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Air Quality

Our atmosphere is ~21% oxygen and ~78% nitrogen; the remaining 1% is considered “trace gases”
and this includes everything else—from carbon dioxide to the noble gases like argon. Scientists
and engineers study this 1%, as well as the many types of particles present in the atmosphere.
When we think of air quality, we typically think of the air we are breathing and whether or not it
is safe. However, air quality can refer to ambient outdoor conditions, indoor conditions, particular
sources, good air quality vs. poor air quality, etc. Within the field of air quality, researchers
specialized in many other specific topics. Due to the complexity of our atmosphere and the
possibility of transport over long distances, we can also think of air quality in terms of scale—that
is, pollution may cause local or global problems. For example, pollution in China can make its
way over North America and add to existing pollutants there.

Poor air quality can negatively affect human and environmental health. In humans, poor air quality
can lead to a multitude of problems that include respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. We tend
to think first of asthma and respiratory problems, but some particles are so small that they can enter
the blood stream through the lungs and cause inflammation leading to issues beyond our breathing.
In plants, poor air quality can also cause disease that can result in crop loss. In addition to human
and environmental health, many pollutants that we worry about are greenhouse gases and
contribute to climate change. Finally, poor air quality can impact quality of life. Consider visibility
issues in National Parks and odors near industrial areas of cities; in addition to potential health
dangers, these air quality issues can make daily life unpleasant.

Pollutant Types

We tend to think of pollutants as either particles (that is, particulate matter, like dust) or gas-phase
compounds. Gas-phase compounds are molecules composed of multiple atoms that exist in the gas
phase (carbon dioxide is an example of a gas-phase pollutant). Particulate matter varies in size and
composition. Very small particulate matter is an accumulation of either solid or liquid molecules.
Examples of larger particulate matter are dust and pollen. Refer to the associated activity Linking
Sources and Pollutants to give students a basic understanding of how everyday products such as
rubbing alcohol and burning wood emit various pollutants.
Another important distinction in air pollutants is between primary and secondary emissions.
Primary emissions are direct emissions. For example, the pollutants from a tailpipe or smokestack
are primary emissions, whereas secondary pollutants form in the atmosphere. A prime example is
ground-level or tropospheric ozone, which requires several primary pollutants and sunlight to be
created. Atmospheric chemistry is also complex, and what we emit may disperse, may react and
become something entirely different, or may stick around for a long time, depending on the
particular compound and environmental conditions.

Air Quality Measurements

Engineers and scientists take advantage of the properties of different pollutants to quantify the
problems those pollutants cause. Particulates can be captured on a filter, which can then be
weighed or analyzed. We can also take advantage of how different sized particles behave to
separate them. Gases also have properties we can take advantage of for measurement purposes,
such as absorbance, for example. Some gases absorb particular wavelengths of light, and by
measuring what is absorbed by a sample, we can determine the amount of gas present. The ability
to measure air pollutants is necessary first to set regulations and then to ensure the regulations are
enforced for the protection of human and environmental health.

Next-generation air quality monitoring technologies are the primary tool used throughout this unit.
Advances in sensor technology have made low-cost equipment possible. While these technologies
are not as reliable as higher-cost conventional monitoring technologies, they make the collection
of data with higher spatial and temporal resolution possible. Additionally, lower-cost technologies
make monitoring more accessible to developing countries, communities, schools and citizen
scientists. Students can further investigate the importance and processes of monitoring air quality
with the associated activity Understanding the Air through Data Analysis. Follow with the
associated activity Study Design for Air Quality Research where using a case study, students
practice planning a project that compares traditional cook stoves to new and improved cook stoves
for use in the developing world. Students can then use the associated activity communicating Your
Project Results with Professional Posters to help convey their final findings.
Air Pollution Control Technologies

Engineering really comes into play in the role of designing and implementing air pollution control
technologies. For example, technologies like catalytic converters in cars make it possible for us to
continue using fossil fuels, manufacturing, and building, while minimizing the harmful emissions.
This approach reduces the CO and VOCs emitted through oxidation reactions; by oxidizing these
components, more of the emissions are converted to CO2. Other technologies: Particulate matter
(PM) can be captured in filters, gases can be combusted to remove products of incomplete
combustion, emissions can even be cleaned by flowing dirty air through chambers spraying water
(scrubbers). The major improvements to U.S. air quality since the 1960s are largely due to
regulations such as the Clean Air Act, and subsequent improvements/applications of control
technologies.

Appendix Slides

The Introduction Presentation Appendix Slides, a PowerPoint® file, contains additional


information specific to the Pod air quality monitor. We recommend the teacher review it in advance
and then share with students any information deemed useful. The slides include instructions for
using the Pod, an explanation of how the sensors work, information on calibration, and a discussion
of example data.

Associated Activities

 Linking Sources and Pollutants - Students acquire a basic understanding of how different
everyday items such as rubbing alcohol and burning wood emit various pollutants. This
helps them to connect the pollutants they learned about in the lesson with potential real-
world sources. Teams make predictions, collect data, and evaluate the results. Students
gain familiarity with the use of a low-cost air quality monitor (rentable Pods).

 Combustion and Air Quality: Emissions Monitoring - Students use low-cost air quality
monitors (Pods) to measure the emissions from different vehicles. By applying the
knowledge about combustion chemistry they gained during the pre-activity work, students
predict how the vehicle emissions for different pollutants will differ and explain why. After
data collection, they examine time series plots of the data and discuss the results as a class,
covering results interpretation and comparison of results to predictions.

 Understanding the Air through Data Analysis - Students apply their existing air quality
knowledge and a description of a data set (measuring carbon dioxide or ozone) to each
develop a hypothesis around how and why air pollutants vary daily and seasonally. A
worksheet-guided Excel-based analysis of the data includes entering formulas to calculate
statistics and create data plots. At each analysis phase, reflection questions prompt students
to new information the analysis reveals. At activity end, students evaluate their original
hypotheses and “put all of the pieces together.”

 Study Design for Air Quality Research - Students take an in-depth look at what goes into
planning research projects in order to prepare them to take the lead on their own projects.
Using a case study, students practice planning a project that compares traditional cook
stoves to new and improved cook stoves for use in the developing world. Then they
compare their plans to one used in the real-world by professional researchers. Then groups
are provided with materials and support to take them from brainstorming to completing
detailed research plans for their own air quality research projects (may take days, weeks or
months), which teams conduct after this activity and before the final activity in the unit.

 Communicating Your Project Results with Professional Posters - To conclude the unit,
students create scientific research posters presenting the results of their AQ-IQ research
projects. First they critically examine example posters to gain an understanding of what to
include and how they can be made most effective. Then they analyze and interpret their
data, including what statistics and plots to include in the posters. Finally, teams are given
a poster guide that prompts them about all of the elements one would find in any research
paper or professional presentation. Then groups present their research study results in
poster format to their peers or a wider audience.

Vocabulary/Definitions

carbon dioxide: A colorless and odorless gas. A gas-phase pollutant. Composed of 1 carbon atom
and 2 oxygen atoms. Generated by the respiration of animals and the combustion (burning) of fuels
that contain carbon. Abbreviated as CO2.
carbon monoxide: A colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. A compound that is a product of
incomplete combustion and is dangerous to human health. Composed of 1 carbon atom and 1
oxygen atom. Abbreviated as CO.

control technologies: Technologies that capture or change pollutants in emissions from cars,
factories, power plants, and oil and gas operations, thereby resulting in cleaner final emissions.
Example: catalytic converters in cars.

gas-phase pollutant: A compound comprised of multiple atoms (such as carbon dioxide with 1
carbon and 2 oxygens) existing in the gaseous physical phase.

greenhouse gas: A gas in the atmosphere that absorbs certain wavelengths of light, thereby
radiating that heat back into the atmosphere, as opposed to not absorbing the light so that it escapes
the atmosphere.

hydrocarbon: A compound that contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms. Another term for VOC.
Abbreviated as HC.

mitigation: In terms of pollution, limiting the amount of a pollutant emitted or produced; this may
be done through better technologies, regulation changes or attempts to change human behavior.

monitoring technology: In terms of pollution, technology and tools that engineers and scientists
use to quantify exactly how much of a particular pollutant exists either indoors or outdoors.

nitrogen dioxide : A gas-phase compound made of 1 nitrogen atom and 2 oxygen atoms. It is
formed during high-temperature combustion from the nitrogen that exists in the air. High-
temperature combustion also produces nitrogen monoxide (NO). The sum of the amount of NO
and NO2 is the amount of NOx present; in other words NOx is a term that includes both NO and
NO2.

organic compound: In chemistry, any compound that contains carbon atoms. For example, living
things are organic, while rocks are inorganic.

ozone: A pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is a secondary pollutant formed by
NOx and VOCs in the presence of sunlight. Dangerous to human health at ground level, but high
in the stratosphere it protects humans from harmful UV rays. Mnemonic: “good up high, bad
nearby.”
particulate matter: A microscopic solid or liquid compound that may be natural or human-made.
Very small particulate matter may be a conglomerate of gas-phase compounds; larger particulate
matter can be dust or pollen.

primary pollutant: A pollutant that is directly emitted by a source. For example, exhaust from a
tailpipe or smokestack, material erupted from a volcano, or the CO2 exhaled by humans.

secondary pollutant: A pollutant that is formed via atmospheric chemistry from the byproducts of
primary emissions.

temperature inversion: When a warm air mass moves on top of a cold air mass, creating stagnate
conditions, which can prevent dispersion and trap pollutants.

volatile organic compound: An organic chemical that has a high vapor pressure at ordinary room
temperature, such that it volatizes (enters the gas phase) at room temperature and pressure. An
example is formaldehyde (CH2O, 1 carbon, 2 hydrogens, and 1 oxygen atom). Abbreviated as
VOC. VOCs are also gas-phase compounds. VOCs also include products of incomplete
combustion (when a carbon-fuel is not completely burned, resulting in only CO2).

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