Unit 7- Atmosphere Pollution Vocabulary

Question 1

Acid Deposition

Answer 1

The settling of acidic or acid forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto Earth’s surface. This may take place by precipitation, fog, gases, or the deposition of dry particles.

Question 2

Aerosols

Answer 2

Very fine liquid droplets or solid particles aloft in the atmosphere.

Question 3

Air Pollution/Indoor Air Pollution

Answer 3

The act of polluting the air, or the condition of being polluted by air pollutants.

Question 4

Air Pollutants

Answer 4

Gases and particulate material added to the atmosphere that can affect climate or harm people or other organism.

Question 5

Air Quality Index(AQI)

Answer 5

The U.S. AQI is EPA’s index for reporting air quality.

Question 6

Ambient Air Pollution/Outdoor Air Pollution

Answer 6

Air pollution that occurs outdoors.

Question 7

Carbon Monoxide(CO)

Answer 7

A colorless, orderless gas produced primarily by the incomplete combustion of fuel.

Question 8

Carbon Dioxide(CO2)

Answer 8

A colorless gas used by plants for photosynthesis, given off by respiration, and released by burning fossil fuels. A primary greenhouse gas whose builtup contributes to global climate change.

Question 9

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s)

Answer 9

A type of halocarbon consisting of only chlorine, fluorine, carbon, and hydrogen. CFC’s were used as refrigerants, fire extinguishers, propellants for aerosol spray cans, cleaners for electronics, and for making polystyrene foam. They were phased out under the Montreal Protocol because they were ozone–depleting substances that destroyed stratospheric ozone.

Question 10

Criteria Pollutant

Answer 10

Six air pollutants-carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, tropospheric ozone particulate matter, and lead-for which the Environmental Protection Agency has established maximum allowable concentrations in ambient outdoor air because of the threats they pose to human health.

Question 11

Industrial Smog

Answer 11

“Gray-air” smog caused by the incomplete combustion of coal or oil when burned.

Question 12

Inversion Layer

Answer 12

In a temperature inversion, the band of air in which temperature rises with altitude (instead of falling with altitude, as temperature does normally).

Question 13

Lead

Answer 13

A heavy metal that may be ingested through water or pain, or that may enter the atmosphere as a particulate pollutant through combustion of leaded gasoline or other processes. Atmospheric lead deposit on land and water can enter the food chain, accumulate within body tissues, and cause lead poisoning in animals and people.

Question 14

National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS)

Answer 14

Maximum allowable concentrations of criteria pollutants in ambient outdoor air, set by the U.S. EPA.

Question 15

Nitrogen Oxides

Answer 15

One of a family of compounds that includes nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Question 16

Ozone(O3)

Answer 16

A molecule consisting of three atoms of oxygen. Absorbs ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere.

Question 17

Particulate Matter

Answer 17

Solid or liquid particles small enough to be suspended in the atmosphere and able to damage respiratory tissues when inhaled. Includes primary pollutants such as dust and soot as well as secondary pollutants such as sulfates and nitrates.

Question 18

Photochemical Smog

Answer 18

“Brown-air”smog caused by light-driven reactions of primary pollutants with normal compounds that produce a mix of over 100 different chemicals, ground-level ozone often being the most abundant among them.

Question 19

Primary Pollutant

Answer 19

A hazardous substance, such as soot or carbon monoxide, that is emitted into the troposphere in a form that is directly harmful.

Question 20

Residence Time

Answer 20

(1) In a biogeochemical cycle, the amount of time a nutrient remains in a given pool or reservoir before moving to another.
(2) In the atmosphere, the amount of time a gas molecule or a pollutant remains aloft.

Question 21

Scrubber

Answer 21

Technology to chemically treat gases produced in combustion in order to reduce smokestack emissions. These devices typically remove hazardous components and neutralize acidic gases, such as sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid, turning them into water and salt.

Question 22

Secondary Pollutant

Answer 22

A hazardous substance produced through the reaction of substances added to the atmosphere with chemicals normally found in the atmosphere.

Question 23

Sulfur Dioxide(SO2)

Answer 23

A colorless gas that can result from the combustion of coal. In the atmosphere, it may react to form sulfur trioxide and sulfuric acid, which may return to Earth in acid deposition.

Question 24

Thermal Inversion/Temperature Inversion

Answer 24

A departure from the normal temperature distribution in the atmosphere, in which a pocket of relatively cold air occurs near the ground, with warmer air above it. The cold air, denser than the air above it, traps pollutants near the ground and can there by cause a buildup of smog.

Question 25

Toxic Air Pollutant

Answer 25

Air pollutant that is known to cause cancer, reproductive defects, or neurological, developmental, immune system, or respiratory problems in humans, and/or to cause substantial ecological harm by affecting the health of nonhuman animals and plants. The Clean Air Act of 1990 identifies 188 toxic air pollutants, ranging from the heavy metal mercury to volatile organic compounds(VOCs) such as benzene and methylene chloride.

Question 26

Tropospheric Ozone

Answer 26

Ozone that occurs in the troposphere, where it is a secondary pollution created by the interaction of sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, and volatile carbon- containing chemicals. A major component of smog, it can injure living tissues and cause respiratory problems.

Question 27

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Answer 27

One of a large group of potentially harmful organic chemicals used in industrial processes. One of six major pollutants whose emissions are monitored by the EPA and state agencies.