Air & Water

By Candice Annan
Table of Content

Water Fertilisers

Air Quality & Climate

Water
 What is Water?
Water is a liquid substance that
composes of chemical elements
such as hydrogen and oxygen. In
Chemistry, the chemical equation
for water is H2O. It can exist in all
three states of matter which are
solid, liquid, and gas. Water is an
essential compound that provides
life to living organisms and can
dissolve other substances.
 How's it structured?
Water is a covalent compound. It is
composed of 2 hydrogen atoms
and 1 oxygen atom. These atoms
share electrons to create a covalent
bond. In the dot and cross diagram
shown, you can see the cross
represents oxygen electrons and
the dots represent hydrogen
electrons. These electrons form
bonds to create a full outer shell of
electrons.
 Water is used for a lot of things. At
home, we mainly use water in these
ways:
For drinking
Cooking
Washing
Cleaning

In the industry, water is used as a

solvent for chemicals and a coolant to
stop the industrial process from
getting too hot. Water is also used in
the raw material chemical
manufacturing proces.
Water Purification
Water purification is the removal of
undesirable chemical, organic, inorganic, and
biological materials or substances
The water that we see in rivers and lakes is
not pure water. This water contains dirt,
small fractions of dead animals and plants,
and multiple forms of bacteria that can be
harmful to your health. Diseases like
typhoid and cholera can be caused by
drinking such water.
Now such harmful water can be cleaned
and purified by using filtration and
chlorination.
 Water Purification Process
Water passes through 2 metal screens which collect
twigs and leaves.
Soil particles and other solid particles settle at the
bottom of a settlement tank.
To make the smaller particles in the water stick
together, aluminum sulfate is added. The particles
then fall to the bottom of the tank.
The water passes through a filter made of sand and
gravel to remove any insoluble particles.
Chlorine is then added to kill off any bacteria.
The water's pH is adjusted to make it suitable for us to
use in our homes.
Fertilisers
What is Fertilizer?

Fertilizer is a chemical substance

added to increase its fertility. They
are often added to replace any
elements lost when the plants have
been harvested.
 Animal manure can only be used as a
fertilizer but because of its limited supply
is available, hence the creation of
Artificial Fertilizers.
This type of fertilizer contains Nitrogen,
Phosphorus, and Potassium and is given
the name NPK Fertilizers.
Our typical compound fertilizer would
only contain ammonium sulfate,
ammonium phosphate, and ammonium
chloride while a single compound
contains neither potassium nor
phosphorus.
NPK Fertilizer and its uses
NPK Fertilizer is a type of artificial
fertilizer. The acronym NPK stands for
the elements Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and
Potassium. This fertilizer helps to
promote fruit and flower production
and helps a plant to maintain its
growth. Nitrogen enables the plant to
capture sunlight energy via
photosynthesis, Phosphorus with cell
division and development and
Potassium helps with the movement of
water in the plant.
Air Quality & Climate
Air
Air is made up of different
components. Air comprises of:
Nitrogen - 78%
Oxygen - 21%
Carbon Dioxide - 0.4%
Water Vapour - 1%-4%
Other gases (Argon, helium,
neon, etc.) - About 1%
Air Pollution
The burning of fossil fuels and the
usage of hydrocarbons give off
harmful gases which pollute the air
around us.
Air pollution is the contamination
of clean air with harmful and toxic
substances.
Gases like Carbon monoxide, Carbon
dioxide, Sulfur oxide, and Nitrogen
oxides are known as Pollutant
Gases.
Nitrogen Oxide Problem
The element Nitrogen can form many
oxides which are all in the gaseous state.
Most nitrogen oxide that pollutes the air
comes from our cars and other vehicles,
high-temperature furnaces, regions with
frequent thunderstorms, and bacterial
action in soil.
In our atmosphere, these oxides can be
converted into one another via oxidation
or photochemical reactions.
Catalytic Converters
A catalytic converter is used in cars to
remove 2 types of poisonous gases from
the car, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen
oxide.
Most catalytic converters have 2
compartments. The first compartment
catalyzes the nitrogen oxide to nitrogen
conversion while the second is where
carbon monoxide is converted into
carbon dioxide.
 Global Warming
Global Warming is when long-term
heating acts on the Earth and is caused by
an increase in the concentration of
greenhouse gases.
A greenhouse gas is a type of gas that is
able to absorb heat energy to stop it from
escaping. One of the main greenhouse
gases is carbon dioxide and others are
methane and nitrogen oxide.
Greenhouse gases help to prevent the
Earth from cooling down rapidly when we
aren't exposed to the sun's ultraviolet rays.
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle is a natural way of reusing
atoms in the environment. These atoms are
able to travel from the Earth's atmosphere
onto living organisms and back, repeating
the process.
Carbon dioxide can get into the atmosphere
when fossil fuels are burnt, but most of it
gets into the atmosphere through
Respiration.
Carbon dioxide is removed from the
atmosphere by plants via photosynthesis
since they need it to create food and provide
themselves with energy.