Air Pollution – High School
1. What is a company, factory or business that releases air pollutants into the atmosphere called?
A. an emitter
B. a smoker
C. an unregulated polluter
D. a regulated polluter
2. What is it called when a company, factory or business that gives off fewer emissions than it has permits for sells them
to other companies, factories or businesses who have more emissions than permits?
A. trading emissions
B. fining emitters
C. donating emission
D. illegal
3. What is it called when a country limits the total amount of a pollutant that all companies, factories or businesses within
its borders can emit?
A. a cap
B. unfair practices
C. a subsidy
D. a fine
4. What kind of government initiative is a cap and trade program?
A. economic incentives
B. research
C. education and information
D. penalties
5. What kind of government initiative is the Near-Road EXposures to Urban Air Pollutants (NEXUS) study of the impact of
vehicle emissions on near-road air quality, human exposures and potential health effects?
A. research
B. economic incentives
C. education and information
D. penalites
6. What kind of government initiative is the publication and distribution of the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) readings for
cities so people know when it is safe to work or play outside?
A. education and information
B. economic incentives
C. penalties
D. research
Correct Answer - A
Air Pollution – High School
7. What kind of government initiative is witholding federal highway funds for a state that does not meet federal air quality
standards within a set time?
A. penalties
B. education and information
C. economic incentives
D. research
8. Who passes air protection laws, assigns protection to an agency and provides funding for enforcement?
A. congress or legislatures
B. the court system
C. agencies in the executive branch
D. non-governmental organizations
9. Who sets specific standards for air protection laws, helps people, businesses and agencies follow them and enforces
them when they are not followed?
A. agencies in the executive branch
B. the court system
C. non-governmental organizations
D. congresss or legislatures
10. Who encourages passage of air protection laws and supports their enforcement?
A. non-governmental organizations
B. the court system
C. congress or legislatures
D. agencies in the executive branch
11. What is a governmental factor that affects enforcement of air protection laws?
A. an administration's attitude about the law
B. whether the courts think it is a good law or a bad law
C. how serious the human health concerns are
D. how serious the environmental concerns are
12. The Primary Standards of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) address public health protection.
Which of these would be included in this standard?
A. protecting "sensitive" populations
B. decreased visibility in cities and natural areas
C. damage to animals and crops
D. damage to buildings
13. The Secondary Standards of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) address public welfare protection.
Which of these would be included in this standard?
A. damage to animals and crops
B. protecting asthmatics
C. protecting children
D. protecting the elderly
Correct Answer - A
Air Pollution – High School
14. Where does most of the mercury pollution in the air come from?
A. burning coal in power plants
B. burning gasoline in cars and trucks
C. burning wood in wood stoves
D. burning natural gas in power plants
15. Mercury in air emissions eventually ends up as methyl mercury in fish. What converts the mercury in the air to the
more lethal methyl mercury?
A. bacteria
B. algae
C. fish
D. soil
16. What is the primary health effect of methyl mercury in fetuses, infants and children?
A. impaired neurological development
B. impaired limb development
C. impaired lung and respiratory function
D. cancer
17. How does the EPA regulate mercury under the Clean Air Act?
A. the 2011 rules require power plants to scrub mercury out of their emissions
B. the EPA does not have the right to regulate mercury under the Clean Air Act because it is a new pollutant
C. the 2011 rules require power plants to measure the mercury in their emissions
D. the 2011 rules set voluntary standards for power plants to follow
18. How does mercury get into coal?
A. it was naturally taken up in tiny amounts by the prehistoric plants which became coal
B. it seeps into coal beds from underground deposits
C. mercury is used during the mining of coal to release it from other minerals
D. mercury is added in the processing of coal
19. Because of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, many people chose not to drive their cars. As a result, traffic went
down 23%. Because people were not driving, ozone air pollution went down 28%. Emergency Room visits for asthma
events in children went down 42%. What could you conclude from these facts?
A. ozone air pollution from cars might contribute to asthma events in children
B. there is no connection between ozone air pollution and asthma events in children
C. there is no connection between driving and ozone air pollution
D. the Olympics are a cure for asthma
Correct Answer - A
Air Pollution – High School
20. Because of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, many people chose not to drive their cars. As a result, traffic went
down 23%. Because people were not driving, ozone air pollution went down 28%. Emergency Room visits for asthma
events in children went down 42%. Based on these facts, what might help reduce asthma events in children?
A. if people chose to drive their cars less
B. if people chose to drive their cars more
C. if people lived further out of the city
D. if people traded places with people in other cities
21. When did scientists discover holes in the ozone?
A. in the 1970s
B. in the 1860s
C. in the 1890s
D. in the 2000s
22. What is the place in the upper atmosphere where the ozone is so thin that UV light easily passes through?
A. the ozone hole
B. the ozone sink
C. the ozone blanket
D. the ozone window
23. Where are the ozone holes (there is more than one) located?
A. at the poles
B. in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at the equator
C. over large deserts
D. they appear to be distributed randomly
24. What causes the disappearance of ozone (O3) in the upper atmosphere?
A. chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) react with O3 to convert it to oxygen
B. O3 is only formed during sunspot activity
C. nitrogen gas (N2) reacts with O3 to form nitrogen dioxide
D. water vapor reacts with O3 to form simple sugars
25. Which layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone that protects earth from ultra violet (UV) light?
A. the stratosphere
B. the troposphere
C. the mesosphere
D. the thermosphere
26. Where do chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) come from?
A. refrigerants, accelerants (used in sprays), and gases used in making styrofoam
B. bleach-based cleansers
C. mining of fluoride for toothpaste and other applications
D. fluoridated compounds used for etching computer hard drives
Correct Answer - A
Air Pollution – High School
27. Since the ratification of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was in 1989, ozone
depleting gases have gone from 2200 ppt (parts per trillion) to 2000 ppt. What percent decline is that?
A. 10%
B. 20%
C. 5%
D. 40%
28. What are devices that remove particulates and/or gases from industrial or power plant emissions?
A. smoke stack scrubbers
B. catalytic converters
C. air filters
D. mufflers
29. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 6.7% of deaths world-wide were due to ambient air
pollution. There were 55.2 million deaths in 2012. How many people died from air pollution?
A. 3.7 million
B. 8.2 million
C. 36.7 million
D. 1.3 mllion
30. Which of these vehicle-related factors kills the most people in southern California?
A. ozone and particulate matter air pollution from vehicles
B. car crashes
C. being run over by a car
D. accidents in businesses that make, work on or ship cars
31. Who develops fish advisories based on mercury content?
A. environmental toxicologists
B. atmospheric chemists
C. environmental epidemiologists
D. air quality technicians
32. Who monitors ozone in the upper atmosphere?
A. atmospheric chemists
B. air quality technicians
C. environmental toxicologists
D. environmental epidemiologists
33. Who monitors ozone at ground level?
A. air quality technicians
B. environmental epidemiologists
C. atmospheric chemists
D. environmental toxicologists
Correct Answer - A
Air Pollution – High School
34. Who monitors patterns of disease caused by exposure to pollutants?
A. environmental epidemiologists
B. atmospheric chemists
C. air quality technicians
D. environmental toxicologists
35. What is a volatile organic compound (VOC)?
A. carbon compounds that evaporate easily into the air (give off fumes)
B. nitrogen compounds that easily condense out of the air into droplets
C. compounds that are explosive
D. oxygen compounds that evaporate easily into the air and give off fumes
36. How is air pollution measured and tracked?
A. by ground-based air chemistry sampling sites throughout the U.S.
B. by satellite monitoring systems
C. by visual inspection of air quality three times a day in big cities
D. by upper atmosphere air chemistry balloon samplers over big cities
Correct Answer - A