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The air we breathe = mixture (composition depends on where you are) Nitrogen = odorless, colorless, relatively inactive, passing in and out of lungs unchanged Oxygen: + Absorbed into blood via lungs, react with food release energy to power chemical processes in our bodies. + Most abundant element in the body and Earths crust Respiration: the food we eat are metabolized to produce CO2 and H2O Any argon inhaled is simply exhaled

II. What else is in a breath? - CO: + Silent killer: no color, taste, smell + Interfere with hemoglobins ability to carry O2 + Sources: automobile exhaust, charcoal grills, propane camping stove - O3: + Sharp odor + Reduce lung function - SO2: + Sharp, unpleasant odor + Dissolve in the moist tissue of lungs to form H2SO4 + Source: burning of coal - NO2: + Brown + Combine with fog, mist, snow to produce acid rain + Source: NO (colorless) - Particulate matter: + Mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets + Fine particles: tinier and more deadly PM III. Air pollutants and risk assessment: - Toxicity: the intrinsic health hazard of a substance - Exposure: the amount of substance encountered + Concentration of air: more toxic lower concentration must be set + Length of time: higher concentration = less time + Rate of breathing - Our perception of risks also plays an important role IV. Air quality and you: V. Where we live: the troposphere:

Troposphere: the lower region of the atmosphere in which we live that lies above the surface of the Earth Air inversion occurs when cooler air is trapped beneath warmer air. Air pollutants can accumulate in an inversion layer, especially if the layer remains stationary for an extended period. Air pollutants = people fumes

VI. Classifying matters: pure substances, elements, and compounds - Periodical table: + Light green = metal + Light blue = non-metal + Red = metalloid + Group: organized elements according to important properties that they have in common - CO2: 27% C and 73% O2 and never varies whatever the source constant characteristic chemical composition of a particular compound. - H2O: 11% H2 and 89% O2 VII. Atoms and molecules: - Atom: smallest unit of an element that can exist as a stable, independent entity - Elements are made up of only one kind of atom - Compounds are made up of two or more different kinds of atoms - Molecules: two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds in a certain spatial arrangement - Some elements exist as single atoms, others exist as molecules (N2, O2, etc.) VIII. Names and formulas: - For two non-metals: + Name each element, modify the second with ride + Use prefixes to indicate the number of atoms in chemical formula + Omit mono if there is only one atom for the first element - Hydrocarbon: + Methane is the smallest IX. Chemical changes: the role of oxygen burning: - Combustion: rapid reaction of fuel with oxygen to produce heat and light. X. Fire and fuel: Air quality and Burning hydrocarbon: - Methane = primary component of natural gas - Gasoline burning can produce: CO2, H2O, CO (if not enough O2), soot

XI. Air pollutants: direct sources: - Volatile organic compounds: pollutants that are not regulated but still intimately connected with the ones that are + Volatile: readily passes into vapor phase evaporate easily + Organic compound: always contains C, almost always contains H, and may contain O or N VOC: carbon-containing compounds that pass easily into vapor phase - Catalyst: chemical substances that participate in chemical reactions and influence rates without undergoing permanent changes themselves XII. Ozone: a secondary pollutant: - Produced from chemical reactions involving one or more other pollutants. For O3, those are VOCs and NO2 - Ozone formation requires sunlight - Tragedy of common: resources used by many but none is responsible for pollution XIII. The inside story of air quality: - Indoor air contains: NO, NO2, VOCs, SO2, CO, ozone, and PM - Highly reactive (O3, NO2, SO2) low level indoors - VOCs, CO: unreactive move freely in and out of buildings XIV. Back to the breath: at the molecular level: - A typical breath of 500mL contains 2x1022 molecules and atoms - A breath contains 18x1016 CO molecules - In addition to being extremely small, the molecules and atoms you breathe possesses other remarkable characteristics: + In constant motion + Molecules are quite far apart