American Chemical Society and Global Climate Change Questions Need help answering questions for my introduction to chemistry course there is reading materi

American Chemical Society and Global Climate Change Questions Need help answering questions for my introduction to chemistry course there is reading material and questions on the attached file please take a look at the attached file Let’s Explore Global Climate Change! What is it? What causes it? What are the impacts? What does
Chemistry have to do with it? These are some of the questions that we will explore this week!
American Chemical Society Position Statement on Global Climate Change
The Earth’s climate is changing in response to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
and particulate matter in the atmosphere, largely as the result of human activities. Chemistry is at the
heart of understanding the climate system and integral to addressing the development and deployment of
new emission reduction technologies and clean energy alternatives. The American Chemical Society
(ACS) acknowledges that climate change is real, is serious and has been influenced by anthropogenic
activity. Unmitigated climate change will lead to increases in extreme weather events and will cause
significant sea level rise, causing property damage and population displacement. It also will continue to
degrade ecosystems and natural resources, affecting food and water availability and human health,
further burdening economies and societies.
Continued uncontrolled GHG emissions will accelerate and compound the effects and risks of climate
change well into the future. International cooperation will be crucial to addressing climate change, and
continued U.S. participation in efforts such as the Paris Agreement is essential. Many solutions to reduce
GHG and pollutant emissions are known and should be implemented through policy changes,
partnerships, and education. These mitigation policies (e.g. GHG emission reduction) must be
augmented by improved approaches for anticipating and adapting to adverse and unavoidable impacts of
climate change. Risk reduction by proactive mitigation and adaptation strategies is preferred over global
climate intervention schemes where the outcome is difficult to predict and beyond our power to control.
Continuing to improve and strengthen our societies’ scientific understanding and literacy concerning all
aspects of climate change is vitally important, enabling us to make informed decisions at national and
international levels and helping us to lessen the future risk of climate change.
Retrieved October, 2019 from
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/policy/publicpolicies/sustainability/globalclimatechange.html
In place of meeting face to face on Monday and Wednesday of this week, please complete the inquiry
below! Please bring this and any resources to our next class for our continued exploration!
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Your Carbon Footprint
Background
Fossil fuels are naturally occurring deposits of organic matter that have formed over millions of years
from decomposing plants and animals. Examples of fossil fuels include coal, petroleum (oil), and
gasoline. Some have been used by humans for thousands of years; others have only been used for the
past century. What is common in fossil fuels is that they are all used to produce some form of energy
through combustion, and that their use has increased dramatically over the last 150 years.
Some concerns about the use of fossil fuels has to do with one of the main products of combustion:
carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means that it absorbs radiant heat
from the earth’s surface and prevents it from escaping into space. While some amount of greenhouse
gases are needed to prevent the earth from getting too cold, too much can result in an increase in global
temperatures. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified human use of fossil
fuels as the main driving cause of global warming and climate change.
We might not realize it, but many of our everyday activities directly or indirectly use fossil fuels and
consequently produce CO2. In this activity, you will begin to expand your knowledge of chemical
reactions to estimate of the amount of CO2 you produce each year; a quantity known as your “carbon
footprint”.
Introductory Questions
1. What is a footprint? Why do we need to think about the “carbon footprints” we leave behind?
2. What is a fossil fuel?
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Combustion:
A combustion reaction is a major class of chemical reactions, commonly referred to as
“burning.” Combustion usually occurs when a fossil fuel, which is a hydrocarbon (made of Carbon and
Hydrogen atoms), reacts with Oxygen in the atmosphere to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
(H20) … Combustion doesn’t always result in fire, but when it does, a flame is a characteristic indicator
of the chemical reaction.
Examples of Combustion Reactions
Here are several examples of balanced equations for combustion reactions. It’s important to remember
that combustion reactions are easy to recognize because the products always contain carbon dioxide
and water. In these examples, oxygen gas is present as a reactant, but trickier examples of the reaction
exist where the oxygen comes from another reactant. Please note that the reactants are on the left side
of the → and the products are on the right side of the →!
•
Example: combustion of methane
reactants
→ products
CH4(g) + 2 O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2 H2O(g)
Examples:
•
•
•
•
•
burning of naphthalene
C10H8 + 12 O2 → 10 CO2 + 4 H2O
combustion of ethane
2 C2H6 + 7 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
combustion of butane (commonly found in lighters)
2C4H10(g) +13O2(g) → 8CO2(g) +10H2O(g)
combustion of methanol (also known as wood alcohol)
2CH3OH(g) + 3O2(g) → 2CO2(g) + 4H2O(g)
combustion of propane (used in gas grills and fireplaces)
2C3H8(g) + 7O2(g) → 6CO2(g) + 8H2O(g
3. What are the reactants and products in a combustion reaction?
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Complete Versus Incomplete Combustion
Combustion, like all chemical reactions, does not always proceed with 100% efficiency. It is prone to
limiting reactants the same as other processes. So, there are two types of combustion you are likely to
encounter:
•
•
4.
Complete Combustion – Also called “clean combustion”, clean combustion is oxidation of a
hydrocarbon that produces only carbon dioxide and water. An example of clean combustion is
burning of candle wax, where the heat from the wick vaporizes wax (a hydrocarbon), which
reacts with oxygen in the air to release carbon dioxide and water. Ideally, all the wax burns so
nothing remains once the candle is consumed. The water vapor and carbon dioxide dissipate into
air.
Incomplete Combustion – Also called “dirty combustion”, incomplete combustion is
hydrocarbon oxidation that produces carbon monoxide and/or carbon (soot) in addition to carbon
dioxide. An example of incomplete combustion would be burning coal, where a lot of soot and
carbon monoxide is released. Many of the fossil fuels burn incompletely, releasing waste
products.
What type of combustion do you think has more of a negative impact on our environment,
complete or incomplete combustion? Please cite evidence from text. And your rationale.
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Problem
How much CO2 do you produce every year from normal, everyday activities?
Main sources of greenhouse gases in the U.S.
Please visit the EPA’s site about greenhouse gas emissions (https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sourcesgreenhouse-gas-emissions). Use the information to answer the following questions:
1. Who or what is responsible for the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last
150 years?
2. What are the top 3 sources of greenhouse gases in the U.S.?
Part 2: Fossil fuel use in Minnesota
Use the graph below to answer the following questions:
1. What are the top 3 fuels that are consumed (burned) in MN? List them below:
2. What are these fuels used for? Do an internet search if you are not sure.
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Calculate Your Carbon Footprint:
1) Please visit https://depts.washington.edu/i2sea/iscfc/fpcalc.php?version=full
2) Either select “Register” or “Explore”
3) Complete the questionnaire to calculate your carbon impact and bring results to our next
class!
What is the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health? Please visit
https://health2016.globalchange.gov/ containing a 2016 report of the impact of global climate change on
human health! Please select one of the chapters and scan the text! Please identify three (3) ideas that
stand out to you and document why these are important to you!
1)
2)
3)
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