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Vocabulary
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Air pollution: chemicals added to the air by nature or human activities in high enough concentrations to be harmful
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Primary air pollutant: a harmful substance released directly into the atmosphere
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Secondary air pollutant: a harmful substance that forms in the atmosphere as a result of chemical reactions between primary air pollutants
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Particulates: solid or liquid particles suspended in the air
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Hydrocarbons: compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon
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Mobile sources: pollution from cars, trucks, planes and other sources of transportation
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Stationary sources: sources from power plants, homes, industries, etc.
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Photochemical smog: brownish-orange haze formed as a mixture of secondary pollutants from chemical reactions involving sunlight, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons
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Temperature inversion (Thermal inversion): when a layer of cold air is trapped beneath a layer of warm air.
The denser cold air cannot rise up through the warm air so air pollutants accumulate close to ground level.
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Emphysema: a progressive disease of the lungs in which the air sacs (alveoli) become damaged reducing the exchange of gases and the efficiency of the lungs
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Chronic bronchitis: chronic (long lasting) inflammation of the bronchi causing shortness of breath and chronic coughing
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Ultraviolet radiation: part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths that are just shorter than visible light
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Acid Deposition: rain, snow, sleet, hail or dry particles containing sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide. These react with water vapor to form sulfuric acid (H
2
SO
4
), nitric acid (HNO
3
) and nitrous acid (HNO
2
).
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Global distillation effect: the process whereby volatile chemicals evaporate from land as far away as the tropics and are carried by air currents to higher latitudes where they condense and fall to the ground.
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Alpha particles: a type of ionizing radiation
Two silly sentences....the first to help you remember the two main pollutants involved in acid deposition. The second to help you remember that coal-fired power plants are the primary source of SOX
Acid rain knocks (NOx) off your socks (SOx).
You don't want to get coal in your socks (SOx) for Christmas
List the four most common gases in the atmosphere and the percentage of each.
Describe four ecosystem services performed by the atmosphere.
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Give three examples of primary air pollutants.
Give three examples of secondary air pollutants
Give four examples of particulates.
Describe three problems that may be caused by particulates.
Identify the three chemicals classified as nitrogen oxides.
9. Describe six problems caused by nitrogen oxides.
10. Name two sulfur oxides.
11. Which one is a primary pollutant?
12. Sulfur oxides are linked to what air major pollution problem?
13. What is the primary problem caused by carbon monoxide?

14. What is the primary problem caused by carbon dioxide?
15. What is the name and chemical formula of the simplest hydrocarbon?
What problem is caused by this hydrocarbon?
16. All hydrocarbons except for the simplest one identified in the previous question contribute to the formation of ________________________________.
17. What is the chemical formula for ozone?
How does this compare with the chemical formula for the oxygen we breathe?
18. Ozone in the _______________(name the layer of the atmosphere) is harmful because
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
19. Ozone in the ______________ (name the layer of the atmosphere) is beneficial because
________________________________________________________________________.
20. What layer of the atmosphere is the lowest? _____________________
21. Classify ground level ozone as either a primary or secondary pollutant.
22. Identify the three industries that are the biggest producers of toxic air pollutants.
23. Give one example of a natural source of air pollution.
24. Explain how photochemical smog forms.
25. List four chemicals that are frequently part of the mixture called photochemical smog.
26. Why is photochemical smog primarily a problem during the summer?
27. What does VOCs stand for?
28. List 3 sources of VOCs.
29. What topographic features increase the risk of temperature inversions?
30. Why are temperature inversions linked to poor air quality?
31. How has air quality in Los Angles changed during the last 50 years?
32. Air pollution is linked to ____________ premature deaths in China each year.
33. Why does China have such poor air quality?
34. List three respiratory diseases that are caused by or aggravated by air pollution.
35. Describe the toxic effects of carbon monoxide.
36. Coal fired power plants are a major source of what air pollutants?

37. Explain why children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.
38. How has overall air quality in the US changed since 1970?
39. Describe how each of the following help to reduce air pollution. (How do they work? What pollutants do they remove?)
- Vapor recovery-
- Electrostatic precipitator-
- Scrubber-
40. Which federal agency oversees the Clean Air Act?
41. List the six criteria pollutants that receive the most attention under the Clean Air Act.
42. What is a nonattainment area?
43. What is stratospheric ozone thinning?
- When does this seasonal event occur?
- Where does it occur?
44. Ozone depletion is caused by certain _____________ and ____________containing chemicals , especially chlorofluorocarbons.
45. Describe at least three uses for chlorofluorocarbons.
46. Halons are another class of ozone depleting chemicals. List at least two uses of halons.
47. What is a circumpolar vortex?
48. Describe three human health problems linked to ozone depletion.
49. Describe at least two problems linked to ozone depletion that are not directly related to human health.
50. What is the Montreal Protocol?
51. How is the concentration of ozone depleting chemicals in the atmosphere changing?
52. Explain why the problem of ozone depletion is not one that will be totally reversed right away even if we stop all use of ozone depleting chemicals.
53. A substance with a pH less than 7 is _____________. A substance with a pH of 7 is ___________.
A substance with a pH greater than 7 is ______________.
54. Each whole number decrease in pH represents a ____-fold increase in acidity.

55. Which solution is more acidic, one with a pH of 3 or one with a pH of 6? ________
How many times more acidic is it? _________
56. Another word for basic is ____________.
57. What are the major sources of nitrogen oxide emissions?
58. What are the major sources of sulfur dioxide emissions?
59. Explain how acid deposition affects aquatic ecosystems.
60. How does acid deposition affect the concentration of each of the following in soil?
- Calcium-
- Potassium-
- Nitrogen-
- Aluminum-
- Manganese-
61. Which of the pollutants contributing to acid deposition have been reduced most significantly in the US?
63. What needs to be done if we want to cause significant further reductions in acid deposition?
64. Describe three reasons why many developing countries have serious and growing air pollution problems?
65. Why are illnesses caused by indoor air pollution often not recognized?
66. List at least six different indoor air pollutants and their sources.
67. Explain why indoor air pollution is a significant economic problem.
68. How has the incidence of asthma changed since 1970?
69. List at least six health problems linked to cigarette smoking.
70. How does passive smoking effect infants and young children?
71. How does radon gas enter buildings?
72. What problems may be caused by exposure to radon gas?
73. What is one step that can be taken to reduce radon levels in homes?
74. Improving energy efficiency can lead to tighter homes that have higher concentrations of indoor air pollutants. Describe how we could have efficient homes that have lower concentrations of indoor air pollutants.