in the last 50 years?

A

25%

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16
Q

Which two pollutants make acid rain?

A

Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide

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17
Q

What units are small amounts of Carbon Dioxide measured in?

A

ppm or parts per million

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18
Q

What units are pollutant gases such as Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide measured in?

A

ppb or parts per billion

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19
Q

Correlation

A

A link between a factor and an outcome.

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20
Q

What causes Sulphur dioxide pollution and what does it cause?

A

Volcanoes and power stations burning fossil fuels cause it and it causes acid rain

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21
Q

What causes Nitrogen monoxide/ dioxide pollution and what does it cause?

A

Lightning and car engine air cause it and it results in acid rain

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22
Q

What causes Carbon monoxide pollution?

A

Forest fires and car exhaust fumes

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23
Q

What causes Carbon dioxide pollution and what does it cause?

A

Fires, volcanoes, respiration and burning fossil fuels cause it and it contributes to global warming

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24
Q

Hydrocarbons

A

Substances made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms

25
Q

What is the word equation for complete hydrocarbon combustion?

A

Hydrocarbon + Oxygen -> Carbon + Water + Energy

26
Q

What is the word equation for incomplete hydrocarbon combustion?

A

Hydrocarbon + oxygen -> Carbon Monoxide + Water

27
Q

What’s the difference between complete and incomplete combustion?

A

Complete combustion has lots of oxygen whereas incomplete does not

28
Q

Oxidation

A

When oxygen is added to a substance

29
Q

Reduction

A

When oxygen is removed from a substance

30
Q

Combustion

A

Burning

31
Q

An example of an oxidation reaction

A

Combustion

32
Q

Reactants

A

The substances which are being reacted together

33
Q

Products

A

The substances which are formed during a chemical reaction

34
Q

Insoluble

A

Cannot dissolve in water

35
Q

Soluble

A

Can dissolve in water

36
Q

Solution

A

A substance which has had something dissolved into it

37
Q

What are the word and chemical equations for the formation of sulphur dioxide

A

Sulphur + Oxygen = Sulphur dioxide

S + O2 -> SO2

38
Q

Which fossil fuel contains the most sulphur?

A

Coal

39
Q

What does acid rain do?

A

It lowers the pH when it falls on land or enclosed water harming living things or eroding carbonate rocks.

40
Q

Indirect pollutants

A

Pollutants which don’t affect humans directly such as acid rain

41
Q

What happens when a fuel burns but there is not enough air available to burn it? 2 outcomes

A
  • Carbon monoxide is formed

* Bits of soot are made making the surfaces they land on dirty

42
Q

How are pollutants removed from the air?

A
  • Particulate carbon settles on surfaces making them dirty
  • Sulphur and nitrogen oxides react with water and oxygen to produce a mixture of sulphuric acids and nitric acid in rain (Acid rain)
  • Carbon dioxide is used by plants for photosynthesis
  • Carbon dioxide dissolves in rain water and oceans
43
Q

Mean

A

An average where all results are added and divided by the frequency of results

44
Q

Range

A

The difference between high and low results

45
Q

Outliers

A

Data samples which do not seem to fit the pattern or break laws of science and must be incorrect

46
Q

Electrostatic filters

A

Equipment used in power stations to remove solid particulates

47
Q

Describe both methods of flue gas desulphurisation or “wet scrubbing”

A
  1. Limestone is heated -> Calcium oxide (lime) + Carbon dioxide
    Lime + Water -> Alkaline slurry
    Alkaline slurry + Sulphur dioxide + Oxygen -> Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum)
    Gypsum can be used to make wall plaster
  2. Reacting sea water with sulphur dioxide to make a sulphate and carbon dioxide
48
Q

How to reduce fossil fuel usage?

A
  • Using alternative energy sources such as solar or wind power
  • Improving building insulation or wearing warmer clothing to reduce usage of Central heating
  • Walking, biking or using public transport
  • Recycling
  • Using Eco friendly or energy efficient appliances
49
Q

Biofuels

A

Fuels made from plants

50
Q

Examples of biofuels:

A
  • Wood chips
  • Palm oil
  • Alcohol made from sugar
51
Q

Carbon neutral

A

If something is Carbon neutral, it’s usage produces as much carbon dioxide as it takes in

52
Q

Disadvantage of biofuel usage

A

•Large areas of land are needed to grow biofuels and this land could be used to plant food

53
Q

Advantages of biofuel usage

A
  • They’re carbon neutral

* It produces less carbon dioxide than coal for the same amount of energy

54
Q

Sustainable

A

Efficient enough to be carried on for a long period of time and not affect future generations

55
Q

Advantage and disadvantage of using hydrogen gas as a fuel

A

ADV: it doesn’t produce CO2
DISADV: It uses more energy to extract hydrogen than it makes

56
Q

How to reduce air pollution from vehicles:

A
  • Use cars less, especially for shorter journeys
  • Using cleaner fuels and removing pollutants from exhausts
  • Making public transport cheaper, more frequent and available in more places
57
Q

What do Catalytic converters do?

A

They allow pollutants to react and create safer gases

58
Q

Equations for the reaction which takes place in catalytic converters

A

Carbon monoxide + Nitrogen monoxide -> Carbon dioxide + Nitrogen
2CO + 2NO -> 2CO2 + N2

59
Q

What gases are in our air?

A

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Argon and other rare gases

Chemistry (6 decks)

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