Air Pollution

Pollution of the Atmosphere

Multiple Choice

The force exerted by air on the area below it is called air pressure.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Temperature increases with height in the ______ due to the ozone trapping heat.

• troposphere

• stratosphere

• mesosphere

• thermosphere

Multiple Choice

The Troposphere provides living things with oxygen.

• True

• False

Lesson Objectives

• Explain how both natural processes and human activities can cause air pollution

• Describe how air pollutants affect human health

• Explain what causes smog and how temperature inversions affect it and other forms of air pollution

• Explain how acid deposition occurs and describe its effects

Sources of Air Pollution

• Air Pollution: The Release of damaging materials into the atmosphere

• Emissions: damaging substances that are released into the atmosphere

  • Can be tiny particulates or gas compounds

Natural Processes of Air Pollution

• Natural Processes produce a great deal of air pollution

  • Dust can be blown into the air

  • Volcanic Eruptions release both gases and particles into the air

  • Natural fires can release gases

  • Pollen from plants

Human Sources

• People's activities can influence air quality

  • air pollution from humans comes from both point and nonpoint sources of pollution

  • human activities can speed up and increase natural sources of pollution

• Fossil Fuels: Carbon-containing fuels that formed from the remains of living things

  • Take millions of years to form

  • The main source of human-caused air pollution

Primary Air Pollutants

• Primary Air Pollutants: pollutants released directly into the troposphere

  • Causes Damage to organisms themselves

  • Can react with other products to cause damage

Secondary Air Pollutants

• Secondary Air Pollutants: Harmful products that are produced when primary air pollutants chemically react with other substances

  • Examples: Ozone in the Troposphere, Sulfuric Acid

Multiple Choice

Carbon containing fuels that formed from the remains of living things are called....

• petroleum fuels
• fossil fuels
• organic fuels
• living fuels

Multiple Select

Natural causes of air pollution include all of the following

• forest fires

• dust

• volcanic ash

• wind

• pollen

Multiple Choice

_______________ are any type of pollutant directly into the environment.

• asbestos

• smog

• primary pollutants

• secondary pollutants

Air Pollutants and Health

• Air pollutants can do serious harm to organisms

• The most affected system is the Respiratory System

  • Transports oxygen into the body and removes carbon dioxide

• Dust and particles can irritate air passages and lungs

  • Repeated exposure can cause chronic conditions

    • Asthma, Bronchitis, Emphysema

• Several pollutants have been linked to cancer

  • Soot

  • Benzene from car Gasoline

The Effect of Carbon Monoxide

• Carbon Monoxide (CO)

• Affects the body's ability to bind oxygen to hemoglobin

• Leads to oxygen deprivation

  • Headaches, tiredness, nausea

• Overtime, the heart becomes overworked trying to deliver oxygen and eventually stops working

Smog and Temperature Inversions

• Smog: A combination of Smoke and Fog

  • An unhealthy mixture of air pollutants tends to form in cities and surrounding areas

• Two types can form in different situations

  • Industrial smog

  • Photochemical smog

Industrial Smog

• Produced when soot combines with sulfur compounds and water droplets in the air

• More common in developed nations 50-100 years ago, but has decreased due to laws and regulations

  • Still common in developed nations due to fewer regulations

Photochemical Smog

• Photochemical: A process that needs light to occur

• Photochemical smog tends to be a thick, brownish haze when sunlight acts on certain air pollutants

  • Nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons

  • Main source is chemicals released by cars and trucks

• Tropospheric ozone is the most abundant pollutant in photochemical smog

  • Can damage tissues of living organisms

Temperature Inversions

• In the troposphere, air temperature decreases as altitude increases

• Air closer to the surface is warmer

  • Warm air rises and carries pollutants higher into the troposphere and disperses them

• Temperature Inversion: a situation where a layer of colder air is located beneath warmer air

  • Keeps pollutants closer to the ground and stops them from dispersing

Acid Deposition

• Some pollutants combine with water and chemicals in the air to form acids

• Acid Deposition: acids that settle to the surface of the air

  • Sometimes called acid rain

    • Rain that has a low pH

    • Most rain has a pH of 5.3 naturally, so anything lower than 5.0 is considered acidic rain

      • can go as low as 4.3

Sources and effects of Acid Deposition

• Acid deposition starts with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide

  • Mainly produced through fossil fuels in automobiles and electric power plants

• The wind carries pollutants long distances

• Acid deposition harms ecosystems

  • Many organisms can't survive a low pH

  • Reacts with chemicals in the soil to release toxins

Multiple Choice

Which of these problems can be caused by air pollution?

• Respiratory problems
• Reduced food sources for humans
• Increased bacterial disease for humans

• Decrease in global temperatures

Multiple Choice

Acid precipitation is formed

when

• sulfur oxides or nitrogen

  oxides combine with

  water.

• sulfur oxides combine

  with nitrogen oxides.

• ozone combines with

  automobile exhaust.

• nitric or sulfuric acids

  combine with ozone.

Multiple Choice

A colorless, odorless gas that decreases the blood's ability to carry oxygen.  Can cause faintness, death.

• Nitrogen oxides
• Ground-level ozone
• Carbon monoxide
• Sulfur dioxide

Multiple Choice

A mixture of smoke, fog and chemicals in the air is known as ________.

• oxygen

• radiation

• smog

Multiple Choice

_______________ is an atmospheric condition that traps pollution near the ground

• Temperature inversion

• Pressure

  inversion

• Temperature anomaly

• Pressure

  gradient

Multiple Choice

Acid deposition is caused by mainly by...

• Burning fossil fuels
• Solar energy
• Industrial emissions
• Deforestation

Multiple Choice

Lead can bond to hemoglobin and deprive the body of oxygen.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Acid rain has a pH of less than...

• 5.0

• 5.6

• 7.0

• 8.5

Multiple Choice

Industrial Smog is a haze formed when sunlight acts on air pollutants

• True

• False