Environmental Chemistry Flashcards
Why are fossil fuels burned
To create energy
What gases are let off when fossil fuels are burned
Nitrogen and sulphur
What happens when the gases from the fossil fuels are burned
They have a reaction with the air particles turning them into acidic gases.
What happens when’s once they have turned into gases
They dissolve into the clouds and fall as acidic rain
What are the effects of acidic rain
Erodes bricks on buildings and houses
Pollutes lakes causing the animals (fish) to die
Infect the soil and kill plants
What can effect the soil
The air/temperature can pollute it
Type and amount of water - how many nutrients in it
The rock underneath it
What is soil made up of
Biomass- rotting animals/plants
Animal droppings
Sand and clay
What do you do to test the soil on the ph scale
Litmus paper or universal indicator
The more red it is means it is acidic
The more purple it is means it is an alkali
If it is green (7) it is neutral
Where can we find carbon dioxide and what can it do
In sedimentary rock as a carbonate and fossil fuels or in rivers and lakes - it heats our earth
What do green house gases do
Cause global warming
What are the types of greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour,
How do humans contribute to global warming
We burn fossil fuels
Intense cattle farming - cow farts let off co2
Deforestation -trees can’t absorb co2
Exothermic reaction
Gives out heat energy- gets warmer
Endothermic reaction
Takes heat in - gets colder
What are some examples of endothermic reactions
Photosynthesis
Water evaporating
Examples of exothermic
Respiration
Combustion
What is combustion
Burning
Decomposition
Break down
In a thermal decomposition equation what is it always
One reactant and two products
How do we know if co2 is released when we burn carbonates
It turns black
What is a thermal decomposition equation
Copper carbonate = copper oxide + carbon dioxide
What is conservation of mass
A balanced equation - atoms are never destroyed or made
How many atoms do I have
Al2(CO3)3
14 atoms
How do I balance this equation
Zn + HCl = ZnCl2 + H2
Zn + H2Cl2= ZnCl2+ H2
