PROGRESS CHECK

Essay. Ten (10) points for each correct answer to questions:

1. Discuss the effects of air pollutants on:

a. materials
Air pollutants could most likely deteriorate the outer layer and colors of some
materials, this is kind of similar to the scenario of erosion but instead of soil this is on
a surface of a material.
b. vegetation
Air pollutants affect the yield and growth of vegetation, it could either decrease
the growth rate or render a plant unable to bear much fruits. This is why the quality
of fruits from farmlands and forests differ a lot because farmlands are sometimes
crowded or unsanitary while on forests crops grow on a natural basis and gain
abundant nutrients due to the fact that forests aren’t exploited again and again for
years and decay of leaves, animals and etc. there greatly increases the carbon cycle
which makes the vegetation grow healthier.
c. human health
Air pollutants affect the health of people passively but not directly, this could
harm our immune system and hinder the growth of kids in the long run. Right now,
people are directly exposed to these air pollutants since it is the by product of cars,
electrical appliances and aerosol sprays which makes us a lot more vulnerable to this
kind of issue that we have caused.
2. Define the term Acid rain and explains how it occurs.
Acid rain is a rain caused by the precipitation of acidic components in the
atmosphere, these acidic components are usually the air pollutants that we people are
causing. Acid rain is a phenomenon in which an unusual rain showers down from the
clouds, harming the surface of any material it hits leaving eroded marks on some really
sensitive materials.
3. Discuss the following atmospheric conditions in air pollution meteorology:
a. Atmospheric engine
Atmospheric engine involves condensation in which they condense steam vapor
in a cylinder allowing the vacuum created by the condensed water to pump water
without continuous or great exertion of energy. This has revolutionized the ways of
human civilization and has used the principle of the atmospheric engine was applied
on steam engines, that later on brought a very long chain of ideas leading to the
creation of modern engines that we now use in many different ways.
b. Turbulence
Turbulence are sudden shifts of air in the atmosphere which is caused by either a
storm or similar natural phenomena that involves wind, these vertical currents are
commonly encountered by planes in which it is shook up and down by updrafts of
turbulent making the plane shake or jerk mid-air.
c. Stability
 Stability or atmospheric stability is a phenomenon in which the atmosphere
deters or greatly decreases vertical motion, it is when air is cooler than the
surrounding air.
4. Name at least ten variables that affect the internal combustion (automobiles) emissions.
 Vehicle class
 Vehicle weight
 Driving cycle
 Vehicle vocation
 Fuel type
 Engine exhaust
 Engine exhaust aftertreatment
 Vehicle age
 Terrain traveled
 Engine control effects
5. List and define three units of measure used to report air pollution data.
 Micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3)
 Parts per million (ppm)
 Parts per billion (ppb)
6. Explain the difference between ppm in air pollution and ppm in water pollution.
Ppm in air is used to measure concentration of contaminants in air whilst ppm in water is
used to measure small concentrations in water, the difference of both is the yield since water
is fixed on the liter measurement while air depends on the molecular weight of the
contaminant.
7. Discuss the natural and anthropogenic origin of the six criteria air pollutants and identify the
likely mechanisms for their removal from the atmosphere.
Anthropogenic origins are those natural phenomena that release the air pollutants in the
air, a very good example of those is; volcanic eruptions, wild fires, ocean sprays and various
other factors that brings harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. Six criteria air pollutants
are:
 Carbon Monoxide
 Lead
 Nitrogen Oxide
 Ground-level Ozone
 Particle Pollution
 Sulfur Oxide
8. Explain the term greenhouse effect, its hypothesized cause, and its pros and cons to the
atmosphere.
Greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon in which the heat from the sun is reflected
back to earth by greenhouse gases, it is the natural heating process of our planet.
 Pros
 Greenhouse Effect (Gases) offers a layer of protection, greenhouse
gases act as a sieve from solar radiation to protect us from direct
exposure to its harmful UV rays.
  Greenhouse Effect supports life, greenhouse effects keep the heat of
our planet coming from the sun from escaping to the vacuum of space,
heat is basically one of the most basic conditions of life.

 Cons
 Greenhouse Effect causes global warming, global warming is a
phenomenon in which earth warms or heats up to unusual levels of
heat, totally changing the weather and affects almost all of the present
lifeforms in the planet.
 Increasing Levels of Water, as earth warms up poles and glaciers are
also melting which results to an increase in the total volume of water
in the oceans, which in turn decreases the oxygen of most ocean
waters and eventually decreases the land space.
9. Discuss the Montreal Protocol.
Montreal is an agreement that was made by many nations to limit/ stop the output of
greenhouse gases to prevent the collapse of our ozone, this is to make sure that our ozone
recovers from all the losses greenhouse gases has made. The goal of this protocol is to
reduce the concentrations of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.
10. Enumerate ways to minimize air pollution in a coal-fired power plant.
 Steam Turbine-Gas Turbine Combined Cycles
 Magnetohydrodynamics
 The Use of Binary Cycles or Working Fluids other than Steam
 Shift to lower sulfur fuels
 Natural Gas