Practice Quiz Study Guide
Composition of the atmosphere (20 pts). The five most abundant gases in the atmosphere (listed here in alphabetical order): argon (Ar), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and water vapor (H2O) (you should know approximate concentrations of all but CO2 and be able to list them in order from most to least abundant).  Water vapor (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are greenhouse gases. What do they (what does the greenhouse effect) do?  What weather variable is commonly used to measure atmospheric water vapor content?   Typical values of that variable in Tucson during the year.

Atmospheric evolution (15 pts). About how old is the earth? What was the earth's first atmosphere composed of?  Where is our present atmosphere thought to have come from? What are the three most abundant gases emitted by volcanoes? What important atmospheric constituent in our present atmosphere did not come from volcanoes? What is the principal source of that gas?  Why were stromatolites, cyanobacteria, and the banded iron formation mentioned in class?

Air pollution (EC pts).   Air Quality Index (AQI). A pollutant is considered unhealthy when the AQI exceeds what value?

Carbon monoxide (CO) (30 pts). Toxic, colorless, odorless.  Produced during incomplete combustion (what would complete combustion produce). Oxygenated fuels and catalytic converters.  Early morning wintertime pollutant. What is a surface inversion layer, when do they form? Stable and unstable atmospheric conditions.  Would a surface inversion layer act to concentrate or disperse CO?  CO is a serious indoor hazard.

Scattering of Light (5 pts).   Water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, microscopic particles, and air molecules all scatter ("splatter") light.  Are we able to see sunlight being scattered by air?

Tropospheric ozone and Stratospheric Ozone (O3) (20 pts). Ozone aggravates existing respiratory diseases, is harmful to plant life, and damages materials such as rubber. Ozone is a secondary pollutant and is a key component of photochemical smog (also known as Los Angeles-type smog). To produce smog, ozone reacts with hydrocarbons. The gaseous product of that reaction condenses and forms a smog cloud that we can see.  Peak ozone and photochemical smog concentrations occur on summer afternoons.

Ozone layer.  What beneficial role does it play?  Natural formation of stratospheric ozone.  Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) destroy stratospheric ozone.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) (20 pts). Toxic and aggravates existing respiratory diseases. The first pollutant that people were aware of.  Natural and manmade sources. Involved in some of the world's worst air pollution disasters such as the Great London Smog of 1952. The word smog was first used to describe the combination of sulfurous smoke + fog; the term London-type smog is now used.  SO2 reacts in clouds to form acid rain.  The pH scale.  What gas was used in the acid rain demonstration in class?

Particulate Matter (PM) (15 pts).  Small particles (generally less than 10 micrometers across) that are inhaled into the lungs and sometimes even enter the bloodstream.  Sources of PM.  PM is a year round pollutant, a health concern, and also affects visibility.  How are PM and gaseous pollutants most effectively removed  from the atmosphere?

Sample questions ( from the online example quizzes )
Practice Quiz: 1, 3, 4-7, 9, 13, 16a, 20?, EC1        Quiz #1: 1, 2, 4a       Final Exam: 2, 20(2nd part)?
 
Mass, weight, density, and pressure (30 pts).  Mass is the amount of a particular substance. On the earth gravity pulls downward on a mass producing weight. Pressure at any level in the atmosphere is a measure of the weight of the air above (this is a large scale way of thinking about and understanding pressure).   Pressure is defined as force (weight) divided by area and acts like a force (a force that pushes upward, downward, and sideways). Common pressure units and typical sea level pressure values.     Pressure and density decrease with increasing altitude (you should be able to explain why).  How does the rate at which pressure decreases with increasing altitude depend on air density?

Sample questions
 Practice Quiz: 15, EC2a, EC3     Quiz #1:  3, 17a        Final Exam: 6?, 11

Reviews
Tue., Sep. 6
 4 - 5 pm in Haury(Anthropology) 216
Wed., Sep 7
 4 - 5 pm in Haury(Anthropology) 216