Interpreting And Interacting With Earth Systems

Question 1

What pollutant is created from the complete combustion of fuels?

Answer 1

Carbon Dioxide

Question 2

What effects does carbon dioxide have?

Answer 2

Increases the greenhouse effect
Global Warming

Question 3

What pollutant is caused from incomplete combustion?

Answer 3

Carbon Monoxide

Question 4

What effect does carbon monoxide have?

Answer 4

Toxic gas, Cannot be seen or smelt
Prevents oxygen binding to haemoglobin

Question 5

What is the secondary pollutant created from the incomplete combustion of fuels?

Answer 5

Carbon Particulates

Question 6

What effects do carbon particulates have?

Answer 6

Global Dimming
Lung Disease
Respiratory Issues

Question 7

How is sulfur dioxide produced as a pollutant?

Answer 7

Combustion of fuels where sulfur impurities in fuels react with oxygen

Question 8

What effects do sulfur dioxide have?

Answer 8

Acid Rain
Change Soil pH
Respiratory Issues

Question 9

How does sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide form acid rain?

Answer 9

They dissolve in water and so get condensed forming rain. They are then precipitated as acid rain

Question 10

How are nitrogen oxides formed?

Answer 10

Nitrogen oxides are pollutants produced when atmospheric nitrogen reacts with oxygen in hot engines to facilitate the reaction

Question 11

What are the main greenhouses gases?

Answer 11

Water Vapour (Most Significant)
Methane
Carbon Dioxide
Nitrous Oxide

Question 12

How do greenhouse gases warm up earth?

Answer 12

The sun emits UV short length radiation that warm up the Earth’s surface
Most of it is remitted as IR long length radiation
Greenhouses gases absorb some of the IR radiation
They then re-radiate thermal radiation in all directions, including back to earth

Question 13

How are humans putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?

Answer 13

Deforestation
Burning Fossil Fuels
Cattle Farming
Landfill Sites
Rice Fuels

Question 14

What are the effects of greenhouse gases?

Answer 14

Sea level rise, Loss of habitats, Extinction of species, Extreme weather conditions, Forest fires, Changing animal migration patterns, Damage to coral reefs, Difficulty growing crops

Question 15

How are humans reducing greenhouse emission?

Answer 15

Reduce use of fossil fuels
Afforestation
Less Cattle Farming
Recycling
Carbon Capture

Question 16

What is the current atmosphere made up of?

Answer 16

78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
<1% Carbon Dioxide
<1% Other Gases

Question 17

What was Earth’s old atmosphere made up of?

Answer 17

95% Carbon Dioxide
4% Water Vapour
<1% Oxygen
<1% Other Gases

It was very similar to Mars and Venus’s current atmospheres

Question 18

What released gases in Earth’s early existence?

Answer 18

Intense volcanic activity released carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapour

Question 19

What increased levels of water in Earth?

Answer 19

As Earth cooled, water vapour condensed and fell as rain forming bodies of water

Question 20

What increased levels of oxygens in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 20

Algae and plants produced oxygen that is now in the atmosphere because of photosynthesis. As plants continued to evolve, oxygen levels increased

Question 21

What increased nitrogen levels in the atmosphere?

Answer 21

Nitrogen build up was caused by intense volcanic activity. Moreover, ammonia reactions released nitrogen.

Question 22

How was the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduced?

Answer 22

Carbon dioxide dissolved in the water
Carbon dioxide was locked into rocks
Carbon dioxide was taken in in photosynthesis

Question 23

What is potable water?

Answer 23

Potable water is safe to drink and is usually impure. This is because it has low levels of dissolved salts and microbes

Question 24

What is the first process of making potable water?

Answer 24

Sedimentation is where water is left so that gravity bring larger substances to the bottom which are then filtered out

Question 25

What is the second process of making potable water?

Answer 25

Filtration is where water is passed through sand or gravel to filter out smaller substances

Question 26

What is the last process of making potable water?

Answer 26

Sterilisation is where chlorine/ozone/UV light are put through water to kill microbes

Question 27

What are the two processes used to make potable water from saline?

Answer 27

Desalination and Reverse Osmosis

Question 28

What is involved in desalination?

Answer 28

Sea water is heated until it boils and the steam produced is pure water which is condensed to make pure water

Question 29

What is involved in reverse osmosis?

Answer 29

Water is put under high pressure and passed through a membrane; the pores allow water molecules but prevent most ions and molecules from passing through

Question 30

What are the disadvantages of desalination?

Answer 30

It requires a lot of energy to boil the water and then cool it
The waste water is often very salty and can be difficult to dispose of in a sustainable way that does not harm marine life

Question 31

What are the disadvantages of reverse osmosis?

Answer 31

Reverse osmosis requires expensive membranes
They produce a large volume of waste water and so has a low efficiency

Question 32

What are the 3 sources of waste water and what are harmful about them?

Answer 32

Human waste
Industrial waste
Agricultural waste

Question 33

What are the steps to sewage treatment?

Answer 33

Screening and grit removal to remove large particles
Sedimentation allows tiny particles to settle from still water which produces sewage sludge and effluent (the liquid which remains on top)
The sewage sludge is digested anaerobically by specific bacteria
The effluent is treated with aerobic bacteria to reduce the volume of solid waste
The water then goes through sedimentation letting it sit