Name: ___________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Core: 1 2 3 4
Pollution: Global Air Virtual Lab
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS20/LS20.html
Which countries contribute the most global air pollution?
Air pollution contaminates Earth’s atmosphere. The greatest source of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels. Humans
burn fuel to heat buildings, to run engines on busses, cars, planes, and trains, to produce electricity in power plants, and
to drive various manufacturing and industrial processes. The smoke released by burning fuels contain substances that
can harm living organisms.
Any substance that contaminates the environment and causes pollution is a pollutant. Pollutants released into the air by
the burning of fossil fuels interact to form the smog that is present over many cities throughout the world. The burning
of fossil fuels also emits large quantities of carbon dioxide and other gasses into the atmosphere. These gasses cause
Earth to get warmer. This phenomenon is known as global warming. Air pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels can
also increase the acidity of rain. Acid rain is rain or snow with a pH below 5.6. When acid rain falls, it lowers the pH of
land and water and often causes organisms in those environments to die.
Other air pollutants cause depletion of the ozone: the layer of the atmosphere that blocks harmful ultraviolet (UV)
radiation from reaching Earth’s surface. Chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), used in the cooling systems of
refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners, are the primary cause of ozone depletion.
Emissions from fossil fuel production and consumption, deforestation, agriculture, industry, and other human activities
continue to increase air pollution. Most scientists agree that a continued increase in air pollution will change Earth’s
climate, destroy the protective ozone layer, acidity rainfall, and directly affect the health of all of Earth’s organisms.
In this virtual lab, you will collect and analyze air pollution data from different countries.
Objectives:
o
o
Compare and contrast air pollutant emission figures among selected countries of the world.
Explore the relationship between air pollutant emissions and environmental quality.
Procedure:
Note: The data included in this lab comes from countries for which the most complete and accurate data are available.
1. At any time in the lab, click the Global Warming, Ozone Depletion, and Acid Rain file tabs to find information.
2. Click a pollution source at the top of the screen for information about a type of air pollutant. Click the fact to
close it.
3. Click a country on the map. Click the fact cards to close it.
4. Click other pollution sources to obtain more air pollution data on the selected country. (NOTE: The scientific unit
“000 metric tons” means thousands of metric tons, and “watt hours” is a metric unit of energy.)
5. Click the globe to obtain world air pollution data. Compare the data. Calculate the percentage of each air
pollutant emission the selected country contributes to the world’s total. (To do this, divide the selected
country’s data by the world data and multiply by 100.) Enter the percentage in the table. Repeat this step for
each air pollutant.
6. When you have gathered data in the table for 5 countries (the first one must be USA, the rest is up to you), click
the graph button.
7. Compare and contrast the percentages of different kinds of air pollution emissions from different countries.
8. Complete the journal questions.
Contribution to World Air Pollution by selected countries
Country
Contribution
Carbon
Dioxide
Contribution
Methane
Contribution
CFC’s
Contribution
Nitrogen
Oxides
Contribution
Sulphur
Dioxide
1. USA
2.
3.
4.
5.
1. Use your data to determine which country makes the most significant contribution to the greenhouse
effect. Which makes the second most significant contribution? Which country makes the least
significant contribution? Why do you think this is?
2. Based on your data, which country contributes most to total CFC emissions? Which country makes the
second highest contribution? Which country contributes least to global CFC emissions?
3. Examine your data. Then list the three countries you believe have the most significant acid rain
problems. Explain your answer.
4. Using data gathered in this activity, explain why the USA produces more air pollution than all other
countries yet accounts for only about 4.5 % of the world’s people.
5. Which country do you think has the best overall air quality? Why?
6. Which country do you think has the poorest overall air quality? Why?