Name: _________________________
AP Environmental Science
The Atmosphere and Outdoor Air Pollution
15 April 2013
Chapter 19 – pp 439-452
1. Explain why lichens are like canaries in a coal mine for air pollution?
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2. _______________________________ is the force or mass per unit area of air. This ___________________
with altitude because there are _______________ gas molecules at higher altitudes.
3. Use Figure 19-2 on page 440 to complete the following matching section.
Characteristics of Atmospheric Layers
Atmospheric Layers
_____ 75-80% of the Earth’s air mass is found in this layer.
A. Troposphere
_____ The top of this atmospheric layer warms due to solar radiation
encountering the matter in Earth’s atmosphere for the first time
and therefore is the warmest part of the atmosphere.
B. Stratosphere
_____ Ozone found in this layer is considered to be a pollutant.
C. Mesosphere
_____ The majority of the Earth’s greenhouse gases including water
vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane are near the top of this
layer.
D. Thermosphere
_____ Most of the atmosphere’s ozone is concentrated in an ozone layer
in the lower portion of this atmospheric layer.
_____ The top of this atmospheric layer is the coldest part of the
atmosphere, meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere “burn up”here,
and it is the least understood of the layers.
4. Why is the ozone layer a good thing for life on Earth?
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5a. _________________________ is the presence of chemicals in the troposphere in concentrations high
enough to harm organisms, ecosystems, or materials, and high enough to alter climate.
5b. The two major sources of outdoor air pollutants from natural sources include ______________________
and _______________________. The major sources of outdoor air pollutants from human sources comes
from the burning of ____________________________ in power plants, factories, and motor vehicles.
6. What is the difference between a primary air pollutant and a secondary air pollutant?
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7. Match the pollutants in Column B with the statements in Column A.
Column A
Column B
_____ combination of nitrogen oxides and water vapor that contributes to
acid deposition
A. carbon monoxide
_____ colorless, highly reactive gas that is a major component of
photochemical smog and which exacerbates a variety of respiratory
ailments
B. carbon dioxide
_____ gases that form when nitrogen and oxygen react at high-combustion
temperatures, during lightning storms, or when bacteria create it as
part of the biological nitrogen cycle
C. nitrogen oxides
_____ organic compounds that exist as gases in the troposphere like
methane, benzene, and many aerosols
D. nitric acid
_____ colorless, odorless, highly toxic gas that comes from the incomplete
combustion of carbon-containing materials
E. sulfur dioxide
_____ a variety of solid particles and liquid droplets small and light
enough to remain suspended in the air for extended periods
F. sulfuric acid
_____ two-thirds of this colorless gas with an irritating odor comes from
burning coal, refining oil, or smelting ores that contain sulfur
G. suspended particulate
matter (SPM)
_____ a mostly natural greenhouse gas that traps heat in the troposphere
which became a regulated pollutant by the EPA in 2011
H. ozone
_____ naturally occur colorless, odorless, radioactive gas found in some
types of rock
I.
_____ result of water and sulfur dioxides combining in the troposphere
and returning to earth as wet or dry deposition
J. radon
volatile organic compounds
8. What is industrial smog or gray-air smog? Why is this rarely a problem in developed countries any more?
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9. What is the Asian Brown Cloud? What causes it?
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5a. What is e-waste? _______________________________________________________________________
10a. Air pollution known as __________________________ is a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants
formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun.
10b. Complete the chemical equation for the formation of photochemical smog.
_____________ + NOx + ______________ +________________ 
ground level ____________
+ photochemical oxidants
+ aldehyedes
+ secondary air pollutants
11. List FIVE factors that help reduce outdoor air pollution.
I. ________________________________________________________________________________
II. _______________________________________________________________________________
III._______________________________________________________________________________
IV._______________________________________________________________________________
V. _______________________________________________________________________________
1.2 Briefly explain how each of the factors below might increase outdoor air pollution.
urban buildings:_______________________________________________________________________
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hills and mountains:____________________________________________________________________
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higher temperatures:_____________________________________________________________________
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VOC emissions from certain trees and plants:_________________________________________________
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grasshopper effect:_______________________________________________________________________
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temperature inversions: ___________________________________________________________________
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13. Describe the two types of weather conditions and surface features that make an area prone to temperature
inversions.
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14a. Describe TWO differences between wet acid deposition and dry acid deposition?
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14b. Why is acid deposition a regional problem?
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15. Describe FOUR harmful effects of acid deposition.
I:____________________________________________________________________________________
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II:___________________________________________________________________________________
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III:___________________________________________________________________________________
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IV:___________________________________________________________________________________
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_____ 16. Which of the following is the least expensive way to prevent acid deposition?
A) Reduce the use of coal in favor of natural gas.
B) Retrofit existing coal-burning power plants with the latest pollution control equipment.
C) Use low sulfur coal or remove sulfur from coal.
D) Increase the use of renewable energy technologies.
E) Improve the energy efficiency of existing technologies that rely on fossil fuels