Environmental
Chemistry
Outcomes
•
•
•
•
•
•
identify common organic and inorganic substances that are essential
to the health and growth of humans and other living things,
describe, in general terms, the forms of organic matter synthesized by
plants and animals, including carbohydrates, proteins and lipids
are difficult for organisms to break down or eliminate (e.g., DDT,
mercury)
identify questions that may need to be addressed in deciding what
substances - in what amounts - can be safely released into the
environment
identify substrates and nutrient sources for living things within a variety
of environments
investigate and evaluate potential risks resulting from consumer
practices and industrial processes, and identify processes used in
providing information and setting standards to manage these risks
Why Study Environmental
Chemistry?
• Coca Cola as a Pesticide?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bww1gbyNnhQ
• Why do you think the people of India used cola as
a pesticide?
Introduction
• Complete Give it a Try on Page 183
• Look at Figure 1.1 and a periodic table to figure out
how the elements are represented in the
environment.
• 5 minutes, You can Sign out your device, and sign it
in once the research is complete
Chemicals in the
Environment
• All matter is made up of chemicals, which is made
up of elements
• Some chemicals are a part of living creatures
o Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and potassium
• Some chemicals are necessary for life
o Carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins
• Some chemicals can be harmful to living creatures
o Mercury
Organic and Inorganic
• Our bodies need 25 elements for normal growth
• Organic Molecules are molecules that contain
carbon
o Ex. Sugar, protein, fat, starch
• Inorganic Molecules are molecules that do not
contain carbon
o Ex. Magnesium and calcium
Macronutrients
• Nutrients are elements and compounds that
organisms need for living, growing and reproducing
• Plants obtain their nutrients from the air, water, and
soil.
• There are 9 elements called macronutrients which
are needed in large amounts in our bodies
o Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium,
Magnesium, Calcium, Sulfur
• Micronutrients are needed in trace amounts in our
bodies
o Selenium
Complete the table in your notes with a partner. Look at Page
197!
Macronutrients
Nutrient
Why is it important for people
Nitrogen (N)
Makes up proteins and DNA
Helps with growth and repair
Phosphorus (P)
Part of bones, teeth and DNA
Potassium (K)
Helps with muscles and nerves
Magnesium (Mg)
Composes bones and teeth
Calcium (Ca)
Composes bones and teeth
Necessary for blood clotting
Sulfur (S)
Necessary for protein synthesis
Helps activate enzymes
What’s the Right Amount
• When we look at the optimum amount, it is the
amount that provides an organism with the best
health.
• Examples: Copper for Hair Colour, Selenium and
Chromium for body Function.
• What might happen if we have too much?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8m5PFuYRSI
• Start at 6:00
What are Organic
Molecules?
• In your Letter groups, work to come up with a
definition and an example of the following organic
molecules, when finished, pick a representative to
write up the information on the board.
o
o
o
o
Lipids
Carbohydrates
Nucleic Acids
Proteins
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates are organic molecules made up of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
o Ex. Rice, bread, pasta, fruits, and vegetables
• Glucose is a simpler sugar made by plants that is
made when carbohydrates break down
• Glucose is the primary food of the brain
• Complex carbohydrates are chains of glucose
molecules
o Ex. Starch
Lipids (Fats)
• Fats, oils and waxes are lipids
• Lipids are compounds made of carbon, hydrogen
and oxygen
• Plants produce lipids
o Canola oil
• Our bodies also produce lipids and also need to eat
lipids
o Milk products, oils on our skin, fat in our body
Proteins and Amino Acids
• Proteins control our bodies and are made by DNA
• Used for growth, repair and a source of energy.
They are also the main component of a catalyst.
• We are eating protein when we eat meat and
alternatives
o Eggs, fish, meat, dairy products
• Proteins are made up of amino acids which
combine together into a chain
o Nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and some contain sulfur
Nucleic Acids
• Nucleic acids are the largest and most
complicated molecule found in living things
• Nucleic acids are DNA and RNA and are made up
of
o Phosphate
o Sugar ring called ribose (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen)
o Nitrogen containing molecules
Testing for Organic
Molecules
• Write observations from Simulation
http://amrita.olabs.co.in/?sub=79&brch=15&sim=121&cnt=4
Test Product
Carrot
Wheat
Apple
Egg
Tomato
Oats
Potato
Bread
Result (+/-) Observation
Testing for Organic
Molecules
• Glucose: Benedict’s Solution turns from blue to
yellow-orange-red
• Starch: Iodine Solution turns from red-brown to
black
• Protein: Biuret Solution turns from blue to purple
To Do:
• Complete Give It a Try – Organic or Inorganic?
• Complete question 19 from page 267,
• Create a Concept Map from what you learned
today!
Outcomes
• identify common organic and inorganic substances
that are essential to the health and growth of
humans and other living things,
• describe and illustrate processes by which
chemicals are introduced to the environment or
their concentrations are changed
• identify questions that may need to be addressed in
deciding what substances - in what amounts - can
be safely released into the environment
• identify substrates and nutrient sources for living
things within a variety of environments
Chemicals in the
Environment
• All matter is made up of chemicals, which is made
up of elements
• Some chemicals are a part of living creatures
o Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and potassium
• Some chemicals can be harmful to living creatures
o Mercury
Nitrogen Cycle
Read though
page 184 in
your textbook
with your
symbol group,
and identify
what’s going
on in the
picture.
https://www.yo
utube.com/wa
tch?v=8ofDiXF1
HpA
Facts about the Nitrogen
Cycle
• Nitrogen cycles through the air, into the soil, into
plants and animals and back into the air
• Regular air is about 78% nitrogen gas (N2)
• Nitrogen is an important component of DNA
• In the air nitrogen is a gas which cannot
be used by plants and animals
• Nitrogen can be fixed (changed) in three
different ways
o Lightening
o Bacteria in the nodules on different kinds of plant roots
o Bacteria in the soil
• After the nitrogen is fixed it can be taken
in by plants through their roots
What kind of relationship occurs between
the nodules and roots?
• Nitrates are taken in by plants and the nitrogen is
converted into a part of DNA
• Bacteria can allow nitrates in the soil to turn back to
N2(g) to go back into the environment
• After plants take in nitrogen, animals eat the plants
and use the nitrogen in their own DNA
• When animals poop, it is decomposed and the
nitrogen is released
• When plants and animals die the nitrogen returns to
the soil and environment
• And it CYCLES!
• The amount of nitrogen (or of water) can vary in
different areas
• If an area has too little nitrogen farmers add
fertilizers or plant nitrogen-fixing plants to try and
solve the problem
• What occurs when an area is lacking water?
Definition
• An issue is a subject of importance where people
often have strong, conflicting points of view
• A fertilizer is a substance added to soil to ensure
plants will grow better
• A pest is an organism that harms people, crops or
structures
• A pesticide is a chemical that is used to kill pests
Agriculture Activities
• Many people who have large scale farms use
fertilizers and pesticides to be successful.
• After talking about fertilizers and pesticides, answer
the think about it question.
• Do you believe that Farms need to use pesticides
and fertilizers?
Types of Pesticides
• 1) Herbicide- a chemical used to destroy unwanted
plants
• 2) Insecticide- a chemical used to destroy
unwanted insects
• 3) Fungicide- a chemical used to destroy unwanted
fungi
Fertilizers
• Fertilizers have a set of 3 numbers on them
• The numbers stand for the amount of NITROGENPHOSPHORUS-POTASSIUM
•
•
•
•
Ex. 15-30-15
15% Nitrogen
30% Phosphorus
15% Potassium
What’s the Content of
these Fertilizers?
Solid Wastes
• Solid wastes is waste given off by homes, industrial
plants, commercial buildings, construction and
demolition sites
• Solid waste is usually put into landfill sites
• Incinerators burn hazardous wastes and the
emissions from this may contribute to air pollution.
• Sanitary landfills are built to keep water from
entering the soil
o They use plastic liners and compacted clay to keep the groundwater
from leaching into the ground water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg1tEKILiR4
Wastewater
• Sewage is waste water that contains dissolved and
undissolved material from your kitchen, bathroom
and laundry
• A septic tank is an underground tank where
bacteria break down organic materials
• Effluent (aka treated wastewater) is released into
rivers- may still contain extra nitrogen and
phosphorus- this can cause alga bloom as the
algae in the water uses the fertilizers to bloom
• Where does the storm water go?
Combustion of Fuels
• Fossil fuels are fuel sources that were made by
dead plants and animals (the flood?)
• Fossil fuels are natural gas, coal and oil
• Fossil fuels are called hydrocarbons because they
are made of carbon and hydrogen
• When do we use hydrocarbons?
• The combustion of fossil fuels produce carbon
dioxide and water vapor
o Hydrocarbon + oxygen  water + carbon dioxide + energy
• Examples of natural gases: methane, propane,
butane and octane (gas)
Think about it
• Can carbon be recycled?
Incomplete Combustion
• When there is not enough oxygen for regular
combustion to occur, carbon dioxide is not
produced but carbon monoxide is produced
• Why is this an issue?
• If fossil fuels have nitrogen or sulfur in it, then nitrates,
nitrites, sulfates and sulfites can be produced
• These 4 compounds are a part of air pollution
Pollution
• Pollution is any change in the environment that
produces a condition that is harmful to living things
• Examples?
To Do:
• Complete review questions in booklet
Outcomes
• describe and illustrate processes by which chemicals are
introduced to the environment or their concentrations are
changed
• describe the uptake of materials by living things through
ingestion or absorption, and investigate and describe
evidence that some materials are difficult for organisms to
break down or eliminate (e.g., DDT, mercury)
• identify questions that may need to be addressed in deciding
what substances - in what amounts - can be safely released
into the environment
• identify substrates and nutrient sources for living things within a
variety of environments
• investigate and evaluate potential risks resulting from
consumer practices and industrial processes, and identify
processes used in providing information and setting standards
to manage these risks
Uptake of Substances by
Plants
• There are three basic ways that substances enter
plant roots
o 1) Diffusion
o 2) Osmosis
o 3) Active Transport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Dm06BsYBI
Ms. Nielsen Food Dye Diffusion Demo!
Diffusion
• Diffusion means the passive movement of particles
• Diffusion does not require energy to occur
• Diffusion is the movement of particles from an area
of high concentration to low concentration
• Molecules naturally diffuse into the roots of plants
• Example in air: Spraying air freshener
Osmosis
• Osmosis is similar to diffusion- water molecules
moving away from a high concentration of other
water molecules
• More water gets absorbed into the roots as water in
the plant is used up by the plant
• Osmosis= water
Active Transport
• Plants undergo active transport when they move
molecules into their roots that are already at a high
concentration within their roots
• It takes energy for the plants to move these
molecules the opposite of where they would go if
they were diffusing
• There are specific proteins in the plants that move
molecules such as sulphur, nitrogen, and potassium
into the roots
Ingestion and Absorption
of Materials by Animals
• Humans and animals absorb nutrients by eating or
ingesting plants or other animals
• We chew our food so that there is higher surface
area of the food to be digested and so that the
nutrients can be absorbed
• We break down food physically (chewing) and
chemically through enzymes and acids in our
stomachs
• As the food moves through our stomachs and
intestines the nutrients are absorbed into our
bloodstream and flow until they are taken up by
cells that need the nutrients
• The breakdown of large organic molecules is called
hydrolysis
Substrates
• Describe a substrate and an example of an
organism on a substrate in 10 words or less…
Choking Lake Winnipeg
• Complete Choking Lake Winnipeg Video and
Questions.