Explain how the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane cause global warming, some example include: (a) the absorption, reflection, and emission of thermal energy. (b) reducing thermal energy loss to space. Describe the role of sulphur in the formation of acid rain and its impact on the environment.
Describe the strategies to reduce the effect of environmental issues. Some examples include (a) climate change: planting trees, reduction in livestock farming, decreasing use of fossil fuels, increasing use if hydrogen, and renewable energy, e.g., wind, solar (b) acid rain: use of catalytic converters in vehicles, reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide by using low sulphur fuels and flue gas desulphurization with calcium oxide.
Describe the role of NO and NOx in the formation of acid rain, both directly and through their catalytic role in the oxidation of atmospheric sulphur dioxide. Explain how oxides of nitrogen form in car engines and describe their removal by catalytic converters, e.g. CO-2NO → 2CO+N.
Define photosynthesis as the reaction between carbon dioxide and water to produce glucose and oxygen in the presences of chlorophyll and using energy from sun.
Analyze how to use tools to reduce personal exposure to harmful pollutants (some examples include the usage of masks, air quality indices and CO detectors).
Identify high risk situations in life including those where lomg-term exposure to these pollutants can lead to respiratory issues and reduction in quality and longevity of life.
This chapter will help you understand what atmosphere means. How the atmosphere is polluted and what substances pollute it? It is also necessary to understand the sources of general air pollution and the harmful effects on living things and the environment. You start your day with a cup of tea, which is a mixture of water, milk, tea, fat, and sugar. The same applies to milk, which is a mixture of water, minerals, proteins, vitamins, and fats. If scum or impure ingredients are added, the tea or milk is contaminated and unhealthy to drink. Air is a mixture of various gases including nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, noble gases, and water vapor. The summer season is getting longer and hotter all over the world compared to ten years ago, why? You also know why iron nails rust faster in rainwater than in tap water or mineral water.
Air is a mixture of gases. Can you name the main gases that make up the air? The pie chart given below shows the composition of dry air by volume. (Figure 11.1)
Composition of Dry Air
Other gases
S by volume
0.93
Argon
0.035
Carbon
dioxide
Neon
Helium
0.0018
0.00052
0.00015
0.00013
Methane
Krypton
Hydrogen
21% Oxygen
Other gases
0.00003
Besides gases, there are varying amounts of water vapour in the air. There is little water in the air ver the desert amounts in the tropical rainforest, the air may contain little water in the air This means the amount of water vapour in the air varies from place to place and from tapeur time The envelope of gases and water vapour surrounding the planet Earth is called the atmosphere.
What two gases make up most of the air?