SCHEDA CATALOGO
Title
Authors
Air pollution
Allida De Candido - Claudia De Candido
Schools
IPSIA Zanussi, ITC Mattiussi PORDENONE
Subject
Science
Grade Level
First and second classes - Secondary School.
Time
Approximately 15 hours (January, February).
Language level
Prerequisites
A2/B1
Acid and bases, pH, atmosphere layers, elements and compounds, mixture.
Students will be able to:
Objectives
Environmental module
Air pollution

learn about air composition

explain the complete and an incomplete combustion

learn about the effects of carbon monoxide and soot

identify some air pollutants

identify some causes and effects of air pollution and some solutions

define acid rain; explain the effects on vegetation, water, buildings,
humans

identify some solutions

learn about ozone molecule and smog

identify the effects of tropospheric ozone and smog

identify human diseases produced by ozone and smog

learn about function of ozone layer, ozone depletion

learn that CFCs can cause the ozone hole

learn about main greenhouse gases and how they act

identify greenhouse effects and global warming

learn that global warming may lead to climate changes and famine
Page 1
Skills
Contents

Observing

Organising information

Discussing

Working well in a team

Memorising new words

Predicting

Learning new concepts
Air composition.
Complete and incomplete combustion.
Air pollutants: description, sources, effects, and solutions.
Acid rains: causes, effects, solutions.
Greenhouse effect and global warming.
Troposphere ozone and smog.
Stratosphere ozone: CFCs and ozone layer.
Materials
Devices
Environmental module
Air pollution
Photocopies, books, computer, internet.
VHS, Science Lab, Overhead projector, Video projector
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Background
The atmosphere is necessary to live.
The natural composition of the air is mostly nitrogen and oxygen and
contains also small amounts of other gases such as carbon dioxide, argon etc.
A complete combustion produces carbon dioxide, water vapour and energy.
An incomplete combustion produces soot and carbon monoxide, very
dangerous gas. It stops blood carrying oxygen.
The term “air pollution” means any visible or invisible particles or gases that is
not part of the natural composition of air. The main are: carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, ozone, particulates, sulphur dioxide, lead and VOCs.
These pollutants are the result of our increasing use of fossil fuels and they
tend to be concentrated in urban areas where many people live and work.
The main gases that cause acid rains are sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Acid rains cause damage to buildings, soil, vegetation and humans.
To reduce acid rain pollution you can adopt alternative ways.
There are two main locations in the atmosphere in which ozone can be found:
in the troposphere ozone is harmful air pollutant; in the stratosphere, ozone
protects us from damaging sun ultraviolet radiations.
Tropospheric ozone can affect human health by damaging the respiratory
system and can damage plants and materials.
Ozone is produced by chemical reaction involving nitrogen oxides and VOCs.
In the stratosphere ozone is broken down by CFCs products widely used in
aerosols fridges and as solvents.
Smog is a poisonous mixture of smoke, fog and other chemicals. In large cities
is favoured by lack of wind and occurs when there is a temperature inversion.
The trapped pollutants by warm air can’t rise and increase to dangerous levels.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere depends on the processes
that release it and on the processes that remove it. The increasing of carbon
dioxide by burning fuels prevents heat from escaping out of the atmosphere.
This is called the greenhouse effect. Some scientists think that greenhouse
effect could cause changes in the climate, deforestation and an increasing sea
level.
Environmental module
Air pollution
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LESSON PLAN
Lesson 1 (2h)
Start a lesson with a Warm-up focusing the problem. Give pictures (polluted
air, clean air). The students think about the adjectives and words linked to and
discuss.
Write the keywords on the blackboard and the students, in-group, discuss the
pie chart about air composition (worksheet N. 1). Write the answers. One, per
group, summarizes looking at the slide 1.
Show an experiment with limewater solution to produce carbon dioxide from
the flame of a candle. The carbon dioxide precipitate like calcium carbonate
(worksheet N. 2).
Write on the blackboard the new keywords and the students complete the
worksheet N. 2 filling in the gaps and discussing in pairs (slide 2).
Show a demonstration about incomplete reaction.
The soot is produced. Tell the students that carbon monoxide is produced
when the oxygen lacks and that these components are pollutants. The students
complete the worksheet N. 3 filling in the gaps and discussing in pairs (slide N.
3). Memorise the new words and review with crosswords.
Keywords: combustion, fuel, fossil fuel, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide, heat, exhaust, coal, soot, carbon black.
Lesson 2 (3h)
Review: questions for answers
Give the students strips with words that they have to put in order in a table,
selecting descriptions, sources and effects of a particular pollutant. Group
work.
Complete the handout asking to the other groups for the answers and writing
down.
Summary. Focus the main effects of air pollutants on human health, which
the students could read in the handout.
Ask for some solutions showing the pictures about catalytic converter, not
aerosol products limit industrial waste, ride the bike, take a bus, on foot…
Check true or false. (Slide 3).
Keywords: particles sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, VOC, fume,
source.
Lesson 3 (3h)
Review: select the students to make short presentation on the information
about source, effects and description of air pollutants.
Investigate in-group the effects of sulphur dioxide on plants and complete the
worksheet N. 4.
Simulate the acid rain effects on water on the limestone. Complete the
worksheet N. 5.
Brainstorming with pictures and spider map that include causes and effects
(handout 1, 2, 3). Prereading.
Reading and questionnaire (worksheet N. 6).
Summarize using substitution table.
Keywords: acid rain, pH, dry and wet deposition, leaching, power plant.
Environmental module
Air pollution
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Lesson 4 (2h)
Review using the maze
Simulate the greenhouse effect with an experiment (worksheet N. 7).
Select the processes about carbon dioxide that release and remove carbon
dioxide and complete worksheet N. 8 working in group/pair and discuss when
the carbon dioxide is unbalanced.
Show the picture where the greenhouse effects are represented in a simplified
way. The students put in order some phrases to explain the picture
(prereading activity).
Filling in the blanks (worksheet N. 9). Reading activity, complete the
questionnaire and discussion in-group about greenhouse effects. Explain the
other greenhouse gases (slides).
Show another picture and discuss the effects of global warming gathering them
on the blackboard. Slides to summarize the effects.
Crossword to memorize the new words.
Keywords: greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, global warming, flooding,
climate change, ultraviolet radiation, infrared radiation, sunlight, deforestation.
Lesson 5 (2h)
Prereading activity. Show the students a picture about photochemical smog
and identify the pollutants that contribute to the smog, the main source, the
steps, the production of haze and ozone. Fill in the gaps the reading about
temperature inversion (worksheet N. 10). Show the models of molecules and
learn about differences from oxygen and ozone. Analyse the graph about
relationship between ozone, temperature, NOx and VOCs (worksheet N. 11,
12).
Reading about ozone and smog.
Questionnaire about text “ozone and smog”.
Reading and filling in the gaps about formation and depletion of ozone and
ozone layer (worksheet N. 13). Looking at the picture about CFCs, the
students discuss the destruction of ozone (multiple choice exercise to check
the comprehension).
Open questions: “ What is the legislation about environment in our country;
could the law allow the reduction of pollutants? What are the limits of pollutants
in our country?
Keywords: smog, photochemical smog, ozone depletion, ozone layer, CFC,
troposphere and stratosphere.
Final lesson (3h)
Final crossword. Team game with questions on the whole module. Multiple
choices test and matching sentences, open questions.
Evaluation on students, lesson and teacher.
Environmental module
Air pollution
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Demonstrations
1. Carbon dioxide identification.
2. Incomplete combustion.
3. Effects of sulphur dioxide on plants.
4. Effects of acids on water and limestone.
5. Greenhouse effect simulation.
Resources
Lawrie Ryan. - Chemistry for you - (2001) - Thornes Publishers.
B.Mc Duell. (2002). GCSE Chemistry. Letts.
Geoff Neuss – Chemistry – (2001) - Oxford
KSE Science - Letts
Internet:
Finding sources of air pollution Project A.I.R.E.
An Air Quality Curriculum-Project Clean Air, Ventura, CA
GCSE acid rain
www.wcs.science.com
Suggestions
Evaluation
What the students need to do:
 take notes and take part in the lessons
 ask, ask, ask if you don’t understand.
 practice and revise even when we don’t tell you
 during the experiments follow instructions carefully
There is one test of one hour each (quiz, structured questions, multiple choices,
matching).
The teacher evaluates also participation, care for activities and safety, respect
for environment.
During the lessons the students can evaluate their own improvements through
activities on the experiments single or in-group.
What makes an A, B or C grade candidate
Grade C: mininum level
The minimum % for a C is approximately 60% marks.
Grade B
Candidates will have a reasonable knowledge of the topics.
Grade A
Candidates have a wide knowledge and can apply the topics to new situations.
Marks > 85%
Environmental module
Air pollution
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