Monday, March 31, 2014

3/31/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 56 and read 23.9 - 23.12 (p. 537-543) in Botkin and Keller. See below for assistance.

Recycling Calculator

Optional Resource - I had mentioned the idea of changing how we think about and design the materials/items that we use. This is inspired by Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. McDonough gives an interesting TED talk here.


Assignment 55 Solid Waste Management Comprehension and Reflection Questions

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1. What conclusions did you draw from investigating the impacts of recycling (or a lack thereof)?

2. Do you recycle? Why or why not?

3. What factors influence how a person is going to manage their waste? What could make it easier to recycle or reuse? Which factors could make it more difficult?

4. How does discussing solid waste management connect to our ideas and definitions of sustainability?

Reading Comprehension Questions – 23.9 – 23.12 (p. 537 – 543)

5. New York State history time! What happened at Love Canal?

6. What exactly is e-waste, and why does it cause problems?

Friday, March 28, 2014

3/28/14

This weekend's homework is the following:

12A - Complete Assignments 54 and 55. Resources for (e) are here and here.

Assignment 55 Urban Air Pollution Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

Some scientists estimate that by 2025 over 60 percent of the global human population will live in urban areas. Urban residents experience a variety of problems related to the physical environment.

(a) Describe how the temperature of urban areas like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago differs from that of surrounding rural areas.

(b) Identify and describe TWO differences between urban and surrounding rural areas that contribute to the temperature difference between them.

(c) Urban areas typically have levels of air pollution that are significantly higher than those found in surrounding rural areas. Identify a characteristic of the urban microclimate that leads to higher levels of air pollution and describe how that characteristic contributes to the increase.

(d) Identify and describe TWO actions that local governments in urban areas could take to reduce outdoor air pollution.


(e) Identify and describe why urban residents suffer from higher rates of asthma (especially among children) than surrounding rural areas.

12CD - Complete Assignments 54 (see Thursday's post for assistance) and 55. Complete today's notes by reading 21.4 and 21.5 (p. 486-493). Prepare for a check-in on Monday.


Assignment 55 Urban Air Pollution Free Response Practice Questions

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1. Some scientists estimate that by 2025 over 60 percent of the global human population will live in urban areas. Urban residents experience a variety of problems related to the physical environment.

(a) Describe how the temperature of urban areas like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago differs from that of surrounding rural areas.

(b) Identify and describe TWO differences between urban and surrounding rural areas that contribute to the temperature difference between them.

(c) Urban areas typically have levels of air pollution that are significantly higher than those found in surrounding rural areas. Identify a characteristic of the urban microclimate that leads to higher levels of air pollution and describe how that characteristic contributes to the increase.

(d) Identify and describe TWO actions that local governments in urban areas could take to reduce outdoor air pollution.

(e) Identify and describe TWO ways in which the local hydrologic cycle of urban areas differs from that of nearby rural areas.

2. In recent years, results from scientific studies have increased public awareness of the possible damage to human health from exposure to indoor air pollution.

(a) Identify two specific indoor air pollutants and, for each, discuss the following.

(i) The type of building most affected by the pollutant

(ii) Source(s) of the pollutant

(iii) The pollutant’s effects on human health

(iv) The method(s) of prevention or cleanup of the pollutant

(b) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, at least 17 percent of the four million commercial buildings in the United States can be considered “sick buildings”.

(i) Explain what is meant by the term “sick building”.

(ii) Describe the criteria used for determining whether a building is “sick”.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

3/27/14

Tonight's homework is the following:

12A - Assignment 54 is due on Monday. There will be a check-in class tomorrow.

Sample Data for Assignment 54 - NOTE: This data does not represent an urban school setting.
Mock Class Data (for an urban school setting)

Card 1 (Inside Box)
Card 2 (Inside Classroom)
Card 3 (Outside Window)
Circle 1 (lumens)
4213
3656
3109
Circle 2 (lumens)
4824
3877
3187
Circle 3 (lumens)
4457
3788
3008
Average (lumens)



% Transmittance




Note: A lumen and a lux are both units that measure light. They are equivalent.


12CD - Score your answer to question #4 from Assignment 53. There will be a check-in class tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

3/26/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 53. See below for your class' specific assignment.

12A 

Assignment 53 - Understanding Ozone and Ozone Depletion

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability.

1. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A. Ozone near the surface of Earth protects us from ultraviolet radiation.
B. Ozone in the stratosphere protects us from harmful radiation from the Sun.
C. Exposure to ozone increases one’s risk of skin cancer.
D. Ozone is added to the atmosphere by fossil fuels.
E. Ozone can form in the deep ocean.

2. What role do chlorofluorocarbons play in the environment?

A. They add ozone to the troposphere.          D. They lead to the depletion of stratospheric ozone.
B. They add ozone to the stratosphere.          E. They no longer pose a threat to the environment.
C. They lead to the depletion of ground-level ozone.

3. What is the chemical formula for ozone

A. O                                                                  D. CO2
B. O2                                                                E. CH4
C. O3

4. Examine the following ambient air data collected for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and answer the following questions.

2008 Monthly Ambient Air Monitoring Report, Pittsburgh, PA
Month
Monthly maximum ozone levels (ppb)
Monthly average ozone levels (ppb)
Monthly average solar radiation (watts/m2)
January
37
14
65
February
49
15
63
March
56
23
86
April
76
31
81
May
75
27
152
June
77
32
208
July
95
31
215
August
92
27
204
September
89
20
153
October
48
14
109
November
57
12
64
December
30
14
45

a. Based on the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the 2008 standard for ozone states that the average ozone levels are not to exceed 0.075 ppm (75 ppb) in any 8-hour period. Is Pittsburgh in compliance with this standard? Discuss how this NAAQS may not truly reflect the overall air quality.

b. Ozone is classified as a secondary pollutant. Describe how ozone is formed from primary pollutants.

c. Interpret the data above and explain what happened in order to produce it. For example, explain the pattern of ozone levels in Pittsburgh.


d. Explain how the same ozone that is harmful in the troposphere is beneficial in the stratosphere.

12CD

Assignment 53 - Understanding Ozone and Ozone Depletion

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability.

1. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A. Ozone near the surface of Earth protects us from ultraviolet radiation.
B. Ozone in the stratosphere protects us from harmful radiation from the Sun.
C. Exposure to ozone increases one’s risk of skin cancer.
D. Ozone is added to the atmosphere by fossil fuels.
E. Ozone can form in the deep ocean.

2. What role do chlorofluorocarbons play in the environment?

A. They add ozone to the troposphere.          D. They lead to the depletion of stratospheric ozone.
B. They add ozone to the stratosphere.          E. They no longer pose a threat to the environment.
C. They lead to the depletion of ground-level ozone.

3. The type(s) of ultraviolet radiation most strongly absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere would be

A. UVA.                                                            D. UVB and UVC.
B. UVB.                                                            E. UVA and UVB.
C. UVC.

4. In the mid 1970s, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina predicted a thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctica. The thinning was confirmed in the late twentieth century and has continued into the twenty-first century.

a. Identify the class of chemical compounds that is primarily responsible for the thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer and describe TWO major uses for which these chemicals were manufactured.

b. Describe how the chemical compounds that you identified in part a. destroy stratospheric ozone molecules. You may include chemical equations as part of your answer.

c. Identify the major environmental consequence of the depletion of stratospheric ozone and describe TWO effects on ecosystems and/or human health that can result.

d. Ozone formed at ground level is a harmful pollutant. Describe TWO effects that ground-level ozone can have on ecosystems and/or human health.    

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

3/25/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 52 and the Air Pollution Information Organizer. 


Assignment 52 Acid Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1. Read AAAS’ Science Now article "Is Acid Rain a Thing of the Past?” by Marissa Weiss. Is acid rain a thing of the past? Support your answer.

2. A coal-fired power plant produces 10 million kWh of electricity each day. An input of 10,000 BTUs of heat is required to produce one kWh of electricity.

a. Determine the number of pounds of coal consumed by the power plant each day, assuming that one pound of coal yields 5,000 BTUs of heat. Show your work.

b. Determine the amount of sulfur dioxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) released by the power plant each day. The average emission rates for coal combustion are 10 lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 5 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides. 1 megawatt (MWh) is equal to 1,000 kWh.

3. Coal from western states such as Montana and Wyoming is known to have a lower percentage of sulfur impurities than coal found in the eastern United States. How would burning low-sulfur coal lower the level of acidity in rainfall? Use specific information about gases and acids to answer the question.

4. Describe another method by which a coal-burning power plant can reduce sulfur emissions leading to a reduction in acid precipitation.


Monday, March 24, 2014

3/24/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 51. See below.

Oh snap 12CD! I let you go without giving you the homework! How will you live? Here's how... you will either Assignment 51 tonight or you'll receive it tomorrow and do it for Wednesday. I could take the blame for this mishap except... I won't.

Assignment 51 - Air Pollution Comprehension Questions: Part 1

Read the article below from the Fremont Free Press and answer the questions that follow. 
(a) Support Councilwoman Smith’s statement that nitrogen-based fertilizers cause other environmental 
problems by describing one such problem. 

(b) Identify a nitrogen-containing primary pollutant that contributes to the formation of photochemical 
smog. Describe how that primary pollutant forms and explain why Councilman Budd was wrong. 

(c) Identify one secondary pollutant that is a component of photochemical smog and describe the 
following. 

(i) How the secondary pollutant forms 

(ii) ONE human health effect of the pollutant 

(iii) ONE environmental effect of the pollutant 

(d) Earth’s natural nitrogen cycle occurs in several steps. Describe one chemical transformation that occurs 
in the natural nitrogen cycle and discuss the importance of that transformation to an ecosystem. 

2. What is the Clean Air Act? Why does it exist?

3. Which pollutants discussed do you think are relevant for residents of New York City?

4. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program monitors wet deposition. From their available data, the following information was acquired for the Leading Ridge Station, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania from 1979 to 2010. Rainwater is collected throughout the year and wet deposition data is measured. (SOURCE: http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/sites/ntnmap.asp)

a. Create a graph showing the change in NO3 and SO4 concentrations over time. It is not necessary to graph every data point – for example, you may want to graph every other year or every fifth year, etc.

b. Create a graph showing the change in pH over time.

c. Calculate the rate of change in NO3 concentration and SO4 concentration between 1979 and 2010.

d. Make inferences and draw conclusions based on the graphs and your calculations.

Year
NO3 Concentration  (mg/L)
SO4 Concentration (mg/L)
pH
1979
1.73
3.32
4.24
1980
2.06
3.39
4.14
1981
1.97
3.48
4.15
1982
2.16
3.51
4.16
1983
1.64
2.61
4.25
1984
2.23
3.33
4.15
1985
1.77
2.71
4.22
1986
2.11
3.34
4.13
1987
2.44
3.78
4.08
1988
1.94
2.95
4.22
1989
2.14
3.16
4.16
1990
1.92
2.75
4.23
1991
2.10
3.21
4.15
1992
1.79
2.54
4.26
1993
1.90
2.67
4.22
1994
1.56
2.49
4.24
1995
1.66
1.86
4.35
1996
1.61
2.00
4.33
1997
1.68
2.02
4.31
1998
1.87
2.38
4.25
1999
1.62
2.00
4.36
2000
1.99
2.53
4.25
2001
1.87
2.60
4.28
2002
1.62
2.17
4.39
2003
1.35
2.00
4.39
2004
1.32
2.04
4.35
2005
1.27
1.64
4.43
2006
1.33
2.21
4.38
2007
1.52
2.20
4.35
2008
1.22
1.67
4.49
2009
0.97
1.24
4.68
2010
0.80
0.97
4.78