Air pollutionIB MYP Chemistry: Flashcards

Exam questions on Air pollution

1. An air-quality monitoring station beside a busy road in Mexico City records high levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates at rush hour. Most of the vehicles on the road use petrol or diesel engines.
   Describe two harmful effects of nitrogen oxides.2 marks
2. A student in Seoul compares particulate pollution at four sites. At each site she fixes a clean microscope slide, coated in a thin layer of petroleum jelly, to a post 1.5 m above the ground and leaves it for seven days. She then counts the dark particles stuck to a 1 cm² area of each slide. The counts are: roadside 48, school playground 20, park 9 and a hill 3 km from any road 6.
   Describe the pattern in the results and suggest a reason for it.2 marks
3. In many countries new petrol cars must be fitted with a catalytic converter. This is a metal honeycomb coated with platinum and rhodium, which the hot exhaust gases pass through before leaving the car.
   Write a word equation for the reaction in a catalytic converter that changes carbon monoxide and nitrogen monoxide into less harmful gases, and explain why the products are less harmful.3 marks