Unit 7

Question 1

Causes and effects of SO2

Answer 1

Cause: Coal Combustion
Effect: Irritates respiratory system, Acid Precipitation, Smog

Question 2

Causes and effects of NOx

Answer 2

Causes: all fossil fuel combustion, coal especially
Effects: Tropospheric Ozone, photochemical smog, Acid Precipitation

Question 3

Causes and effects of CO

Answer 3

Causes: incomplete combustion of fossil fuels
Effect: bonds to hemoglobin in blood and suffocates people

Question 4

Causes and effects of PM

Answer 4

Causes: fossil fuel and biomass combustion
Effects: Respiratory irritation, Smog

Question 5

Causes and effects of O3

Answer 5

Causes: photochemical oxidation of NO2
Effects: Respiratory irritation, Smog, Damages Plants

Question 6

Causes and effects of Lead

Answer 6

Causes: mental plants, waste incineration, old paint
Effects: neurotoxin (harms nervous system and development)

Question 7

Is CO2 an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act? Why?

Answer 7

No, it does not directly lower air quality for human health. It is not toxic to breath in, but it does heat the atmosphere.

Question 8

What type of fossil fuel releases the most air pollutants?

Answer 8

Coal combustion

Question 9

Vehicles made after 1974 must have _______ to reduce _____ and ____ emissions.

Answer 9

Catalytic converters, NOx, CO

Question 10

Primary Air Pollutants

Answer 10

pollutants emitted directly from the source (vehicles, power plants, factories
Ex. SO2, NOx, CO

Question 11

Secondary Air Pollutants

Answer 11

Pollutants that have gone through a transformation in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight, H2O, or O2.
Ex. nitric acid, tropospheric O3

Question 12

What are factors that increase smog formation?

Answer 12

More traffic
Hotter temperature
More VOCs
More electricity demand

Question 13

How can we reduce? smog?

Answer 13

decrease the number of vehicles on the road
increased electricity production from renewable energy sources

Question 14

How does smog impact plants?

Answer 14

smog reduces sunlight and limits photosynthesis.

Question 15

How does smog impact humans?

Answer 15

irritates the reparatory system (worsening asthma and bronchitis)

Question 16

How does smog impact the economy?

Answer 16

-increased healthcare cost puts a strain on the economy
-Loss of worker productivity
-decreases agricultural yields

Question 17

Urban Heating Island

Answer 17

the idea that cities have a hotter average surface temperature then the surrounding rural and suburban areas.

Question 18

What causes the Urban Heating Island?

Answer 18

Lower albedo: concrete and asphalt absorb more of the suns energy then grass.
Less evapotranspiration: evaporation of water from plants brings heat back to the atmosphere.

Question 19

Thermal Inversion

Answer 19

a cooler air mass becomes trapped near earth’s surface causing a sandwich of warm air between two masses of cold air.

Question 20

Effect of thermal inversion

Answer 20

Air pollutants become trapped near the earth’s surface because the pollutants no longer rise with the hot air

Question 21

Examples of PM 10

Answer 21

pollen, dust, ash, mold

Question 22

Examples of PM 2.5

Answer 22

particles from combustion

Question 23

What does aerobic decomposition release?

Answer 23

CO2

Question 24

What does anaerobic decomposition release??

Answer 24

CH4

Question 25

What is Radon Gas?

Answer 25

radioactive gas that is released by the natural decay or Uranium underground. It seeps through groundwater or cracks in house foundations.

Question 26

What year di the EPA ban the use of lead paint?

Answer 26

1978

Question 27

Clean Air Act

Answer 27

allows EPA to set acceptable levels for the emission of air pollutants

Question 28

Pollution Credits

Answer 28

companies can get credits from the government for reducing emissions below the EPA standards. These credits can then be sold to other companies.

Question 29

CAFE vehicle Standards

Answer 29

(Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards that require US vehicles to meet fuel economy standards.

Question 30

Vapor Recovery Nozzles

Answer 30

a separate tube inside the gas pump that captures VOCs released from gas fuel when refueling.

Question 31

Catalytic Converter

Answer 31

Converts NOx, CO, and hydrocarbons emitted by cars into CO2, N2, O2 and H2O
Required since 1975

Question 32

Crushed Limestone

Answer 32

Mixed with coal to reduce the SO2 emitted from coal plants

Question 33

Dry Scrubbers

Answer 33

Large Collums filled with chemicals that absorb or neutralize oxides.

Question 34

Wet Scrubbers

Answer 34

Chemicals that are sprayed in a large collum to absorb or neutralize NOx, VOCs, SOx

Question 35

Fluidized Bed Combustion

Answer 35

jets of air pumped into combustion bed to increase the amount of O2 in the combustion reaction, making combustion more efficient.
-allows coal to be combusted at a lower temperature, therefor producing less NOx

Question 36

Electrostatic Precipitator

Answer 36

Emissions pass through a device that gives them a negative charge, so they stick to positively charged plates.

Question 37

Baghouse filter

Answer 37

a fabric bag filter that traps PM from emissions

Question 38

Environmental effects of acid rain

Answer 38

-leach positively charged nutrients from the soil (K+, CA2+)
-make toxic metals more soluble in water

Question 39

Methods for mitigating acid rain

Answer 39

Limestone: provides a natural buffer for the effects of acid rain
Limiting SO2 and NOx: reduce the chemicals that lead to acid rain

Question 40

Urban Noise Pollution

Answer 40

any noise that has great enough volume to lead to physiological stress