The term marble cancer refers to
- A.The corrosion of marble monuments by acidic pollutants
- B.A disease of quarry workers who cut marble
- C.The growth of algae on marble floors
- D.The cracking of marble by extremes of temperature
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A. Marble is calcium carbonate, and sulphur dioxide in polluted air, along with the sulphuric acid of acid rain, reacts with it to form calcium sulphate, so the stone loses its shine, turns yellow and becomes pitted and flaky. This damage is called marble cancer, and it is discussed most often in connection with the Taj Mahal at Agra, which is why industries around it are regulated. Option B is wrong because the lung disease caused by inhaling stone dust is silicosis, a different subject altogether. Option C is wrong because algal growth is a biological stain that can be cleaned and is not what the term means. Option D is wrong because thermal cracking is a physical weathering process common to many rocks and has nothing to do with pollution. Remember that any monument of marble or limestone is vulnerable, since both are calcium carbonate.
Read the full article: Ozone Layer and Acid Rain: Causes, Effects, Treaties
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following statements about ozone is true?
- A.All of the options
- B.Ozone is highly reactive
- C.Ozone protects us from the harmful UV radiation of the sun
- D.Ozone is the major constituent of photochemical smog
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Each of the other three statements is correct on its own, which is exactly why the combined option is the answer.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is a secondary pollutant?
- A.Carbon monoxide
- B.Smog
- C.Carbon dioxide
- D.Fly ash
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A primary pollutant is released directly from a source, while a secondary pollutant is formed in the atmosphere when primary pollutants react.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is NOT a greenhouse gas found naturally in the atmosphere?
- A.Nitrogen oxide
- B.Carbon dioxide
- C.Methane
- D.Ozone
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Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, together written as nitrogen oxides, are air pollutants that come mainly from combustion in vehicles and power stations; they help form smog and acid rain but are not counted among the greenhouse gases of the natural atmosphere.
Read the full explanation →The ozone layer that protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation lies in which layer of the atmosphere?
- A.Troposphere
- B.Stratosphere
- C.Mesosphere
- D.Thermosphere
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About nine tenths of the atmosphere's ozone lies in the stratosphere, roughly fifteen to thirty five kilometres above the surface, where ultraviolet rays split oxygen molecules and the free atoms combine with other oxygen molecules to make ozone.
Read the full explanation →The thickness of the ozone column in the atmosphere is measured in which unit?
- A.Dobson unit
- B.Curie
- C.Decibel
- D.Angstrom
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The Dobson unit, named after the scientist who built the instrument for measuring atmospheric ozone, expresses how thick the ozone column would be if all of it were brought down to the surface at standard temperature and pressure; a hundred Dobson units correspond to a layer one millimetre thick.
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