Honors Chemistry Semester 1 Project 1.

Climate change Climate change is the change in global climate patterns due to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. The increasing levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have caused numerous problems to appear. Such as the increase of global temperature, changes in landscape, rising seas, and wildlife endangerment. The increased levels of heat trapping carbon molecules in our atmosphere have caused the earth's surface temperature to increase, which in turn will disrupt the interactions of the biosphere. Rising seas is another threat that climate change poses. Due to the temperature increase from the heat trapping carbon dioxide molecules in our atmosphere, the earth's sea level will increase due to the fact that warm water takes up more space than cold water does. This is possible due to the thermal expansion theory. Also due to the higher temperature, the melting of glaciers will cause the sea level to go up. Problems that will occur due to rising sea levels are the possible destruction of coastal cities and ecosystems such as wetlands and mangroves. Equation 4C12H23 (l) + 71O2 (g) 48CO2 (g) + 46 H2O (l)

Type of Reaction

Combustion

Oxidized/Reduced Number of e- transferred

C12H23 is oxidized; O2 is reduced

Net Ionic Equation

Observations

Brown Liquid combusts with Oxygen Gas, to form a gas and water vapor.

Proposed solution: A proposed solution to the persistent problem of climate change is the use of hydrogen fuel cells instead of fossil fuels like diesel. With the use of these hydrogen fuel cells, we can reduce the amount of CO2 we emit into our atmosphere. This occurs with hydrogen fuel for example because the combustion of hydrogen fuel cells results in the formation of water and not the formation of CO2. The equation for the combustion of hydrogen fuel cells is as follows : 2H2 + O2 2H2O. As you can see the product of the combustion of hydrogen fuel cells do not contain carbon dioxide. With the use of hydrogen fuel cells in cars, we can decrease the amount of CO2 emission in our atmosphere. 2. Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of bodies of water such as lakes, oceans, seas and rivers. Water pollution can cause a number of problems within our biosphere, such as the destruction of marine life, damaging human health, and acid rain. With the pollution of waters containing crucial marine life such as algae can cause something called an algae bloom. During these algae blooms, the population of algae will rapidly grow, but with a consequence, an increase in deadly toxins produced from algae and phytoplankton. This excessive increase of toxins will cause the waters around the algae to become too toxic for the marine animals to live in causing them to die. The death of the marine animals will disrupt the food chain of the ecosystem and ultimately hurt the biodiversity of the biosphere. With the constant input of pollutants into our oceans and other bodies of water can cause an influx of mild acidic compounds in our seas. This mild acidic compound not only damages the body of water but also when evaporated and rained down, can cause damages to our trees.

Equation

2 NO + O2 2 NO2

Type of Reaction

Synthesis

Oxidized/Reduced Number of e- transferred

Net Ionic Equation

Observations

A gas reacts with Water forming an aqueous solution. That aqueous solution then dissociated into hydrogen and an acid

Proposed solution: A proposed solution to water pollution is to use renewable energy such as solar generated energy. The use of solar generated energy can greatly decrease the amount of NO2 we contribute to our atmosphere because using energy from the sun will not increase the amount of nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere. This happens because the use of solar generated energy will not create nitrogen dioxide, due to the absences of nitrogen in the reaction. Solar energy is very unique in the fact that it converts energy given off by the sun into electrical currents of which we can harness into useable energy. With the utilization of the suns energy we are able to further reduce the likelihood of acid rain polluting our waters.

3. Toxins in Food & Soil

Toxins in Food and Soil refer to the contamination of food or soil from either solid or liquid hazardous substances. Toxins in food or soil mainly affect the organisms that live around the contaminated soils or ingest the contaminated food. Toxins in the soil can cause the plants who are attempting to grow in the soil to become inoperative. Besides the plants who live in the soil, organisms who ingest the contaminated substance can also obtain the toxins through their digestive enzymes within their stomachs. 4. Depleting ozone layer The depleting ozone layer refers to the steady destruction of a layer of the atmosphere called the Ozone. The depletion of the Ozone layer is no laughing matter, it can cause a handful of harmful consequences, such as harming the human health, ecosystems, marine life, and other living organisms. The Ozone layer's main function is to filter out most of the sun's harmful UV radiation. With the increased amounts of UV radiation reaching earth's surface due to the depletion of the Ozone layer can cause humans to become more susceptible to skin cancer, blindness and other diseases. With regards to marine life, the increase of UV radiation can induce a loss of biodiversity in our oceans, lakes, and rivers, with the endangerment of a keystone species in plankton. Equation Cl+O3 ---> ClO+O2

Type of Reaction

Single replacement reaction

Oxidized/Reduced

Oxidized:Cl Reduced:O from O3

Number of e- transferred

2e- transferred

Net Ionic Equation

Cl+O--> Cl(2+)O(2-)

Observations

Proposed solution: Using saturated light hydrocarbons as opposed to CFCs prevents ozone depletion because there is no chlorine to separate and react with the ozone. Instead the synthesis of hydrocarbons such as propane should be used. 3C+4H2=C3H8 5. Air pollution

Air pollution is the contamination of air with pollutants. The main pollutants of air are carbon monoxide and sulfur oxide. Air pollution can cause a number of problems within our biosphere, mainly acid rain, global warming and smog. Smog is actually a toxin that can damage the health and safety of both humans and animals. Acid rain can also cause damage to vegetation, animals and buildings making it a threat to the biosphere. Air pollution is mainly due to the excess of carbon monoxide due to the constant burning of fossils fuels, polluting the air. Using the internet, library reference books or your textbook you will explore the environmental threats above, outlining what problems they pose, the main idea/definition of each threat, giving some explanations of some but not all variations that exist within each threat category. (include pic of each threat) Equation C3H8 (l) + O2 (g) ---> 3CO2 (g)+ 4H2O(l)

Type of Reaction

Combustion

Oxidized/Reduced Number of e- transferred

Oxygen is Reduced / Ethene is Oxidized

Net Ionic Equation

Qualitative Observations

Liquid combusts with gas to form a gas and water vapor.

Proposed solution: A proposed solution for air pollution is to plant more trees. Trees are a major source of oxygen.

Part 4 (below) is not due this semester.

Design an experiment that tests effectiveness of one proposed solution: Choose 1 chemical solution to 1 of the 5 environmental problems that you can conduct in the HKIS lab and design an experiment around it. Your experiment must have the following: A. Hypothesis, Materials

B.Proposed Procedure (this can change as I give you input on your design) C. D. Independent Variable Dependent Variable

E.Control Variables F. Safety Concerns