Deck 18: Air Pollution

Question 1

The thinning of the ozone layer over the Antarctic always occurs at the end of the Antarctic winter because

A) UV from the sun is necessary to the creation of ozone from oxygen and the Antarctic receives no UV from the sun during its winter.
B) During their winter, residents of the southern hemisphere use more CFCs.
C) Ozone is consumed by melting ice as winter transitions to summer.
D) The Antarctic experiences its highest level of radiation during its winter.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Significant sources for dust and other particulates in the atmosphere include all of the following except

A) Combustion products of fuel, including soot, smoke and ash as well as vegetation burning, planned fires or wildfires.
B) Dust devils.
C) Glacial melt.
D) Building demolition.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Radon in homes comes,in part,from

A) Fumes given off by insulation materials.
B) Natural rocks and soils and buildings made from these materials.
C) Leakage of exhaust gases from furnaces.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The thinning of the ozone layer over the Arctic at the end of its winter is lesser than what occurs at the end of the Antarctic winter and this difference is possibly due to the following

A) Nations of the northern hemisphere are more restrictive on the use of CFCs than are nations of the southern hemisphere.
B) The Arctic winter is shorter than the Antarctic winter.
C) The Arctic winter is longer than the Antarctic winter.
D) The Arctic is a region of ice covering seawater, whereas the Antarctic is a region of ice covering land.

Question 5

The most abundant element in the atmosphere is

A) Nitrogen.
B) Oxygen.
C) Argon.
D) Carbon dioxide.

Question 6

The single largest source of atmospheric pollutants is

A) Industrial and manufacturing activities.
B) Electricity-generating plants.
C) Transportation.
D) Waste disposal by incineration.

Question 7

All of the following cause rainwater to be acidic except

A) Sulfur dioxide.
B) Nitrogen oxide.
C) Carbon dioxide.
D) Carbon monoxide.

Question 8

Water vapor can be the __________ most abundant gas component of the Earth's atmosphere,with concentrations of up to __________.

A) Third; 3 percent
B) Second; 70 percent
C) Fifth; 1 percent
D) Tenth; 2 percent

Question 9

The ozone layer is found in the

A) Thermosphere.
B) Mesosphere.
C) Stratosphere.
D) Troposphere.

Question 10

Carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere as a result of

A) Combustion.
B) The product of respiration.
C) Volcanic eruptions.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 11

The most important function of the ozone layer in the stratosphere is

A) Conversion of oxygen to O_3.
B) Destruction of CFCs, that otherwise would accumulate in the atmosphere and cause increased incidence of lung cancer.
C) Absorption of incoming UV radiation from the sun, that otherwise would increase the risk of skin cancer.
D) Maintenance of the Earth's magnetic field.

Question 12

Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere when UV is absorbed by this

A) Nitrogen.
B) Oxygen (O₂).
C) CFCs.
D) Carbon dioxide.

Question 13

The automobile is the primary source of this pollutant.

A) Carbon monoxide
B) Sulfur dioxides
C) Particulate
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 14

The radioactive gas that poses an indoor air-pollution problem is

A) Organic.
B) Ozone.
C) Argon.
D) Radon.

Question 15

The catalytic converter,a required component for automobile exhaust emission control systems,converts carbon monoxide into

A) Pure carbon and oxygen.
B) Carbon dioxide.
C) Carbonic acid.
D) Carbon monoxide (the catalytic converter is designed to remove gases other than carbon monoxide).

Question 16

The gas that is produced when oxygen is less and as a result of the incomplete combustions materials bearing carbon is

A) Water vapor.
B) Carbon dioxide.
C) Carbon monoxide.
D) All the choices are correct.

Question 17

Which of the following types of solar radiation is most penetrating into skin or leaves and thus potentially the most hazardous to health?

A) Visible light
B) UVA (longest-wavelength UV)
C) UVB (intermediate-wavelength UV)
D) UVC (shortest-wavelength UV)

Question 18

Particulate air pollutants

A) Are chiefly produced by human activities, not natural processes.
B) Typically have short residence times in the atmosphere.
C) Are unsightly but not unhealthy.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 19

The atmospheric residence times of inert gases,such as helium and argon,

A) Are quite short, as these gases are removed by precipitation.
B) Are strongly controlled by human activities.
C) Have virtually infinite residence times.
D) Cannot be estimated because their natural cycles are complex.

Question 20

Significant components of indoor air pollution include all of the following except

A) Radon.
B) Volatile organic compounds.
C) Carbon monoxide.
D) Carbon dioxide.

Question 21

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is chiefly removed by solution into the oceans,from which it is precipitated in carbonate sediments.

Question 22

Carbon monoxide is principally a local air-pollution problem of areas with heavy traffic,not a global air-pollution problem.

Question 23

A thermal inversion exists when a stable warm-air layer becomes established over a colder layer below.

Question 24

The method removing carbon from atmospheric circulation and storing it or using it for biological and physical activities is called

A) Carbon emission.
B) Carbon absorption.
C) Carbon dissipation.
D) Carbon sequestration.

Question 25

Carbon monoxide concentrations in the upper atmosphere have been climbing for over a century due to increasing industrialization.

Question 26

Worldwide,there seems to be a negative correlation between cost of gasoline and fuel consumption.

Question 27

Any rainwater that has a pH less than this is contaminated.

A) 7 (neutral)
B) 6
C) 5.6
D) 5

Question 28

Thermal inversions

A) Occur only in coastal areas because of temperature differences over land and water.
B) Cause more intense precipitation than normal.
C) Have been responsible for all the major and several minor acute air-pollution episodes of the twentieth century.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 29

Increases in ozone in the upper atmosphere may lead to increased occurrence of skin cancer.

Question 30

The amount of precipitation can be markedly increased by

A) Ozone.
B) Particulate air pollutants.
C) Lead pollution.
D) Sulfur oxides.

Question 31

All rain is naturally somewhat acidic; "acid rain" is simply more strongly acidic.

Question 32

Lowering combustion temperatures in furnaces

A) Has no effect on air-pollution emissions.
B) Reduces production of nitrogen oxides.
C) Increases emission of lead and sulfur.
D) Reduces particulate pollution.

Question 33

Photochemical smog consists principally of ozone.

Question 34

Both acidity and sulfate concentration in rain have been reduced downwind of Phase I targets of the U.S.Clean Air Act reauthorization of 1990.

Question 35

Acid rain effects include all of the following except

A) Corrosion of building stone and marble statues and headstones.
B) A reduction in the rate of chemical weathering observed in igneous rocks.
C) Defoliation of plants or reduction in viability of plants because of their lowered ability to extract necessary nutrients from soils.
D) Fish kills or decimation of any aquatic organism's population because of inhibition of egg hatching in acidic waters.

Question 36

Thermal inversion is independent of topographic or geographic locations.

Question 37

In urban areas,this gas from internal-combustion engines may contribute to rainfall acidity.

A) Sulfur gases
B) Nitrogen oxides
C) Radon
D) Ozone

Question 38

The short-wavelength UVC is the most hazardous UV,but is largely absorbed by atmospheric oxygen before it reaches earth's surface.

Question 39

Lead,which occurs naturally in petroleum,can be removed from gasoline,but it is expensive to do this.

Question 40

Which of the following statements is not true?

A) By the time studies of rain acidity were begun, all air was polluted to some extent.
B) Rainfall would not be acidic if burning of sulfur-rich coal were stopped.
C) Rainfall is often more acidic downwind of coal-fired power plants.
D) The problems caused by acid rain vary in severity with local soil and bedrock geology.

Question 41

Electrostatic scrubbers are very efficient at removing particulate pollutants and also operate quite cheaply,so they are now installed on all equipment that generates particulates.

Question 42

The agreement known as the Montreal Protocol is intended to force countries that still put lead in gasoline to stop doing so by the year 2010.

Question 43

A negative correlation between ClO and ozone concentrations in the stratosphere supports the idea that chlorofluorocarbons play a role in ozone destruction.

Question 44

The move to smaller,more fuel-efficient cars,begun in response to fuel shortages is continuing unabated and as a result,the concentrations of all atmospheric pollutants are declining.

Question 45

The Pollutant Standards Index is designed to provide a measure of air quality that is directly related to human health effects.

Question 46

As long as there is oxygen (O₂)in earth's atmosphere,there will always be ozone in the upper atmosphere.

Question 47

One of the controls of air pollution involve conversion of dangerous compounds prior to effulent realease to less harmful ones or by pollutants being entrapped at the source.

Question 48

Because of concerns about destruction of the ozone layer,all nations have recently agreed to stop producing chlorofluorocarbon compounds.

Question 49

When a chlorine atom destroys an ozone molecule,that chlorine atom is taken "out of circulation" and locked in the product molecule so that it can do no more harm.