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air pollution ✔Correct Answer-major contributor to adverse human health conditions, from
asthma to cardiovascular disease to premature death
particulate matter ✔Correct Answer-a class of pollution consisting of solid or liquid particles
suspended in air, regardless of chemical composition;
Can be primary or secondary pollutants;
Results from burning of fuel, driving on unpaved roads, industrial activity, and wood-burning
stoves;
Natural sources include pollen, dust, salt spray, erosion, and mold;
Concentrations can vary within regions/cities Composition can differ by location, season,
source, and meteorology
Often substantial sulfate component in eastern US due to power plants Substantial nitrate
component in western US due to transportation emissions;
is responsible for: 3.2 million premature deaths in 2010; 3.1% of global disability-adjusted life
years (DALYs); 22% of ischemic heart disease; Average Indian would gain 3.2 years of life if
pollution were reduced to legal level
Hippocrates ✔Correct Answer-noted around 500 BCE that health could be affected by the air
we breathe and the quality of the air differed by area
London ✔Correct Answer-developed air abatement strategies in the 1200s due to severe air
pollution from kilns, hearths, and furnaces
primary pollutant ✔Correct Answer-type of ambient air pollution directly emitted
secondary pollutant ✔Correct Answer-type of ambient air pollution formed in the
atmosphere as a result of physical/chemical conversion of precursors
biogenic ✔Correct Answer-type of ambient air pollution - natural emissions; Volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) from vegetation, pollens, volcanic gases, and dust from deserts
anthropogenic ✔Correct Answer-result of human activity
aerosols ✔Correct Answer-small, solid or liquid particles suspended in air
criteria pollutants ✔Correct Answer-type of ambient air pollution - a group of key outdoor air
pollutants defined by the Clean Air Act (CO, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulates, and SO2)
for which the US EPA promulgates NAAQs to protect human health and welfare
,hazardous air pollutants ✔Correct Answer-type of ambient air pollution - established by Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990, includes a number of volatile organic chemicals, pesticides,
herbicides, and radionuclides
aerodynamic diameter ✔Correct Answer-determined by a particle's shape and density,
permits comparison of particles with irregular shapes, allows for classification/categorization of
PM PM10, PM2.5 (fine PM), ultrafine PM
total suspended particles ✔Correct Answer-almost all particles in the air, typically measured
as particles up to about 45 microns in aerodynamic diameter
Small particles penetrate more deeply into the lung - responses include inflammation and
pulmonary injury
sulfur dioxide ✔Correct Answer-- Water soluble gas produced from combustion of sulfur-
containing fuels and materials (coals and metal ore)
- Primary component of London fog of 1952
- Can be converted to sulfuric acid which contributes to acid deposition, harming vegetation and
other wildlife
- Aerosols contribute to PM
- Salt stacks of power plants often release pollution above the inversion layer, reducing local
pollution but allowing pollutants to migrate long distances and undergo chemical
transformation
- Most inhaled SO2 is absorbed by the mucous membranes of the upper airways with little
reaching the lung, but increased ventilation and oral breathing (like when exercising) can
increase dose to the lung
- Associated with decreased lung function, bronchoconstriction, respiratory sx, hospitalizations
from cardiovascular and respiratory causes, eye irritation, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and
mortality
- Studies have suggested people with asthma particularly sensitive to exposure
nitrous oxides ✔Correct Answer-- Category of highly reactive gases containing nitrogen and
oxygen
- Produced through combustion including fossil fuel combustion Sources: Car and truck engines,
electric utilities, and industries, kerosene heaters, nonvented gas stoves, tobacco smoke, natural
stratospheric intrusion and biological processes in soil, forest fires and lightning
- Nearly insoluble in water and can reach the lower respiratory tract
- Leads to irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, short-term decreases in lung function, and
possibly increased respiratory infections/sx in children
- NO2 is regulated as a criteria pollutant in the US
Precursors to ozone and acid precipitation
- NO is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming
volatile organic compounds ✔Correct Answer-- Category of organic chemicals with a high
vapor pressure, so they readily evaporate at normal temperature and pressure
, - Include benzene, chloroform, formaldehyde, isoprene, methanol, monoterpenes, and others
- Originate from natural sources like vegetation, industrial processes such as chemical
production, use of solvents, and power generation, and transportation (transportation accounts
for nearly half of VOCs and emissions from motor vehicles accounts for 75% of that)
ozone ✔Correct Answer-- a gas present in the troposphere, the lowest atmospheric layer, and
the stratosphere, the next highest layer
- Stratospheric ______ forms the naturally occurring layer which protects from UV radiation
- Tropospheric (aka ground-level) is a harmful pollutant - Colorless gas and photochemical
oxidant formed through complex, non-linear chemical reactions involving the precursors VOCs
and NO2 in sunlight
- Pollution sometimes referred to as photochemical smog
- Stratospheric can intrude into the troposphere
- Decreased emissions of either VOCs or NO2 could potentially lead to higher levels due to the
complex chemistry
- Concentrations are highly seasonal with higher levels during hotter months
- not highly soluble in water and can thus reach the lower respiratory tract
- Can break molecular bonds and rapidly damage human tissue
- Decreased lung function, increased airway resistance, increased respiratory sx
- Can trigger asthma attacks
ambient concentration ✔Correct Answer-of an air pollutant in a particular location depends
on many factors, including emissions sources, weather, and land patterns
air quality management strategies ✔Correct Answer-include controlling emissions at the
source, reducing emissions, and decreasing population exposure
cap and trade ✔Correct Answer-an environmental policy tool designed to limit emissions of a
pollutant such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide
global warming ✔Correct Answer-causes increased evaporation from oceans, increase in
water vapor in the atmosphere, and increased precipitation, leading to more severe weather
events
hydrodynamics ✔Correct Answer-the way water moves; Drastically altered by dams, levees,
canals, channelization, concretization, and extraction
eutrophication ✔Correct Answer-high nutrient loads stimulate blooms of algae in the water,
stimulating microbial activity. The algae themselves may produce highly toxic chemicals and
oxygen can be depleted, resulting in massive fish kills
chemical contaminants ✔Correct Answer-like arsenic may occur naturally or be discharged
into water through industrial, agricultural, municipal, or recreational activity