Chemistry: Environmental Systems

Building a taller chimney

Using scrubbers to remove sulfur dioxide

Painting the building green

Increasing the temperature of the furnace

Carbon dioxide

Nitrogen oxides

Argon

Helium

Iron

Vapors from paints and solvents

Distilled water

Oxygen gas

Latitude

Longitude

Altitude

Magnitude

Gas X is Hydrogen ($H_2$), which is a highly flammable gas that increases the risk of atmospheric fires.

Gas X is Carbon Dioxide ($CO_2$), which acts as a greenhouse gas and contributes to the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Gas X is Carbon Monoxide ($CO$), which is a toxic gas that reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

Gas X is Sulfur Dioxide ($SO_2$), which reacts further with water vapor to increase the acidity of future rainfall.

The burning of fossil fuels

The process of photosynthesis by plants and algae

The evaporation of water from lakes

The movement of tectonic plates

Burning more coal to create energy

Capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide long-term

Increasing the number of cars on the road

Releasing CFCs into the atmosphere

It decreases significantly due to lower 'food miles' and lower methane emissions from livestock.

It increases because vegetables require more water to grow.

It stays the same because all food production uses the same amount of energy.

It decreases because vegetables don't contain any carbon.

The combustion of fossil fuels for transport

The respiration of wild animals

Volcanic outgassing

The natural decay of fallen leaves in a forest

There is no chemical difference ($O_{3}$); the difference is its location in the atmosphere.

Good ozone has three atoms, bad ozone has four atoms.

Good ozone is made from oxygen, bad ozone is made from nitrogen.

Good ozone is a solid, while bad ozone is a gas.

Evaporation

Condensation

Precipitation

Transpiration

In the atmosphere

In the oceans

In the ground

In plants

Gaseous Hydrogen

Liquid Iron

Solid Rocks and Minerals

Liquid Water

Lithosphere

Hydrosphere

Atmosphere

Biosphere

Photosynthesis

Cellular respiration

Volcanic outgassing

Sedimentation

Greenhouse effect

Rain shadow effect

Coriolis effect

Albedo effect

Increase in ocean salinity

Decrease in sea levels

Changes in ocean current patterns

Reduction of oxygen in the atmosphere

It becomes richer in $O_{2}$ because of the height.

The relative humidity increases until water vapor condenses, releasing latent heat and causing precipitation in the hydrosphere.

The concentration of $CO_{2}$ increases because the air is closer to the Sun.

The air becomes more saline as it picks up salt from the ocean surface.

$CO_{2}$; it reflects sunlight because of its high density.

$SO_{2}$; it reacts with water vapor to form sulfuric acid aerosols that reflect incoming solar radiation.

$CH_{4}$; it reacts with oxygen to absorb heat from the Earth.

$H_{2}O$; it forms clouds that trap heat near the surface.

C4 plants can photosynthesize at much lower $CO_{2}$ concentrations because they have a more efficient carbon fixation pathway.

C3 plants do not require $CO_{2}$ for growth.

C4 plants release $O_{2}$ at night while C3 plants release it during the day.

C3 plants convert $N_{2}$ directly into sugar, whereas C4 plants cannot.

Condensation

Decomposition

Combustion

Evaporation

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Carbon dioxide

Argon

To make the field look better

To add nitrogen back into the soil naturally

To remove water from the soil

To increase the amount of $CO_2$ in the soil

The Water Cycle

The Nutrient Cycle

The Sky Cycle

The Gas Cycle

Carbon is released from volcanoes.

$CO_2$ dissolves in rainwater.

Organic matter or calcium carbonate settles at the bottom of the ocean and eventually forms rock.

Plants take in $CO_2$ to make sugar.

A linear path from the air to the soil.

A one-way flow of energy through an ecosystem.

A biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates.

The process of breathing in nitrogen and breathing out carbon dioxide.

The surface of the ocean.

The upper level of the underground zone of saturation.

The speed at which water evaporates.

A scientific chart showing water usage.

It measures the soil's ability to hold onto positively charged nutrients like $NH_4^+$, $K^+$, and $Ca^{2+}$

It measures the rate at which nitrogen gas is converted into ammonium by bacteria

It determines the speed at which water moves through the soil (permeability)

It quantifies the amount of carbon dioxide released by soil microbes

Autotrophic is done by primary producers (plants); heterotrophic is done by consumers and decomposers

Autotrophic consumes $CO_2$; heterotrophic produces $CO_2$

Autotrophic occurs only in the light; heterotrophic occurs only in the dark

Autotrophic releases methane; heterotrophic releases carbon dioxide

The preferential evaporation of lighter isotopes ($^{16}O$ and $^{1}H$) over heavier isotopes ($^{18}O$ and $^{2}H$)

The breaking of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas by solar radiation

The division of a single river into multiple smaller streams (distributaries)

The separation of salt from water during the process of freezing

Using as much fertilizer as possible

Eliminating all plants

Using fertilizers in a way that minimizes environmental damage

Replacing soil with plastic

Something found in the ocean

The second major layer of Earth's atmosphere

A type of chemical bond

A method of farming

Turning into stone

Being washed into rivers by rain

Being eaten by birds

Floating away into space

Carbon

Calcium

Chlorine

Copper

Crop rotation with nitrogen-fixing plants like legumes

Increasing the frequency of irrigation

Burning crop residues instead of composting them

Using only one type of crop every year (monoculture)

$O_2$ and an $O$ atom

Three $O$ atoms

Two $O_2$ molecules

Carbon dioxide and water

It measures the concentration of fertilizers in soil

It is a measure of the total amount of ozone in a column of the atmosphere

It measures the intensity of UV radiation reaching the ground

It is the unit for measuring the amount of chlorine in a CFC molecule

The concentration of nitrates in soil.

The total amount of ozone in a vertical column of the atmosphere.

The efficiency of the Haber process catalyst.

The amount of UV-C radiation reaching the ground.

To stop the reaction from becoming explosive.

To separate it from the unreacted $N_2$ and $H_2$ gases, which are then recycled.

To increase the temperature of the remaining gases.

Because liquid ammonia is more reactive than gaseous ammonia.

It involves global-scale chemical cycles.

It can be solved instantly by stopping emissions.

It involves complex catalytic reactions.

It has long-term lag times between cause and effect.

It is pure water

It is water with dissolved impurities

It is not water at all

It is frozen water

Nitrogen

Chlorine

Iron

Sulfur

To kill bacteria

To remove large objects like branches and plastic

To add fluoride for teeth

To evaporate the water

Tap water

Spring water

Pure water

Hard water

Pure water

An aqueous solution (water with impurities)

A liquid that is not water at all

Distilled water

Sedimentation

Activated carbon filtration

Screening

Flocculation

It contains high levels of salt.

It is cloudy due to suspended solids.

It has a very high pH.

It is moving very fast.

The copper ions are reduced to copper metal.

Water molecules coordinate with the copper(II) ions to form a hydrated complex.

The sulfate ions react with water to form sulfuric acid.

The copper(II) sulfate dissolves to form a blue solution, but no chemical bond is formed with water.

It increases the metabolic rate of fish, requiring them to consume more oxygen while simultaneously decreasing the available oxygen.

It causes the water to freeze more easily in winter, trapping fish.

It leads to the precipitation of all dissolved salts, making the water too soft.

It encourages the growth of coral reefs in cold climates.

Copper(II)

Iron(II)

Calcium

Aluminum

Ni

Na

N

No

Catch escaped gases

Collect the condensed liquid and organic molecules

Kill any bacteria that might grow

Measure the pressure of the system

It is a universal solvent where chemicals can react

It is the only liquid on Earth

It is made of metal

It doesn't allow anything to dissolve in it

Only 1

Over 20 (in later analyses of the samples)

None

Exactly 1,000

The evaporation of seawater into the atmosphere

The process of precipitation returning water and organic molecules to the ocean

The formation of tectonic plates through volcanic activity

The gradual cooling of the Earth's core over time

Life can be created easily in a week

Organic molecules can form from inorganic precursors under the right conditions

The early Earth had no water

Electricity is the only way to create amino acids

Ammonia

Sodium Chloride

Glycine (an amino acid)

Argon

The original results were fake.

There were actually many more types of amino acids (over 20) than originally reported in 1953.

Bacteria had grown inside the vials over 50 years.

The organic molecules had all turned back into methane gas.

That scientific theories are absolute and never change.

That scientific models are useful for simulating complex systems even if they are simplifications.

That experiments must always produce life to be successful.

That scientists never disagree with each other.

$CH_4 + NH_3 \rightarrow HCN + 3H_2$

$C + N \rightarrow CN$

$CO_2 + N_2 \rightarrow HCN + O_2$

$H_2O + NH_3 \rightarrow HCN + H_2$