Vocabulary and questions: Climate. Ozone depletion. Temperature inversion

Transcription

1 Vocabulary and questions: Weather Climate Front Coriolis effect Prevailing winds Upwelling Greenhouse gases Microclimate El Nino Southern oscillation Troposphere Global warming Primary pollutant Photochemical smog Temperature inversion Acid deposition ph Ozone depletion Acid deposition, aluminum Brown Air smog Thermal inversion Greenhouse effect Rainshadow effect La Nina Atmosphere Stratosphere Air pollution Secondary pollutant Industrial smog Chapter 6 1. Distinguish between weather and climate. Summarize how warm fronts, cold fronts, high pressure air masses, and low pressure air masses effect weather. 2. Describe at least five different factors which contribute to global air circulation patterns. Distinguish between tornado and a typical tropical cyclone. Describe how ocean currents generally redistribute heat. 3. Describe an El Nino/ Southern Oscillation and a La Nina. What distinct weather features are in each. 4. Describe an upwelling and how it might be affected by an El Nino-Southern Oscillation. 5. Define greenhouse effect. Name the greenhouse gases. State the significance of the greenhouse effect. Chapter Briefly describe the structure of the atmosphere being sure to include troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and the boundaries between each set of layers. 7. Summarize ways in which humans disrupt Earth s major gaseous nutrient cycle. 8. Distinguish between primary pollutant and secondary pollutant; stationary sources and mobile sources; photochemical smog and industrial smog. List eight major classes of primary outdoor pollutants. Describe hoe smog is formed. Describe a thermal inversion and conditions under which it is most likely to occur. 9. Define acid deposition. Identify the level of risk that acid deposition creates for human health. Give one example of the complexities of interactions that can be set in motion by acid deposition. List six strategies to prevent acid deposition. 10. Compare the risks of indoor and outdoor air pollution. List four most dangerous indoor air pollutants, the potential health effects of each, and strategies for dealing with each. 11. Briefly describe how air pollution affects human health, plants, aquatic life, and materials. 12. Summarize the Clean Air Act. List six criticisms that environmentalists make about the Clean Air Act. Summarize the controversy over the stricter particle emission standards in the USA.

2 13. List four prevention strategies and three cleanup strategies to reduce emissions from stationary sources of air pollution. Define emissions trading policy and tell which are being regulated by this policy. 14. List eight prevention strategies and three cleanup strategies to reduce emission from motor vehicles. List six prevention strategies and six cleanup strategies to reduce indoor pollution. Chapter Describe the greenhouse effect and what the Earth would be like without a greenhouse effect. List two predominant greenhouse gases. List four greenhouse gases that have risen in the last few decades. List four human activities that contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Distinguish between Greenhouse effect and global warming. 2. Describe the pattern of the earth s average surface-temperature fluctuation throughout geologic time. Describe the period the earth has been experiencing for the last 10,000 years. 3. Describe the general trend of mean global temperature since List two factors other than then greenhouse effect that may have contributed to the general temperature change. 4. Briefly describe projections of the major climate models regarding changes in mean surface temperature and average sea level. List eight important factors that lend considerable uncertainty to climate models and their projections. 5. State the range of temperature change that could cause real damage tp ecosystems. Explain why a range so seemingly small can have such major consequences. Summarize the projections of possible effects of global warming on (a) food production, (b) water supplies, (c) forests, (d) biodiversity, (e) sea levels, (f) weather extremes,(g) human health,and (h) environmental refugees. 6. Describe three schools of thought about global warming and hoe we as a human society should act. List seven strategies that would slow potential global warming, including both prevention and cleanup approaches. 7. Describe the origin of stratospheric ozone and the role it plays in protecting life on earth. Briefly describe changes which have been occurrung in the stratospheric ozone. 8. Describe the scientific work on CFC s and their relationship to ozone. Describe the political response to the scientific information. Summarize the consensus science view of CFC s and stratospheric ozone. Summarize alternative views that have received much attention 9. Explain the potential consequences of ozone depletion. ****Environmental Laws assignment from Unit 1 will be due with this unit

3 Read Albedo Doc before you do this lab. OUTDOOR ALBEDO Enter this into your lab book using the correct format. Use the questions as a guide for your conclusions. Albedo is a measure of the degree of reflectance of a surface. The relative albedo of a surface can be inferred by comparing the temperature of the air above any one surface with the temperature of the air above other surfaces with a thermometer. Materials: Procedure: Thermometer, pencil, paper, graph paper Go to the following sites on campus and record the temperature of the surface. Shade the thermometer as you hold it 2 inches about the surface. Direct sun will skew the results. Give the thermometer 2 minutes to respond. Read and record the temperature and move to another site. Do this for the five sites and add four of your own choice. Return to the classroom and create a bar graph of the data with surface types on the x axis and temperature on the y axis. 1. Grassy area 2. Under a tree 3. On asphalt 4. On the sidewalk 5. On a bare dirt surface 6. Choice 1 7. Choice 2 8. Choice 3 9. Choice 4 Questions: 1. Over what surface was the highest temperature? Explain why. Does this represent a high or low albedo? 2. Over which surface was the lowest temperature? Explain why. Does this represent a high or low albedo? 3. Does the reflectivity of a surface have anything to do with climates around the world? Explain your thoughts.

4 Measurement of CO2 from Car Exhaust Introduction: One of the most common greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), which can be found in the atmosphere, water, soil, the breath we exhale, car exhaust, etc. Because CO2 is produced by many common human activities it is important we monitor its concentration. One way to measure the concentration of CO2 is to use an indicator, such as BromoThymol Blue (BTB) solution. Materials: Soda Bottle Plastic Cup BTB Indicator Solution File Folder Plastic Syringe Stopwatch Marker Tape Vehicle Exhaust Scientific Method: A. Problem What type of vehicle produces the most carbon dioxide? B. Information about the Problem In this experiment your team will measure the amount of CO2 released by ONE of the three vehicles described in the table below using BTB indicator solution. The specifications of each vehicle are listed in the table below. Vehicle Type Year Model Number of Cylinders Compact Car Mid-Size Car SUV or truck C. Hypothesis We believe that the (vehicle type) will release the most CO2 because

5 D. Procedure a. Preparation 1. Label the soda bottle and cup according to the vehicle type your team will test using tape and a marker. 2. Roll the file folder into a funnel as your teacher demonstrates. b. Sample Collection 3. Samples will be collected outside in the parking lot. Follow the teacher s instructions to go outside and be sure to bring your soda bottle with cap, file folder and stopwatch. 4. Take the cap off the bottle and be sure not to lose it! 5. Hold the larger side of the funnel at the end of the vehicle s muffler and the smaller side at the mouth of the soda bottle, leaving a small space in-between. 6. Collect the vehicle s exhaust (i.e. CO2 emissions) for 2 minutes 7. Quickly put the cap on the soda bottle and seal it tightly. 8. Follow the teacher s instructions to return to the classroom. c. Data Collection 9. Clear the plastic syringe of any contamination by pulling the plunger back to the 50 ml mark and releasing any material by pushing the plunger to the 0 ml mark. 10.Divide team responsibilities with your partner as follows: Student Responsibilities 1 Bottle and Cap 2 Plastic Syringe 11.Quickly take the cap off the soda bottle and insert the plastic syringe. 12.Press the bottle and carefully remove an air sample by pulling the plunger on the syringe back to the 50 ml mark. 13.Quickly place the cap back on the soda bottle and seal it tightly. 14.Insert the tip of the syringe into the cup and release 25 ml of exhaust into the BTB solution by pushing the syringe plunger to the 25 ml mark. E. Data Analysis 1. Compare the color of the BTB solution in your cup with two teams who tested the other types of vehicles. 2. Rank the cups based on the color of the BTB solution and the amount of CO2 produced (see the color chart below). Record your data in the following table. Vehicle Type Color of BTB Solution CO2 Concentration Compact Car Mid-Size Car SUV

6 Blue Low CO2 Concentration BTB Indicator Solution Color Chart Green Medium CO2 Concentration Yellow High CO2 Concentration F. Conclusions 1. Which of the three vehicles produced the most carbon dioxide? 2. Was your hypothesis correct? YES or NO 3. Explain your results: 4. What is the variable in this experiment? 5. What are the controls in this experiment? 6. In your team, what kinds of vehicles do your families drive? Do you think each vehicle produces more or less CO2 than the vehicle your team tested today? Why? Type of Vehicle More or Less CO2 Explanation 7. Can you think of what else you could test or investigate after doing this experiment? What other variables could you compare?