Air Quality Revision Notes

Air –What’s it made up of? Naturally air is made up of nitrogen, oxygen and argon Nitrogen (N2) makes up 98% of air. Oxygen (O2) makes up 21% of air Argon (Ar) makes up 1% of air.

Air- what is added to it? Human activity adds certain things to air. These are – Nitrogen oxides (NOx) Carbon monoxide (CO) Sulphur dioxide (SO2) Extra carbon dioxide (CO2) Soot ( carbon particles). These are added by burning fossil fuels and driving cars.

What do these do? These extra gasses being added into the air can be harm full to people. It can make asthma worse for sufferers. They can also cause breathing problems and put a strain on peoples heart.

How do you work out how much pollution is in the air? To work out how much pollution there is in the air scientists do certain experiments. They do each experiment more than once to may sure that there reading is accurate. Then they work out the mean and range.

Where do pollutants come from? Coal is made mainly from carbon. When coal burns, carbon dioxide is made Petrol and diesel are made up from carbon and hydrogen. When these burn it makes Nitrogen oxide, Carbon, Carbon dioxide and water. However when this happens there is always the same amount of atoms as there was to start with.

What causes pollutants? Things that make pollutants are : Power stations (Causes NO, C, CO, SO2, CO2) Traffic ( Causes NO, CO, CO2) Volcanoes. (Causes CO, CO2, NO2, SO2, O3)

How can the number of pollutants be reduced? Use less electricity Use renewable fuel sources. Use public transport more. Fit catalytic converters into cars. Reduce allowed emissions on MOT tests