Chapter 2

Systems
 Easter Island
 A closed system
 Once a paradise

 Tragedy of the commons

 Time delay

 Exponential devastation

 Population crash

 Model of the planet

 Experiments
 Blind – do not know what is being taken by
subject

 Double blind – neither the tester nor the

subject know what is being given to the
subject

 Placebo – harmless sample used as a control

and test validity of the group being used
Accuracy vs. Precision
 Accuracy refers to getting the correct
measurement or reading

 Precision refers to being able to repeat

your performance exactly
 Good accuracy Poor accuracy Poor accuracy
and good precision and poor precision and good precision

Fig. 3.3, p. 46
Positive feedback loop
 Runaway cycle
 A change in the system (input) causes the
output to increase which causes more input

 Ex. Global warming – as temperatures rise

from increased CO2, the oceans will release
more dissolved CO2 causing the ocean
temperatures to rise further.
Negative feedback loop
 Homeostasis

 A change in input creates an output

which causes the input to decrease
 Ex. As pollution becomes less of a
problem, it will bother fewer people,
regulations on pollution will become
less stringent
 Rate of metabolic
chemical reactions Positive feedback loop

Blood Excess temperature Sweat production

Heat in body temperature in perceived by brain by skin
Heat input hypothalamus
from sun and
metabolism Heat loss
from air
cooling skin

Negative feedback loop

Fig. 3.4, p. 51
Time delays in systems
 Typical for environmental systems

 Do not see/feel the consequence

coming until it is too late to avoid

 Smoking – years of smoking may lead

to cancer and then quitting doesn’t
matter, it is too late.
 Synergistic
interactions
 When two processes create a stronger
effect together than the sum of their
individual parts

 Ex. Smog – heat and UV radiation

from the sun combine with car
emissions and create a toxic
substance worse than either alone
 What’s the “matter”
 Matter – anything with mass and volume
 Elements vs. compounds
 Parts of the atom, atomic number, mass
number
 Ions – positive or negative
 Isotopes – watch those neutrons
 Molecules – types of bonding ionic,
covalent, hydrogen
 Organic compounds
(have carbon)
 NOT Carbon Dioxide (exception)
 Hydrocarbons – fossil fuels (methane)

 Chlorinated hydrocarbons – DDT

 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – Freon

 Carbohydrates – glucose C6H12O6

 pH scale
 pH – percent Hydronium
 Logarithmic scale from 0 (strong acid)

to 14 (strong base) with 7 being

neutral
 A 2 means 10-2 Hydronium ions in

solution or ten times more than a 3 on

the scale
Fig. 3.7, p. 56
 Quality matter
 High quality matter is easily used by
man in terms of creating a product

 Low quality matter is difficult to obtain

or to convert into usable objects
High Quality Low Quality

Solid Gas

Salt Solution of salt in water

Coal

Coal-fired power
plant emissions

Gasoline
Automobile emissions

Fig. 3.9, p. 57

Aluminum can Aluminum ore

 Human matter
 What are we made of?

The There is a Each One The Genes are segments of DNA

human nucleus nucleus chromosome chromosomes that contain instructions to
body inside contains 46 of every are filled make proteins—the building
contains each chromosomes, pair with tightly blocks of life. There are
about 100 human cell arranged is from coiled approximately 140,000 genes
trillion (except red in 23 each strands in each cell, each coded by
cells. blood cells). pairs. parent. of DNA. sequences of nucleotides in
its DNA molecules.
 Forms of energy
 Energy is the ability to do work and
transfer heat

 Kinetic energy – motion

 Potential energy – stored energy

 High quality is easy to use to do work,

such as electricity
 Sun

High energy, short Low energy, long

wavelength wavelength

Ionizing radiation Nonionizing radiation

Cosmic Gamma X rays Far Near Visible Near Far microwaves TV Radio
rays rays ultraviolet ultraviolet waves infrared infrared waves waves
waves waves waves waves

10-14 10-12 10-8 10-7 10-6 10-5 10-3 10-2 10-1 1

Wavelength
in meters
(not to scale)

Fig. 3.10, p. 58
 Physical vs chemical
changes
Reactant(s) Products(s)

carbon + oxygen carbon dioxide + energy

C + O2 CO2 + energy

C O C O + energy
O

black solid colorless gas colorless gas

In-text, p. 59
 Energy absorbed

Evaporation
Melting And boiling

Freezing Condensation

solid liquid gas

Energy released Fig. 3.5, p. 54

Law of conservation of
matter
 There is “no away”

 – matter is changed either physically

or chemically, but is still present

 We will never run out of matter, only

matter in an easily used form
 The breakdown of
matter
 Concentration
 Persistence – how long will it last?

 Degradable – via physical,chemical, or

biological
 Slowly degradable – (plastics, DDT
(takes decades))
 Nondegradable (elements like lead,
mercury)
 Nuclear (not nucular)
Changes
 Radioactive change (decay) is another
possible change to matter

 Natural radioactive decay

 Nuclear fusion

 Nuclear fission
 Natural radioactive
decay
 Unstable isotopes (radioisotopes)
breakdown at a uniform rate known as
its half life
 Gives off Gamma rays (ionizing
radiation) in the form of alpha (2
protons and 2 neutrons) and beta
(electrons) particles
 Radioactivity is measured in Curies
 Sheet Block Concrete
of paper of wood wall

Alpha

Beta

Gamma

Fig. 3.12, p. 62
 Don’t eat that, it’s
radioactive
 In general it takes ten half lives for a
radioactive substance to be
considered safe.
 Plutonium-239 is carcinogenic is

minute amounts. If its half-life is

24,000 years, how long do you have to
quarantine a sample until it is safe?
 1
Fraction of original amount of
plutonium-239 left

1/2

1/4

1/8 1st 2nd 3rd

half-life half-life half-life

0
24,000 48,000 72,000 Fig. 3.13, p. 62

Time (years)
 Ionizing Radiation
 Harmful radiation resulting in two types
of damage
 Genetic damage – DNA mutations

 Somatic damage – tissue damage, ex.

Burns, cataracts, cancer, miscarriage

 Other
1% Ionizing radiation sources (US)
Consumer
Radon
products
3% 55%

Nuclear
medicine
4%

Medical
X rays Space
10% 8%

Earth
The 8%
human
Natural sources 82% body
Human-generated 18% 11%
Fig. 3.14, p. 63
Fission vs. Fusion
 Nuclear fission involves splitting atoms
 Typically a large mass isotope (U235)

 When neutrons are shot at nucleus,

the nucleus splits releasing energy,
and more neutrons
 Creates chain reaction

 Used in power generation (Nuclear

power plants)
 Fission fragment

n n
Energy
n

n
Uranium-235
nucleus
Unstable
nucleus
Fission fragment

Fig. 3.15, p. 64
 235
92 U
n
92
36 Kr n
235
92 U

235 n
92 U
141 n
92 56
Ba
36 Kr n
92 Kr
36 n
n n

n
235
92 U n
141
56
Ba
92 Kr
141 36 n
56 Ba 235
92 U
n
235
141 n 92 U
56
Ba
235 Fig. 3.16, p. 64
92 U
 Fusion is “Da Bomb”
 Two light nuclei are slammed together
at high speed
 Fusing produces new nucleus and
releases energy
 Typically isotopes of hydrogen are
used
 This is what is inside a Hydrogen
Bomb, like “Fatman and Little Boy”
 Fuel Reaction Conditions Products

D-T Fusion

+ Neutron

Hydrogen-2 or + Energy
deuterium nucleus +

+ + +
100 million ˚C

Hydrogen-3 or Helium-4
tritium nucleus nucleus

D-D Fusion
+ +
+ Helium-3
Hydrogen-2 or nucleus
deuterium nucleus

+ + Energy
+
+ Proton Hydrogen-2 or
deuterium nucleus
1 billion ˚C Neutron
Neutron Fig. 3.17, p. 64
 First Law of
Thermodynamics
 Also called the law of conservation of
energy
 Energy is neither created nor

destroyed but may be converted from

one form into another

 ENERGY IN = ENERGY OUT

 Second Law of
Thermodynamics
 When energy changes form, some
energy is degraded in lower quality
energy

 In other words, heat is lost to the

surrounding environment in all energy
conversions or transfers (entropy)
Second Law of Thermodynamics

Chemical Chemical Mechanical

Solar energy
energy energy
energy (moving,
(photosynthesis) (food)
thinking,
living)

Waste Waste Waste Waste

heat heat heat heat

P.S. Also remember heat flows from hot to cold Fig. 3.18, p. 66
 How does the second
law of energy affect life?
 If “all” energy comes from the sun,
explain why, in terms of the
environment, it is better to be a
vegetarian than to be a carnivore.
The End… finally!