CH312: ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
FSTE
School of Biological & Chemical Sciences
Final Examination
Semester 2 2018
Face to Face Mode
Duration of Exam: 3 hours + 10 minutes
Reading Time: 10 minutes
Writing Time: 3 hours
Instructions:
1. Answer FIVE (5) questions altogether; all three (3) questions from Section A
plus any two (2) from the three given in Section B).
2. Each question is worth 20 marks.
3. This exam is worth 50% of your overall mark. The minimum final exam pass
mark is 40/100.
4. This is a close book exam and there are eight (8) pages altogether.
5. The use of scientific calculators is permitted during the exam.
6. A copy of the Periodic Table is attached at the back.
SECTION A
1
ANSWER -
ALL
- THREE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
QUESTION 1
(a) The hydrologic cycle is the constant cyclic movement of water from the earth to the
atmosphere and back to the earth. Explain what drives and maintains this movement of
water. What is one role that it plays?
(4 marks)
(b) Oxygen is an important gas that influences the chemical and biological processes
occurring in a water body. The percentage of oxygen in dry air is 20.9%. Given the
atmospheric pressure of 1 atmosphere and vapour pressure is 0.2990 atmosphere,
compute the concentration of oxygen (in mg/L). [Henry’s constant = 773 atm Lmol-1].
(4 marks)
(c) The oxidation of organic compounds can be represented as follows:
Organic compounds + O2 oxidized products + new bacterial cells
While it is impossible to quantify the amount of oxidized organic compounds directly,
two indirect methods that have been used are Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). Give brief explanations on the two methods.
(4 marks)
(d) Farmers have used pesticides on their farms as there are benefits that they get from
their use.
(i) Describe what pesticides are including the major purposes they are used for.
(3 marks)
(ii) Demonstrate your understanding of the handling of pesticides by describing a
suitable safe storage facility.
(5 marks)
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QUESTION 2
(a) Tropospheric ozone plays an important role in the oxidation capacity of the
atmosphere by producing hydroxyl radicals as such:
O3 + hν → O2 + O (1)
O + H2O → 2OH● (2)
(i) A narrow band wavelength is required for step 1. State the wavelength that
is required?
(1 mark)
(ii) Such short wavelength does not penetrate much into the troposphere but
explain how this shortcoming is resolved in the production of hydroxyl radical
in the troposphere.
(1 mark)
(iii) What is the atmospheric lifetime of OH● in the atmosphere? Name the
dominant sink of OH●.
(1 mark)
(iv) Explain the experiment carried out to determine the atmospheric lifetime of
OH●
(2 marks)
(v) Explain the source of tropospheric ozone, use chemical equations to show
the formation of tropospheric ozone.
(5 marks)
(b) The Chapman reaction is responsible for the formation and destruction of ozone in the
stratosphere. However the Chapman reaction is not responsible for the formation of
the ozone hole. If the Chapman reaction was responsible, then the ozone hole would
occur in summer, but it is known that the ozone hole occurs in austral spring.
(i) Explain why the ozone hole occurs in austral spring and then recovers almost
completely by summer.
(6 marks)
(ii) Would you expect the ozone hole to form in the tropics like over Fiji Islands?
Explain your answer.
(2 marks)
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(c) Tropospheric ozone is a very strong greenhouse gas but is not regulated under the
Kyoto protocol. Explain why.
(2 marks)
QUESTION 3
(a) A 4.50 g soil sample is leached with 200 cm3 of ammonium acetate to displace all the
exchangeable Ca, Mg, Na and K in the soil sample. The leachate is made up to a total
volume of 250 cm3 and analysed for the four elements on AAS. For analysis of Ca and
Mg, the leachate had to be diluted by a factor of 10, while for Na and K by a factor of 5.
The results obtained are given below.
Element Concentration (mg/dm3) Dilution factor
Ca 2.4 10
Mg 1.0 10
Na 0.6 5
K 0.4 5
(i) Using the above results, compute the Total Exchangeable Base (TEB) for the
soil (in meq/100 g of soil). [Molar masses (g/mol): Ca 40; Mg 24; Na 23; K 39]
(6 marks)
(ii) Suppose if the CEC of the soil is 15 meq/100 g, compute the % Base
Saturation and % Hydrogen Saturation. Comment on the soil fertility and soil
pH.
(4 marks)
(b) Give two reasons why it is important to study past climates and name at least two
proxies that have been used to reconstruct past climates.
(3 marks)
(c) There is a common misconception that the ozone hole is responsible for global
warming. Clarify this misconception and highlight if there is any link between the ozone
hole and global warming.
(3 marks)
4
(d) Mineral acids such as sulfuric acid and nitric acid, which are secondary air pollutants, are
responsible for acid precipitation. Explain the formation of H2SO4 from SO2 both in the
aqueous phase and gas phase.
(4 marks)
SECTION B
ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS FROM THIS SECTION
QUESTION 4
(a) Define the term Environmental Chemistry and suggest two reasons why it is important
to study the subject.
(3 marks)
(b) Certain terminologies are encountered in the study of Environmental Chemistry some of
which are listed here. Explain two of these terminologies; contaminant, pollutant,
source, receptor, sink.
(4 marks)
(c) The topic of the importance of energy sources is a conversation that will continue over
the next few decades as more people begin to realize the value of utilizing renewable
energy as opposed to getting energy from sources that don't naturally regenerate.
(i) Define the terms renewable and non-renewable energy sources. Give an
example for each category.
(2 marks)
(ii) The sun is the source of all energy. Describe how hydro-electricity can be
linked to the sun.
(2 marks)
(d) The quantification of analytes in samples can be done using the classical or instrumental
methods.
Briefly describe the two methods of analysis including some advantages and
disadvantages.
(3 marks)
(e) Besides energy from hydro power and energy from generators using fossil fuels, nuclear
reactor is another source of energy that provide just under 20% of electricity in the
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United States. The two fundamental nuclear processes considered for energy production
are fission and fusion.
(i) Describe the two processes.
(3 marks)
(ii) State one advantage and disadvantage of using nuclear energy.
(1 mark)
(f) What are chemical weapons? Discuss some of the environmental threats imposed by the
chemical weapons that have been buried in the ground.
(2 marks)
QUESTION 5
(a) There are two types of photochemical smog: London Smog and LA Smog. Differentiate
between these two types of photochemical smog in terms of their principal component.
List ways to mitigate both London Smog and LA Smog.
(4 marks)
(b) “Carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas”. Discuss this statement with examples
and also discuss the sources of three other non-CO2 greenhouse gas and also explain
why these gases have higher GWP and lower radiative forcing.
(5 marks)
(c) The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), dealing with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation,
adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. The Paris Agreement's long-term goal
is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-
industrial levels. Hence individual countries need to identify ambitious emission
reduction strategies regarded as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Discuss
Fiji’s NDC roadmap document, highlighting the mitigating actions and reduction targets.
(5 marks)
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(d) Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is a better way to manage waste in the
Pacific and this was highlighted in the SPREP Clean Pacific round table meeting held in
Suva 2018. Discuss the approaches in ISWM, its link in mitigating GHG emissions and
what legal framework and incentives that needs to be implemented to make ISWM
successful in the Pacific.
(6 marks)
QUESTION 6
(a) What are biogenic volatile organic compounds? Give one example of these compounds
and two possible roles. Include two major threats posed by these compounds.
(5 marks)
(b) Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are formed in the vehicle exhaust during
combustions. One of these PAHs that has been studied well is benzo(a)pyrene. Illustrate
using a flow diagram, how this compound is formed from a simple saturated
hydrocarbon.
(5 marks)
(c) You are hired by the Fiji Government to do a feasibility study to set-up an air quality
laboratory in Fiji. Explain which four pollutants should be monitored and explain why it is
important to monitor at least two of these pollutants.
(5 marks)
(d) Explain the role of phytoplankton in regulating the climate and also discuss the positive
feedback mechanism.
(5 marks)
The End
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