EN 2480 - Matching Definitions and Answering Questions on Environmental Topics

Matching exercise on environmental terms (15 marks) 5 questions on the effects of industrial activities on the environment (45 marks) Topics covered include ecosystem, pollution, sustainability, and renewable energy sources.

EN 2480
Assignment 1
Topics 2, 7, 8, 9, 10
Section 1 2 3 4 5 (Please circle your section number.)
Student Name: ____________________
Student Number: __________________
Student Name: ____________________
Student Number: __________________
January27th, 2019
Due February 3rd, 2019
TOTAL: ___/60
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Match the correct definition to the words below (15 Marks)
Words Definitions
Decomposers 11 1. When sound reaches harmful levels
Abiotic factors 9 2. the end of a group of organisms
Soil erosion 5 3. geographical area where a group of interdependent
organisms are under the influence of similar
environmental conditions
Ecosystem 3 4. region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the
Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation
Environmental
Sustainability
12 5. the washing or blowing away (by wind or water) of the
top layer of soil
Extinction of Species 2 6. feed on the plants, or on each other.
Global warming 8 7. all of the living organisms in an ecosystem.
Ozone Layer 4 8. increase in the temperatures of the earth due to release of
greenhouse gases
Land Pollution 13 9. rain, wind, temperature, altitude, soil, pollution,
nutrients, pH, types of soil, and sunlight.
Eutrophication 10 10. the excessive fertilization of lakes, rivers and bays.
Noise pollution 1 11. feed on dead waste material and make things break down
and rot.
Biotic Factors 7 12. rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation,
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and non-renewable resource depletion that can be
continued indefinitely
Consumers 6 13. Any activity that lessens the quality and/or productivity of
the land
Point Pollutant 15 14. Using basic sound level meters to determine how “loud”
of noise pollution is occurring a single location.
Spot Check 14 15. A water pollutant that belongs to a single source.
Instructions: Answer all5 of the questions below. Each question has a value of 9 marks each(45
marks total)
Topic 2 - Environment
Question 1: List3 major effects thatindustrial activitieshave on the environment and
brieflydescribe each one.(9 marks)
1. ______Water Pollution_________________________
Description:
The generation of the waste from the industrial activities and the dumping of that into the rivers
or oceans or lakes are significant in reduction of the quality of the water 1. The excessive amount
1 Greenstone, Michael, and Rema Hanna. "Environmental regulations, air and water pollution, and infant mortality
in India." American Economic Review 104, no. 10 (2014): 3038-72.
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of waste disposal and the toxic elements present in them, produces considerable amount of
difficulty to the underwater creatures in living.
2. _______Air Pollution____________
Description:
The excessive amount of disposal of the toxic smoke with the presence of harmful
elements in the air, decreases the quality of the air and at the same time, it produces notable
amount of problems to the humans in breathing. Along with this, the disposal of the toxic smoke
is notable in creating lung disorders for the older persons.
3. ________Consumption of the non-renewable sources of
energy._______________________
Description:
Almost each and every industrial organizations consider the non-renewable sources of
energy for their activity. With that, the availability of the non-renewable energy sources like coal
is in deep threat. The ecological balance and the equilibrium in the sources of energy is in deep
crisis with the increasing industrial activities.
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Topic 7- Air Pollution
Question 2: Describe3 effects thatacid rain has onplants. (9 marks)
1. Acid rain is considered to have notable amount of impacts for the plants. It produces
significant amount of damage to the plants at higher elevations. The acid rain produces
notable amount of obstacle to the plants in taking the much needed nutrients responsible
for the growth of it from the soil. The capacity of neutralizing the acids is different for
different types of soils. The type of soil which exhibits low buffering capacity is seen to
be largely affected by the acid rain.
2. The leaves and the needles of the trees are seen to be notably harmed by the toxic
elements of the acid rain. The acid rain is observed to release aluminum into the soil and
that restricts the trees in taking the water from the soil. Thus the trees are forced to face
difficulty in completing the photosynthesis by the toxic elements of the acid rain.
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3. The combination of the acid rain with the other environmental stressors is seen to be
significant as that produces considerable amount of difficulty to the trees in withstanding
the cold temperatures. The list also includes the incapability of the trees in withstanding
the effects of the insects and the diseases as a result of that combination.
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Topic 8 – Water Pollution
Question 3: List3ways of liquid waste mitigation and give a brief description of each one. (9
marks)
1. ____________________Sedimentation___________
Description:
It is considered to be a physical process of water treatment where gravity is used to
remove the suspended solids from the water. It is also widely used process for separating the
solid waste from the water. The process involves the release of the liquid waste disposed by a
company to the sediment basin so that it be easy to remove any sort of solid contaminants2. After
this, the water left in the basin will be filtered and treated and the solid waste be dispatched to the
landfill.
2. _____________________Incineration__________
Description:
2 Padhye, Lokesh P., Hong Yao, Francis T. Kung'u, and Ching-Hua Huang. "Year-long evaluation on the occurrence
and fate of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disrupting chemicals in an urban drinking
water treatment plant." Water research 51 (2014): 266-276.
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Incineration is one of the significant methods for the management of the hazardous liquid
waste. The process can be conducted following two methods. The production of the heat for the
processing can be conducted through the fluidized bed furnace or multiple hearth furnaces. The
usage of one of the above mentioned two procedures for the production of the heat will be
significant in the usage of it for the elimination of the hazardous waste like the oils, acids, scrap
materials or the other chemicals. This will make sure that the water is left clean.
3. ______________________Root Zone_________
Description:
The third process is the root zone method. Root Zone is considered to be a liquid waste
disposal method for the liquid wastes in the form of bathroom and the kitchen water. The process
includes the movement of the liquid wastes through the sedimentation tank where the solid
wastes will be filtered following different processes and techniques. The process of the filtration
will take place till the time the water is ready and pure enough to be disposed to the nature. The
root zone method is notably complex, however, it is significantly effective method.
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Topic 9 – Land Pollution
Question 4: List 3 causes of land pollution and briefly and describe each one.(9 marks)
1. __Agriculture_____________________________
Description:
One of the major causes of the land pollution is observed to be in the form of the
agricultural activities. The excessive usage of the plant protective chemicals is observed to
produce considerable amount of issues in the quality of the land. The increased usage of the
pesticides, herbicides along with the emissions of the livestock buildings and the farms are
considered to be the prime reasons of the land pollution.
2. __Urbanization_____________________________
Description:
In the modern generation, the construction industry is observed to have a rapid growth.
With the development of the society, a significant increment in the urbanization is pretty visible.
One of the major reasons of the land degradation in the modern generation is seen in the form of
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the increased urbanization. The artificialisation of the soil has the potential to cause rapid carbon
depletion. This is significant in the change of the climate and along with that, it is instrumental in
fragmenting the natural habitats, landscapes and ecosystems. Thus it affects the biodiversity as
well.
3. __Deforestation____________________________
Description:
The deforestation is notably influential in the degradation of the land and in the
decrement of the quality of the land. The deforestation and the spreading of the fire in the forests
are considered to be responsible for the loss of the vegetation cover by the soil. The process of
erosion gets accelerated through this and leads to the soil degradation along with the water
pollution. Apart from the pollution, the deforestation leads to the loss of value of the land as
well.
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Topic10 – Noise Pollution
Question 5: Describe2 methods to limit Industrial noise and describe1 method to monitor
noise. (9marks)
1. ____________ Process and the machine tools selection___________________
Description:
The industry leaders or the management of the farms is in need to consider the scope of
limiting the noise at the very beginning of the sources. The production of the limitation at the
very primitive stage makes sure that the process of control of the noise in the industry is
subjected to limited amount of costing. The selection of the machine tools or the techniques is of
great significance. In order to reduce the impact of the industrial noise, the organizations are in
need to undertake the common activities like the welding instead of the riveting, pressing instead
of the forging and the grinding instead of the chipping.
2. _____Reduction in the noise energy__________________________
Description:
The decrement in the impact of the noise energy is visible with the reduction of the
potential noise energy. The noise radiated from a surface is notably dependent on the amplitude
of the vibration and the area of the radiating surface as well. Hence the reduction in the amount
of energy communicated to the vibrating surface is significant in the reduction of the noise
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pollution. Along with that, the decrement in the efficiency of the surface as a radiator of the
noise, will be of notable significance in reducing the impact of the noise.
1. _____The usage of the technology in the monitoring of the noise
pollution.__________________________
Description:
The excessive amount of noise generated from the industrial workforces is seen to be
checked and monitored by the mobile applications such as Decibels X.
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References:
Greenstone, Michael, and Rema Hanna. "Environmental regulations, air and water pollution, and
infant mortality in India." American Economic Review 104, no. 10 (2014): 3038-72.
Padhye, Lokesh P., Hong Yao, Francis T. Kung'u, and Ching-Hua Huang. "Year-long evaluation
on the occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine
disrupting chemicals in an urban drinking water treatment plant." Water research 51
(2014): 266-276.
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