Enviro Ch. 18 MC

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

a. 99%

15. What do all volatile organic compounds have in common?

a. All are gases in the atmosphere.

18. Photochemical smog is formed when primary pollutants interact with ____.

a. UV radiation from the sun

10. The UV filtering effect of the ozone layer is beneficial because it ____.

a. allows humans and other forms of life to exist on land

14. Which substance is a colorless, odorless, and highly toxic gas that forms during the incomplete combustion of carbon containing materials?

a. carbon monoxide (CO)

20. Burning coal produces pollutants such as ____.

a. carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and soot

2. Atmospheric brown clouds are ____.

a. large clouds of dust, smoke, soot, and toxic metals

34. The major source of lead exposure is via ____.

a. peeling paint and dust in older homes

38. Radioactive ____ gas is a product of uranium decay

a. radon

30. One of the primary components of industrial smog is ____.

a. sulfur dioxide (SO2)

8. Rising and falling air currents, winds, and concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the ____ play major roles in the planet's short-term weather and long-term climate.

a. troposphere

36. Exposure to indoor formaldehyde pollution is least likely to cause ____.

a. ulcers

26. Which statement about acid deposition is false?

b. Low pH increases plant nutrients in forest soils.

27. Dry deposition occurs when ____.

b. acidic particulates fall to the ground

16. It would be ineffective to attempt to prevent lead poisoning by ____.

b. banning the use of lead pencils in schools

35. The difference between industrial and photochemical smog is that photochemical smog ____.

b. contains secondary pollutants formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun

23. Temperature inversions ____.

b. make pollution problems worse

3. What is the correct sequence of layers of the atmosphere from innermost to outermost?

b. troposphere-stratosphere-mesosphere-thermosphere

37. The Clean Air Act was passed in ____.

c. 1970

28. Acidic rain, snow, fog, and cloud vapor typically have a pH of ____.

c. less than 5.6

32. Sick-building syndrome is not associated with ____.

c. lung cancer

25. Acid deposition is best classified as a(n) ____ problem.

c. regional

39. A U.S. cap-and-trade (or emissions trading) program was used to reduce emissions of ____.

c. sulfur dioxide (SO2)

13. Which substance is a secondary pollutant?

c. sulfuric acid

4. The atmosphere is divided into spherical layers based upon the ____ each layer.

c. temperature differences between

7. If the earth were an apple, the lower layer of the atmosphere containing the air we breathe would be the thickness of ____.

c. the skin

33. According to the EPA, what are the three most dangerous indoor air pollutants?

c. tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, and radon-222

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

c. warm and sunny

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

d. China

31. Which statement about indoor air pollution in the United States is false?

d. Exposure to outdoor air pollution presents a higher cancer risk than with indoor air pollution.

29. Which action would be an ineffective preventive measure for acid deposition?

d. adding lime to neutralize acidified lakes

24. The grasshopper effect is a result of ____.

d. air pollutants being transferred from warmer areas to polar areas by evaporation and wind

22. Outdoor air pollution is reduced when ____.

d. chemical reactions produce acidic precipitation which falls out of the atmosphere

40. About 90% of radon-related lung cancers in the United States occur among ____.

d. current or former smokers

12. Human inputs of outdoor air pollutants occur mostly ____.

d. in urban areas

5. The atmospheric layer containing about 75-80% of the mass of earth's air is the ____.

d. troposphere

9. The stratosphere ____.

e. contains the ozone layer

11. What term refers to harmful chemicals emitted directly into the air from natural processes and human activities at concentrations high enough to cause harm?

e. primary pollutants

21. Outdoor air pollution is increased when ____.

e. temperature inversions form over cities surrounded by mountains

1. In most years, atmospheric brown clouds cover an area about the size of ____.

e. the continental United States