APES Chapter 18

The stratosphere differs from the troposphere because it contains

1/1000th the water vapor

Typical precipitation in the eastern United States is how many times more acidic than natural precipitation would be?

10 times

In the United States, how many people get cancer from breathing diesel fumes from buses and trucks?

125,000

How many people in the United States die each year from air pollution related reasons?

125,000 to 350,000

Large diesel trucks emit as much particulate matter as how many cars?

150

How many children in less-developed countries have permanent brain damage because of lead poisoning?

15million to 18 million

Long-lived air pollutants from China, India, and the United States, can circle the entire globe in about ____________________

2 Weeks

Approximately how much of the toxic mercury in the skies above Los Angeles, California can be traced to the Asian Brown Cloud?

33%

Acidic rain, snow, fog, and cloud vapor typically has a pH of

5.6

According to a 2009 EPA report, between 1980 and 2008, the combined emissions of six major air pollutants decreased by how much?

54%

How much additional reduction of SO2 emissions from coal burning power plants in Midwestern stateswill be necessary before lakes in the northeastern U.S. can recover?

80%

Approximately how much of the air we breathe is composed of nitrogen and oxygen?

99%

Natural causes of ____________________ include volcano emissions, lightning, and microbial processes

Acid Deposition

What do all volatile organic compounds have in common?

All are carbon based.

During the 1980 and 2008 period, decreases in emissions occurred for all of the following pollutants, except

CO2

Sixteen of the world's twenty most polluted cities are found in

China

The Asian Brown Cloud is approximately the size of?

Continental U.S

T/F Air pollutants only come from human-made sourceS

FALSE

T/F Air pollution is a recent phenomenon, which started when coal-burning became common in the Industrial Revolution

FALSE

T/F Because of the earth's shape, the atmosphere is thicker over the North and South Pole than at the equator

FALSE

T/F Between 1976 and 2006, the percentage of U.S. children, ages 15 years with blood lead levels above the safety standard increased by 85%.

FALSE

T/F Between 1990 and 2006 the cap and trade system of emissions control resulted in a reduction of SO2emissions from electric power plants by 53%, but at a cost twice what was expected by the industry

FALSE

T/F Carbon dioxide makes up 21% of the air we breathe

FALSE

T/F Chemicals in the atmosphere combine with one another and with natural components of air to form new, harmful chemicals, called primary pollutants.

FALSE

T/F More than half of all commercial buildings in the United States exhibit the "sick building syndrome."

FALSE

T/F Most of the world's forests and lakes are being destroyed or seriously harmed by acid deposition

FALSE

T/F Ninety three percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the result of the natural carbon cycle

FALSE

T/F Secondary pollutants can be classified by the source of pollution, such as stationary sources or mobile sources

FALSE

T/F The United States leads the world in the use of technology to detect air pollutants.

FALSE

T/F The troposphere is about 17 kilometers thick at both the equator and at the north and south polar regions

FALSE

T/F- Air pollution is understood as primarily a localized urban problem.

FALSE

One-third of the mercury in the skies above ____________________ can be traced to the air pollution made in China.

Los Angeles, CA

Which of the following would not be a factor that reduces outdoor air pollution?

Radiation from the sun converts pollutants into benign chemicals.

T/F A large diesel truck emits as much particulate matter as 150 cars, and diesel trains emit as much as 1500 car

TRUE

T/F Dry acid deposition occurs near the emission source, while wet deposition occurs in more distant areas.

TRUE

T/F Methane is twenty times more effective at warming the atmosphere than is carbon dioxide

TRUE

T/F Over the past 30 years, the quality of outdoor air in most developed countries has greatly improve

TRUE

T/F Photochemical smog is a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun.

TRUE

T/F Pollution such as the Asian Brown Cloud can be cleared up fairly quickly when standards are set for coal-burning industries

TRUE

T/F Scientists think the South Asian Brown Clouds may be a factor in the melting of the Himalayan glaziers.

TRUE

T/F The biggest pollution threat to poor people is indoor air pollution caused by burning of wood, charcoal,coal, or dung in open fires in their houses.

TRUE

T/F The chance of getting lung cancer from radon gas is much higher if you are a smoker or a former smoker.

TRUE

T/F The four most dangerous indoor air pollutants in developed countries are tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, radioactive radon, and very small particles.

TRUE

T/F The grasshopper effect occurs when air pollutants are transported from tropical and temperate areas to the earth's polar regions by evaporation and wind.

TRUE

T/F The rising and falling air currents in the troposphere are largely responsible for the earth's short-term weather and long-term climate

TRUE

T/F The temperature of the earth's atmosphere increases in the stratosphere because the ozone in the stratosphere absorbs UV radiation from the sun.

TRUE

T/F The troposphere contains approximately 75-80% of the earth's air mass

TRUE

T/F Twelve hundred lakes in Ontario, Canada contain few, if any, fish as a result of acid deposition

TRUE

T/F he ozone layer surrounding the earth is formed when molecules of oxygen in that layer are converted to ozone by UV radiation

TRUE

T/F indoor air pollution usually poses a much greater threat to human health than outdoor air pollution, even in the developed world

TRUE

T/F there is considerable scientific evidence that human activities have resulted in increasing levels of CO2 and the warming of the earth's climate.

TRUE

T/F urban industrial smog is rarely a problem in most developed countries

TRUE

T/F-As much as 33% of the toxic mercury in the skies over Los Angeles comes from coal-fired plants and other sources in China.

TRUE

Which of the following statements is true?

Temperature inversions make pollution problems worse.

A temperature inversion is the result of

a lid of warm air on top of cooler, stagnant air

Which of the following would not be an effective preventive measure for acid deposition?

adding lime to neutralize the acids

A French study found that ____________________ attacks increased by about 30% on smoggy days

asthma

Which of the following is not a way to prevent lead poisoning?

ban the use of lead pencils in schools

A(n) ____________________ neutralizes a basic or acidic substance

buffer

All of the following are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), except

carbon monoxide

About 90% of radon related lung cancers in the US occur among

current or former smokers

The chemical that causes most people in developed countries the most difficulty is

formaldehyde

Which of the following is not one of the major air pollutants?

formaldehyde

____________________ is a colorless gas used in foam insulation and can cause irritation of eyes, throat, skin, and lungs

formaldehyde

Air pollution in the urban areas of many less-developed countries is

getting worse

Human inputs of outdoor air pollutants occur mostly

in urban areas

The biggest air pollution threat to poor people is

indoor air pollution

London is world famous for its episodes of __________________

industrial smog

Which of the following is not true of acid deposition?

low pH increases plant nutrients in forest soils

Sick Building Syndrome is linked to all of the following, except

lung cancer

___________________ can result from the decomposition of organic wastes in municipal solid waste landfills as well as the raising of livestock

methane emissions

Which of the following is not one of the factors that increase outdoor air pollution?

movement of over the oceans encounter salty sea spray

Between 1990 and 2006 emissions trading systems reduced SO2 emissions by power plants in the U.S. by 53% at what cost to the industry?

one-tenth what was expected by the industry

Which of the following is not true of indoor air pollution in the United States?

outdoor air pollution has a high cancer risk than indoor air pollution

Primary pollutants from burning coal include all of the following, except

ozone

Which of the following is not a part of the Asian Brown Cloud

ozone

Respiratory illnesses in developing countries are most likely to be caused by

particulate matter

Sunlight, the production of oxides of nitrogen, and the production of volatile organic compounds must be present to develop ____________________

photochemical smog

Harmful chemicals emitted directly into the air from natural processes and human activities are calleda

primary pollutants

Radioactive ____ is a product of uranium decay

radon

Which of the following is not one of the results of the UV filtering effect of the ozone layer?

reduces the amount of water vapor in the troposphere

Acid deposition is best classified as a(n)

regional problem

According to environmental scientists, all of the following would strengthen U.S. air pollution control laws, except

relax controls on petroleum refineries

According to the World Health Organization, one in every ____ persons lives in urban areas with air that is unhealthy to breathe.

six

Gray-air smog comes from suspended particles of

soot

Most of the ozone layer is found in which of the following?

stratosphere

All of the following are on EPA's "four most dangerous indoor air pollutants list," except

sulfur dioxide

Photochemical smog is formed when primary pollutants interact with

sunlight

The atmosphere is divided into spherical layers based upon the

temperature changes from variations in absorption of solar energy

A(n) ____________________ may occur during the movement of a cold front, or result from the infiltration of ocean air by a cooler onshore breeze

temperature inversion

f the earth were an apple, the lower layer of the atmosphere would be the thickness of

the skin

Most of earth's climate occurs in the

troposphere

Seventy-five to eighty percent of the earth's air mass is found in the ____________________

troposphere

The atmospheric layer containing 75% of the mass of earth's air is the

troposphere

The correct sequence of layers of the atmosphere from innermost to outermost is

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

Exposure to indoor formaldehyde pollution is least likely to cause

ulcers

Organic compounds that exist as gases in the atmosphere or that evaporate from sources on earth into the atmosphere are called ____________________

volatile organic compounds

Photochemical smog is characteristic of urban areas with many vehicles and a climate that is

warm, dry, and sunny

The WHO and the World Bank call indoor air pollution

world's most serious air pollution problem

According to the EPA, adding radon control could add how much to the cost of a new home?

$500