Chapter 13

Question 1

Atmosphere

Answer 1

layer of gases surrounding the planet; moderates our climate, provides oxygen, protects from meteors/hazardous solar radiation, transports and recycles water/nutrients; mostly nitrogen and oxygen

Question 2

Troposphere

Answer 2

bottom layer of the atmosphere, containing the air we breath

Question 3

Tropopause

Answer 3

where the troposphere stabilizes in temperature, -52 degrees C

Question 4

Stratosphere

Answer 4

drier, less dense than the troposphere, with little vertical mixing

Question 5

Ozone layer

Answer 5

absorbs sunlight so the stratosphere warms with altitude, protects living organisms from UV damage

Question 6

Convective circulation

Answer 6

increased evaporation makes surface air warmer and moister, which rises and creates vertical currents, cooling as it does so so that rain falls, cooler air sinks and the cycle repeats

Question 7

Weather

Answer 7

specifies atmospheric conditions in a location at a short time period

Question 8

Climate

Answer 8

atmospheric conditions in a location over a long time period

Question 9

Temperature inversions

Answer 9

a layer of cool air is trapped beneath warm air, preventing vertical mixing

Question 10

Inversion layer

Answer 10

band of air where temperature rises with altitude (opposite normal)

Question 11

Hadley cells

Answer 11

connective cells near the equator; rapid rising and expansion of air from sunlight produces tropical rainforests, so dry air diverges and moves north and south before cooling and descending to produce subtropical deserts

Question 12

Ferrel cells and polar cells

Answer 12

lift air, create precipitation around 60 degrees latitude north and south, so air descends at 30 degrees latitude and at poles

Question 13

Coriolis effect

Answer 13

deflects objects to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern, curving wind patterns

Question 14

Doldrums

Answer 14

near the equator, receiving few winds

Question 15

Trade winds

Answer 15

east to west between the equator and 30 degrees latitude

Question 16

Westerlies

Answer 16

blow west to east between 30 and 60 degrees latitude

Question 17

Air pollutants

Answer 17

gases/particulate material added to the atmosphere that harm climate or living things

Question 18

Air pollution

Answer 18

release of air pollutants

Question 19

Primary pollutants

Answer 19

pollutants released directly from a source (ash from volcanos, carbon monoxide from cars)

Question 20

Secondary pollutants

Answer 20

primary pollutants react with each other or components of the atmosphere (ozone, for example)

Question 21

Residence time

Answer 21

amount of time a pollutant spends in the atmosphere before settling to the ground

Question 22

Clean Air Act

Answer 22

1963 U.S. law, amended in 1970 and 1990, that funds pollution control research, sets air quality standards, and encourages emissions standards for point sources

Question 23

Sulfer dioxide (SO2)

Answer 23

colorless gas with a pungent odor, produced during coal combustion for energy and industry, that contributes to acid precipitation

Question 24

Carbon monoxide (CO)

Answer 24

colorless, odorless gas produced by incomplete fuel combustion, which binds to red blood cell hemoglobin and prevents oxygen transportation

Question 25

Nitrogen oxides (NOx)

Answer 25

family of compounds produced when atmospheric nitrogen/oxygen combine during combustion that contributes to smog, acid deposition, and ozone depletion

Question 26

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Answer 26

carbon-containing chemicals emitted by vehicle engines/solvents which produce secondary pollutants

Question 27

Particulate matter

Answer 27

solid/liquid particles small enough to suspend in air, classified by size in microns by diameter (primary or secondary pollutants)

Question 28

Lead (Pb)

Answer 28

heavy metal that can enter the atmosphere as a particulate pollutant due to leaded gasoline/metal smelting and accumulate in the body, causing nervous system malfunction

Question 29

Scrubbers

Answer 29

physically remove airborne pollutants from smokestacks

Question 30

Catalytic converters

Answer 30

contain metals that react with hydrocarbons/CO/NOx in vehicle exhaust, converting them to carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen gas

Question 31

Criteria pollutants

Answer 31

carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, lead, two others, which risk human health

Question 32

Ambient air quality standard

Answer 32

sets maximum allowable air concentration for criteria pollutants

Question 33

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)

Answer 33

highly reactive reddish-brown, foul-smelling gas that contributes to smog/acid precipitation

Question 34

Tropospheric ozone (O3)/ground-level ozone

Answer 34

secondary pollutant created by NOx and VOCs in sunlight, which can injure tissues and respiratory systems

Question 35

Smog

Answer 35

mixture of air pollutants that can accumulate due to fossil fuel combustion, especially where there is much automobile traffic

Question 36

Industrial smog

Answer 36

specific city smog

Question 37

Photochemical smog

Answer 37

sunlight drives chemical reactions between primary pollutants and atmospheric compounds

Question 38

Ozone-depleting substances

Answer 38

human-made airborne chemicals that degrade the ozone layer

Question 39

Halocarbons

Answer 39

synthetic compounds of hydrocarbons where hydrogen atoms are replaced by chlorine, flourine, or bromine, that deplete the ozone layer

Question 40

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Answer 40

specific class of halocarbon used for refrigerators/fire extinguishers/spray can propellants/electronic cleaners

Question 41

Ozone hole

Answer 41

area of thinned ozone concentration discovered in 1985 to appear every spring over Antarctica

Question 42

Montreal Protocol

Answer 42

1987 international treaty agreeing to halve CFC production by 1998 and restrict more halocarbons

Question 43

Acid deposition

Answer 43

deposition of acid/acid-forming pollutants from the atmosphere to the surface

Question 44

Acid rain

Answer 44

a precipitation form of acid deposition

Question 45

Atmospheric deposition

Answer 45

solid/liquid material from the atmosphere is dropped onto Earth

Question 46

Acid Rain Program

Answer 46

1990 Clean Air Act gave economic incentives to reduce emissions by setting up an emissions trading program for sulfur dioxide, allocating permits for pollution, and allowing emitters to buy/sell/trade their allowances

Question 47

Indoor air pollution

Answer 47

indoor air generally contains a greater concentration of pollutions

Question 48

Radon

Answer 48

colorless, odorless radioactive gas resulting from the decay of uranium in soil/rock/water, the second-leading cause of lung cancer

Question 49

Sick building syndrome

Answer 49

building-related illness caused by an unknown microbe