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What is a source of sulfur dioxide pollution in the environment?
A source of sulfur dioxide pollution in the environment is the combustion of fossil fuels that contain sulfur impurities, e.g. car exhausts.
Describe an environmental consequence of sulfur dioxide pollution.
Sulfur dioxide can combine with water droplets in the air to form acid rain.
What are some effects of acid rain on the environment?
Consequences of acid rain pollution include:
Damage to leaves, buds, flowers and roots of plants
Rivers and lakes can become acidic, resulting in death of aquatic organisms
Minerals can be leached into bodies of water, also killing aquatic organisms
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What is a source of sulfur dioxide pollution in the environment?
A source of sulfur dioxide pollution in the environment is the combustion of fossil fuels that contain sulfur impurities, e.g. car exhausts.
Describe an environmental consequence of sulfur dioxide pollution.
Sulfur dioxide can combine with water droplets in the air to form acid rain.
What are some effects of acid rain on the environment?
Consequences of acid rain pollution include:
Damage to leaves, buds, flowers and roots of plants
Rivers and lakes can become acidic, resulting in death of aquatic organisms
Minerals can be leached into bodies of water, also killing aquatic organisms
True or False?
Carbon monoxide is released when impure fossil fuels are burned.
False.
Carbon monoxide is released when fossil fuels are burned with an insufficient oxygen supply. Burning impure fossil fuels can produce sulfur dioxide pollution.
How is carbon monoxide pollution damaging to living organisms?
Carbon monoxide is damaging to living organisms because it binds to haemoglobin inside red blood cells, reducing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Breathing in carbon monoxide for extended periods can be fatal.
What is the definition of a greenhouse gas?
A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs infrared radiation from the Sun, trapping it in the Earth's atmosphere.
True or False?
Increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations lead to an increase in average atmospheric temperatures.
True.
Greenhouse gases trap infrared radiation in the atmosphere, causing atmospheric warming.
Give examples of greenhouse gases.
Examples of greenhouse gases include:
Water vapour
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Nitrous oxides
CFCs
What human activities increase atmospheric carbon dioxide levels?
Carbon dioxide is released by human activities such as:
Burning fossil fuels
Burning organic matter, e.g. wood and other plant materials
True or False?
Methane is a greenhouse gas.
True.
Methane traps more radiation per molecule than carbon dioxide, so is a powerful greenhouse gas.
What human activities result in increased atmospheric methane?
Human activities that increase atmospheric methane are:
Farming cattle, which release methane as they digest grass
Growing rice in paddy fields
Disposing of waste in landfill
Describe the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse effect occurs when radiation from the sun is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere. This traps heat and warms the atmosphere.
True or False?
The greenhouse effect is caused by human activities alone.
False.
Greenhouse gases occur in the atmosphere with no input from human activities, where they are essential for keeping the earth warm enough to support life. Human activities result in an enhanced greenhouse effect.
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
The enhanced greenhouse effect is the increased warming of the earth's atmosphere beyond normal levels due to human activities.
Define the term global warming.
Global warming refers to the long-term increase in the earth's average temperature, primarily due to human activities that increase the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
What are some of the consequences of global warming?
Some consequences of global warming include:
Increasing ocean temperatures
Melting of polar ice caps
Rising sea levels
Extreme weather events
Habitat change / loss
Decreases in biodiversity
Increased spread of pests and diseases
True or False?
Ocean temperatures are not affected by global warming.
False.
Global warming is increasing ocean temperatures, leading to impacts such as melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels and coral bleaching.
What human activities can result in water pollution?
Human activities that result in water pollution are:
Release of untreated sewage into waterways
Allowing agricultural chemicals to run off fields into waterways
Describe the consequences of untreated sewage runoff into water systems.
Consequences of untreated sewage runoff into water systems include:
Aerobic microorganisms use nutrients in sewage to fuel respiration, depleting dissolved oxygen levels in the water and leading to the deaths of aquatic organisms
Toxic chemicals in sewage can kill aquatic organisms
Dangerous microorganisms can be harmful to human health
Define the term eutrophication.
Eutrophication is the process by which increased nutrient availability in a body of water leads to a decrease in dissolved oxygen levels.
Which human activities can contribute to eutrophication?
Human activities that can lead to eutrophication include:
Use of chemical fertilisers which run off into nearby water bodies
Release of untreated sewage into water bodies
Define the term leaching.
Leaching occurs when nutrients are washed out of the soil and into bodies of water by rain. This is a particular problem when highly soluble chemical fertilisers are used.
Define the term algal bloom.
An algal bloom is the rapid growth of algae that occurs on the surface of water bodies when nutrient levels increase. Algal blooms can can block out sunlight to deeper water.
True or False?
Algal blooms occur due to a lack of nutrients in water bodies.
False.
Algal blooms occur when nutrient availability in water bodies is high, e.g. due to sewage or fertiliser run off.
How do algal blooms affect other aquatic plants?
Algal blooms block out sunlight, meaning that aquatic plants below the surface do not have enough light to photosynthesise. These plants are likely to die.
What role do microorganisms play in the process of eutrophication?
The role of microorganisms in eutrophication is as follows:
Microorganisms use dead organic matter, e.g. dead algae and plants that have died due lack of light in deeper water, to fuel respiration
Microorganisms have a plentiful food source so they reproduce
Dissolved oxygen is used up by all the respiring microorganisms
Describe the process of eutrophication.
The process of eutrophication is as follows:
Nutrient runoff results in an algal bloom
Many aquatic plants die because algae block light and plants cannot photosynthesise
Bacteria feed on dead plants and algae, using the dead matter to fuel respiration
High rates of aerobic respiration deplete oxygen levels in the water
Other aquatic organisms die due to a lack of oxygen
Define the term deforestation.
Deforestation is the process of clearing trees, usually on a large scale. This is often done to make way for building or agriculture.
What are the environmental effects of deforestation?
Environmental effects of deforestation include:
Extinction of species
Soil erosion
Leaching
Flooding
Disruption of the carbon cycle
Disruption of the water cycle
Define the term soil erosion.
Soil erosion is the process by which soil is removed from its original location, e.g. by rainwater or wind.
True or False?
Deforestation has no impact on the water cycle.
False.
Deforestation can disrupt the water cycle. The removal of trees reduces water vapour entering the atmosphere by transpiration, reducing cloud formation and therefore reducing rainfall.
True or False?
Deforestation decreases atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
False.
Deforestation increases atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. This is because living trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis; removal of these trees therefore reduces the rate at which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere.