Ozone Online Assignment

Go to: http://www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/gooduphigh/ Click on: Good Up High Answer the following questions in your own words: (On separate piece of paper) 1. How can ozone be both good and bad? "Bad" ozone: an air pollutant that is harmful to breathe and damages crops, trees and other vegetationmain ingredient of urban smog. "Good" ozone protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. 2. What is happening to the good ozone layer? The "good" ozone is gradually being destroyed by man-made chemicals referred to as ozone-depleting substances. 3. How much damage can 1 Chlorine atom do? Explain. 1 Chlorine atom causes ozone depletion that causes increased amounts of UV radiation to reach the Earth which may lead to cases of skin cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems. 4. How does the good ozone protect the Earth? It prevents the dangerous UV rays from passing. 5. What is being done about ozone depletion? The United States, along with over 180 other countries, recognized the threats posed by ozone depletion, in 1987 adopted a treaty called the Montreal Protocol to phase out the production and use of ozone-depleting substances.

BAD NEARBY 1. What causes bad ozone? Chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight cause bad ozone. 2. What are some sources of bad ozone? Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds.

3. How does bad ozone affect human health and environment? "Bad" ozone affects human health and the environment by strong sunlight and hot weather result in harmful ozone concentrations in the air we breathe. 4. What is being done about bad ozone? The EPA has set protective health-based standards for ozone in the air we breathe. EPA, state, and cities have instituted a variety of multi-faceted programs to meet these health-based standards. Programs are also aimed at reducing pollution by reformulating fuels and consumer/commercial products. 5. What can we do/actions can we take to reduce our risks? Educate others. OZONE-AIR NOW Go to: http://www.epa.gov/airnow/ In the far right corner- choose Ozone- found under Air Quality Basics. Read about good and bad ozone and answer the following questions. 1. Where is the good ozone located and what is its function? Good Ozone is located naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere-6 to 30 miles above the Earth's surface. Its function is to absorb UV light. 2. What depletes good ozone? The ozone hole. 3. Where is the bad ozone located and what creates it? What does NOX and VOC stand for? Bad ozone is located in the Earth's lower atmosphere, near ground level, ozone is formed when pollutants are emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. 4. List three health problems associated with bad ozone. (Hint: You may need to go to Ozone and your Health- How can ground-level ozone affect your health?) - Reduce lung function - Cell damage - Lung disease 5. Scroll down to the Air Quality Index Color Chart- Write down a one-word description of each color code.

- Green-Good - Yellow-Moderate - Orange-Unhealthy for sensitive groups - Red-Unhealthy - Purple-Very unhealthy. 6. After answering this question, go back to Air Now at: www.epa.gov/airnow/ In the far left corner, choose National Overview and then choose Ozone Now. What is the current ozone reading for our area? Yellow(Moderate)

THE AQI FOR STUDENTS Go to: How Ozone is Formed-Watch the video and take notes. - Ground level ozone: a harmful air pollutant, formed when pollutants are emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. - Ozone: naturally produced in the stratosphere by a two- step reactive process. first step, solar ultraviolet radiation breaks apart an oxygen molecule to form two separate oxygen atoms. - In the stratosphere, the destruction of ozone occurs as quickly as ozone is formed. - Sunlight in the upper atmosphere can easily split ozone into an oxygen atom and an oxygen molecule. - Oxygen atom can react with an ozone molecule to create two oxygen molecules.

Go to: O3-Good Up High, Bad Nearby-Watch the video and take notes. - Ozone in the upper atmosphere forms the ozone layer, protects the earth from ultraviolet light - Ozone at ground level is a common air pollutant which is harmful to lungs and the breathing structures of plants too. - Ozone occurs in Troposphere and Stratosphere.

SMOG CITY 2-SAVE THE SMOG CITY FROM OZONE Go to: http://www.smogcity2.org/ Instructions: Change the settings in Smog City and notice the effects that those changes have on the amount of smog the city produces and the air quality. On your paper, take notes about what the various condition changes do to the AQI. Notes: - Cold weather is not good because it traps heat and pollutants get trapped. - The solution to better ozone is a smaller population. Which set of conditions produce the best possible scenario for the city? When the weather is sunny, with cloud sky cover, when temperature is high, when there are less cars, Less population this is the best possible scenario for the city. Which set of conditions produce the worst scenario for the people, animals and plants of Smog City? The set of conditions that produce the worst scenario for the people, animals and plants of Smog City is when the weather is cloudy, when there are lots of cars, planes, and high population.

Summary: On your paper, write a 2-3 paragraph summary about what you have learned about ozone, ozone depletion, ozone destruction and air quality by completing this assignment. Make sure to use the new vocabulary that you have learned. I learned that there is different types of ozones, there is bad ozones and good ozones.