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AQA Environmental Science ENVS3 - Pollution 2024 Exam Questions and Answers
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AQA Environmental Science ENVS3 - Pollution 2024 Exam Questions and Answers
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AQA Environmental Science ENVS3 -Pollution 2024 Exam
Questions and Answers
The term given to a wide variety of event and processes that do
harm to the planet, especially to living organisms. *It is the
release into the environment of materials or forms of energy that
do harm by causing changes that would not normally have
occurred.* It is usually caused by human activities, but similar
effects can be caused by natural events such as volcanic
eruptions, natural oil leakage and forest fires. - Answer>>
Pollution
A measure of the ease of movement of a material. This is also an
aspect of solid waste composition that needs to be considered
when disposing of it. - Answer>> Mobility
A measure of how poisonous a substance is, usually caused by
enzyme inhibition. This is also an aspect of solid waste
composition that needs to be considered when disposing of it. -
Answer>> Toxicity
The process of oxygen removal, often due to thermal pollution
(directly), organic pollution (through growth of bacteria) or oil
pollution (due to oil forming a film that water cannot dissolve
through to oxygenate the water). - Answer>> Deoxygenation
A measure of the differing toxicities of a substance on different
organisms. A specific substance is very toxic to some organisms
and much less toxic to others. - Answer>> Specificity
,Insecticide pesticides, originally extracted from chrysanthemum
flowers. It is more specifically toxic to insects, and not so much to
mammals, so used in small doses, enough to kill insects but not
harm mammals. - Answer>> Pyrethroids
A measure of the rate at which a material breaks down and
therefore the length of time it remains in the environment. -
Answer>> Persistence
Synthetic organic substances that include chlorine, such as the
now banned pesticide DDT. - Answer>> Organochlorines
The breakdown of a material. - Answer>> Degradation
The process of breakdown of a material by living organisms,
usually bacteria. - Answer>> Biodegradation
The ease with which a material is broken down by living
organisms, usually bacteria. - Answer>> Biodegradability
The ease with which the molecules of a material separate and
disperse into a liquid. - Answer>> Solubility
A measure of how easily a substance dissolves in fats and oils. -
Answer>> Liposolubility
The increase in concentration of a substance in living tissue, due
to the consumption of many of the lower trophic level(s). This
tends to happen with liposoluble pollutants more as water soluble
pollutants tend to be excreted more easily. - Answer>>
Bioaccumulation
,The nature of a persistent liposoluble pollutant to increase in
concentration as it moves up a food chain due to the effect of
bioaccumulation. - Answer>> Biomagnification
The process where the presence of two materials produces a
greater effect than the sum of their individual effects. Examples of
this kind of pollutants include oxides of nitrogen with sulphur
dioxide, and zinc with cadmium. - Answer>> Synergism
A material that can cause changes in DNA. Pollutants include
ionising radiation, asbestos, dioxins and PCBs. - Answer>>
Mutagen
A form of mutagen that can cause cancer. Pollutants include
asbestos, DDT and cadmium. - Answer>> Carcinogen
A substance that interferes with gene function in a growing
embryo so that a non inherited birth abnormality is produced. -
Answer>> Teratogen
A pollutant released directly by human activities. - Answer>>
Primary Pollutant
A pollutant produced by chemical reactions involving primary
pollutants. - Answer>> Secondary Pollutant
An atmospheric pollution event where pollutants from vehicles
interact under sunny conditions where there is a temperature
inversion. The main components are Ozone, nitrogen dioxide and
PANs (the most toxic and dangerous). - Answer>>
Photochemical Smog(s)
, Effluent emissions that come from many sources. - Answer>>
Diffuse source
A measure of acidity. This can be measured with a specific probe
or universal indicator paper/solution. The probe is more accurate
as it does not involve human interpretation of a colour as UI does.
- Answer>> pH
A measure of pollution based on the presence, abundance and
state of health of selected living organisms. This can be lichen
when measuring acid rain, or invertebrates when looking at
general water pollution. Some vertebrates such as dippers and
otters can also be used in this case. Criteria to look at when
selecting organisms to use: It should be commonly found in all
freshwater aquatic ecosystems, should be easy to identify, and
should vary in their susceptibility to pollution. It is often better to
use indirect measures of pollution, such as this because it can be
easier than testing for many individual pollutants and looks at the
effects of pollutants on the environment in terms of biota, food
chains and webs. - Answer>> Biotic Index
A situation in the troposphere where the temperature is lower than
normal so that warm air lies above cold air. These are strongly
linked to the creation of smogs. - Answer>> Temperature
Inversion
A graph to show how temperature changes with altitude; often
used to show temperature inversions. - Answer>> Lapse rate
diagram
UK legislation to control smoke pollution. - Answer>> Clean air
act 1956
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