Deck 4: The Air We Breathe

Question 1

Which chemical would be most likely to react with sulfur dioxide and remove it from combustion gases?

A) NO, nitric oxide
B) NaCl, salt
C) CaO, lime
D) HNO_3, nitric acid

Answer 1

CaO, lime

Question 2

The atmospheric layer in which is found the air we breathe is

A) troposphere
B) mesophere
C) stratosphere
D) thermosphere

Answer 2

troposphere

Question 3

What type of very reactive chemical species participates in the formation of photochemical smog?

A) free radicals
B) strong acids
C) weakly bonded materials such as those that contain hydrogen bonds
D) substances that contain coordinate-covalent bonds

Answer 3

free radicals

Question 4

When coal and fuel oil are burned, what two primary pollutants are formed?

A) SO₂ and CO₂
B) HNO₃ and H₂SO₄
C) CO and O₃
D) hydrocarbons and NO₂

Question 5

Which oxide of nitrogen is produced by lightning, forest fires, and internal combustion engines?

A) N₂O
B) NO₂
C) NO
D) N₂O₅

Question 6

Which is not a practical way to control hydrocarbon emissions?

A) design spouts on gasoline pumps to prevent gasoline leaks
B) use catalytic converters in automobiles
C) install an oxygen sensor in car engines
D) cut down trees emitting hydrocarbons in the atmosphere

Question 7

Major particulate emissions come from

A) volcanic eruptions
B) nitrogen fixation
C) acid rain
D) home heating

Question 8

Which is the secondary pollutant in photochemical smog?

A) ozone
B) nitrogen
C) hydrocarbon
D) nitrogen dioxide

Question 9

A secondary pollutant

A) is less destructive than a primary pollutant
B) causes destruction on buildings but not on human beings
C) is produced by chemical reactions in the air
D) has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than that of a primary pollutant

Question 10

Sulfur dioxide is given off by burning

A) some coal
B) some petroleum
C) some wood
D) all of the above

Question 11

Which is not a method for removing particulates and aerosol pollutants from the atmosphere?

A) rain and snow
B) electrostatic precipitation
C) scrubbing
D) distillation

Question 12

The primary source of global SO₂ in the atmosphere is believed to be

A) forest fires
B) human activity
C) volcanoes
D) forests

Question 13

Which pollutant is related to the following sources: sea salt, automobile and truck exhaust, volcanoes, electric power plants?

A) lead
B) sulfur dioxide
C) carbon monoxide
D) particulates

Question 14

Which source is responsible for the greatest NOx emissions in the United States?

A) lightning
B) biomass burning
C) fossil fuel combustion
D) microbial activity in soil

Question 15

Which substance would be present in the greatest concentration during the morning rush hour on a smoggy day in Los Angeles?

A) NO
B) O₃
C) NO₂
D) SO₃

Question 16

Which is not necessary for photochemical smog?

A) sulfur dioxide
B) sunlight
C) free radicals
D) nitrogen dioxide

Question 17

The primary source of carbon monoxide (CO) is

A) the automobile
B) any burning process in the presence of a plentiful supply of air
C) from carbon dioxide
D) electrical power plants

Question 18

Which are the most abundant gases in the atmosphere?

A) oxygen and neon
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) carbon dioxide and nitrogen
D) oxygen, carbon dioxide and helium

Question 19

A polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon capable of causing cancer is

A) HCFC-134a
B) perchloroethylene
C) asbestos
D) benzo(alpha)pyrene

Question 20

Which of the following is not considered an air pollutant?

A) water vapor
B) ozone
C) nitric oxide
D) sulfur dioxide

Question 21

Where do sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid cause the greatest harm?

A) on the skin
B) in the stomach
C) in the respiratory tract
D) in the intestines

Question 22

Why are small particulates in the atmosphere dangerous to human beings?

A) they can enter into and lodge in very small crevices of the lungs and cause concentrated abrasive injury
B) they grind the enamel off of teeth
C) they absorb and concentrate other pollutants
D) they dissolve in rivers and lakes and fill them up

Question 23

Commercial nitrogen is produced from the air by

A) reducing the oxygen with carbon
B) reacting the nitrogen with hydrogen to form ammonia
C) dissolving nitrogen into a fused salt medium
D) refrigeration of air and fractional distillation

Question 24

Concerning the Clean Air Act enacted into law in 1970,

A) every industrial plant in the U.S.is in compliance with the law
B) discharges of pollutants have tended downward since the law was enacted
C) the law was rescinded in 1980
D) no industrial plant in the U.S.is in compliance with the law

Question 25

Why is carbon monoxide toxic to mammals?

A) it acts as a neurotoxin
B) inhibits oxygen binding to hemoglobin
C) causes restriction of the airway
D) it is very addictive

Question 26

Abatement or eradication of air pollution necessarily requires

A) an extra expenditure of energy
B) taller stacks
C) less industrial production
D) movement of industrial plants to less populated parts of the country

Question 27

Aerosols enhance smog by

A) concentrating pollutants
B) producing the fog part of smog
C) providing a reaction medium for the production of secondary pollutants such as H₂SO₄
D) all of the above

Question 28

Convert 0.284 ppb to a percent and express the answer in scientific notation.

A) 2.84 F* 10^-8
B) 2.84 * 10^-10
C) 2.84 * 10^-9
D) 2.84 * 10¹⁰

Question 29

Which of the following is not necessary for a thermal inversion?

A) an enclosed section of land where lateral movement of air is hindered
B) an abundant supply of SO₂
C) a layer of colder air beneath a layer of warmer air
D) an absence of rain or other precipitation

Question 30

Identify the pair that are allotropes.

A) pencil lead and a diamond
B) oxygen gas and nitrogen gas
C) gold and silver
D) mercury and bromine

Question 31

If the concentration of NO₂ during peak traffic in Los Angeles is 0.405 ppm, what is this percentage?

A) 0.405
B) 0.00405
C) 0.0000405
D) 0.000000405

Question 32

What brown oxide of nitrogen is a necessary component of photochemical smog?

A) NO
B) NO₂
C) NO₃
D) N₂O₅

Question 33

Convert 0.000053% to ppb.

A) 53
B) 530
C) 5300
D) 5.3

Question 34

Which pollutant can be removed by centrifuged separations?

A) particulates
B) sulfur dioxide
C) carbon dioxide
D) ozone

Question 35

In air pollution abatement

A) all pollutants are necessarily eradicated
B) the amounts of pollutants are decreased
C) some pollutants are eradicated necessarily
D) all of the above

Question 36

Which atmospheric region contains the protective ozone layer?

A) troposphere
B) mesophere
C) stratosphere
D) thermosphere

Question 37

What effect will exposure to an ozone concentration of 0.400 ppm have on an individual?

A) none
B) healthy
C) unhealthy
D) cannot be determined

Question 38

What does industrial smog have that photochemical smog normally does not have?

A) carbon monoxide
B) sulfur dioxide
C) nitrogen dioxide
D) hydrocarbons

Question 39

Identify the type of pollution that is referred to as anthropogenic pollution.

A) volcanic eruption
B) forest fire
C) nuclear reactor
D) vents in Yellowstone