Earth Science

Question 1

how is acid rain created?

Answer 1

when impurities in hydrocarbons burn, they let out sulfur dioxide which will dissolve in the water to form an acidic solution

Question 2

what are 3 ways to prevent/reduce the effects of acid rain?

Answer 2

-remove sulfur from fuel at a refinery
-prevent sulfur from leaving power stations’ chimneys using flue gas desulfurization
-add calcium carbonate/ calcium hydroxide to fields and lakes to neutralise excess acid

Question 3

what are the 3 effects of acid rain?

Answer 3

• speeds up weathering
• tress are damaged
• organisms in rivers and lakes will be harmed

Question 4

what other chemical contributes to acid rain (other than sulfur dioxide)

Answer 4

nitrogen dioxide

Question 5

how is nitrogen dioxide created?

Answer 5

when air goes into the engine for the fuel to burn. Nitrogen and oxygen from the air react together at high temperatures in the engine to produce oxides of nitrogen

Question 6

what was the atmosphere like in the early atmosphere?

Answer 6

-little or no oxygen
-a large amount of CO2
-water vapour
-small amounts of other gases

Question 7

what is evidence for the early atmosphere being the way it was

Answer 7

• volcanoes would have released carbon dioxide
• matches the atmosphere of other planets in our solar system which living organisms have not changed

Question 8

what is the atmosphere like today (with percentages)

Answer 8

78% nitrogen
21% oxygen
1% other gases

Question 9

why did the amount of CO2 in the early atmosphere decline

Answer 9

• as the earth cooled, oceans would have formed
• the CO2 would have dissolved in the oceans
• would have been used by marine organisms for their shells
• shells of dead organisms would fall to the sea bed and become sediment that over millions of years would have been squashed from sedimentary rocks

Question 10

why did the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere increase

Answer 10

• Earth cooled, oceans formed
• life started using photosynthesis which produces oxygen

Question 11

how do old rocks containing iron show that there was little oxygen in the early atmosphere

Answer 11

the iron in the rocks would have been oxidised if there was oxygen present in the early atmosphere

Question 12

what is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 12

when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb heat emitted by the earth and release it back into the atmosphere, heating the atmosphere

Question 13

what are the 2 main greenhouse gases and how are they produced?

Answer 13

carbon dioxide - burning fossil fuels
methane - livestock farming

Question 14

what is global warming?

Answer 14

the increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere

Question 15

what is climate change?

Answer 15

long term changes to weather patterns