Pollution - 2

Question 1

What is Air pollution?

Answer 1

Air pollution comes from many different sources.

Question 2

Power stations and cars are one source

Answer 2

Power stations and cars constantly pump gases into the atmosphere.
Sulfur dioxide dissolves in atmospheric moisture to form acid rain, which has been shown to negatively impact forest, freshwater and soil ecosystems as well as human health.
Most car exhausts pump out significant amounts of carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and other animals because it binds to haemoglobin, reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.

Question 3

Burning Fossil Fuels:

Answer 3

Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that would otherwise have been locked away for millennia.
Methane and carbon dioxide enhance the greenhouse effect, causing global warming and climate change.

Question 4

Agriculture:

Answer 4

Many farming practices, such as rice paddies and cattle farms release huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere.
Industrial processes linked to agriculture (such as producing fertiliser) emit nitrous oxides, which contribute to acid rain.

Question 5

cooling systems:

Answer 5

CFCs are a group of gases released from aerosol cans, refrigerators and air conditioners.
CFCs have been linked to creating a hole in the ‘ozone layer’- a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere that protects us from harmful radiation.

Question 6

What is formed when sulfur dioxide dissolves in atmospheric moisture?

Answer 6

Acid Rain

Question 7

deforestation meaning:

Answer 7

Deforestation is the cutting, clearing and removal of forests in order to free up land for other purposes such as housing, agriculture or logging. Deforestation has a range of negative effects on an ecosystem:

Question 8

soil erosion:

Answer 8

Soil covering bare earth (compared to in forests) is more easily washed away by rain, which makes the remaining soil less fertile and harder to grow crops in.
Soil that erodes away in rainwater runoff can also take fertiliser minerals with it in a process called leaching. This water runoff can then pollute water sources and cause eutrophication.

Question 9

water cycle

Answer 9

Deforestation disrupts the water cycle by reducing evapotranspiration (the combination of transpiration from trees and evaporation from the ground).
When trees are removed, there is less transpiration.
Rainwater more easily runs off bare ground (rather than soaking into the soil), so less water stays in the soil and evaporates.
This means less water and then falls as rain and the land can turn into infertile desert.

Question 10

Biodiversity :

Answer 10

Deforestation destroys habitats. This causes biodiversity to be lost.

Question 11

atmospheric gases:

Answer 11

The burning of trees and decomposition of wood increases the rate of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere.
As less photosynthesis is taking place, less carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere in the carbon cycle.