Which of the following is a secondary air pollutant?
- A.Sulphur dioxide
- B.Carbon monoxide
- C.Peroxyacetyl nitrate
- D.Particulate matter
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Peroxyacetyl nitrate. A secondary pollutant is never emitted from a source; it is manufactured in the atmosphere itself when primary pollutants react with one another or with sunlight. Peroxyacetyl nitrate, usually written PAN, is formed in sunlight from oxides of nitrogen and unburnt hydrocarbons, and along with ground-level ozone it is the standard example of a secondary pollutant. Option A is wrong because sulphur dioxide comes straight out of chimneys that burn sulphur-bearing coal and oil. Option B is wrong because carbon monoxide is released directly by the incomplete burning of fuel, chiefly in vehicle engines. Option D is wrong because particulate matter is emitted directly by combustion, construction, road dust and industry, which makes all three of them primary pollutants. The quickest test for such a question is to ask whether the substance can come out of a chimney or an exhaust pipe as it is; if it can, it is primary.
Read the full article: Air Pollution and Air Quality: Pollutants, AQI and Laws
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is the chief component of photochemical smog?
- A.Sulphur dioxide
- B.Ozone
- C.Methane
- D.Carbon dioxide
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Photochemical smog, also called Los Angeles smog, forms in warm, dry, sunny weather when oxides of nitrogen from vehicle exhaust and unburnt hydrocarbons react under ultraviolet light.
Read the full explanation →Carbon monoxide is dangerous to human beings mainly because it:
- A.Combines with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin
- B.Dissolves in water to form a strong acid
- C.Destroys the ozone layer of the stratosphere
- D.Settles in the alveoli as fine dust
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Carbon monoxide binds to the haemoglobin of the blood roughly two hundred times more readily than oxygen does, and the carboxyhaemoglobin so formed cannot carry oxygen.
Read the full explanation →Along with the oxides of nitrogen, which gas is chiefly responsible for acid rain?
- A.Carbon monoxide
- B.Methane
- C.Sulphur dioxide
- D.Argon
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Sulphur dioxide, released when coal and oil containing sulphur are burnt, is oxidised in the atmosphere to sulphur trioxide, which dissolves in water droplets to give sulphuric acid.
Read the full explanation →The damage to the marble of the Taj Mahal, popularly called 'marble cancer', is caused chiefly by:
- A.Carbon dioxide
- B.Sulphur dioxide
- C.Chlorofluorocarbons
- D.Ground-level ozone
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Sulphur dioxide from industry and traffic around Agra is oxidised in the air and comes down as sulphuric acid, which attacks the calcium carbonate of marble.
Read the full explanation →PM2.5, the pollutant reported in air quality bulletins, refers to particles whose diameter is:
- A.2.5 millimetres or less
- B.2.5 nanometres or less
- C.2.5 micrometres or less
- D.2.5 centimetres or less
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Particulate matter is graded by the diameter of the particles measured in micrometres, so PM10 means particles of ten micrometres or less and PM2.5 means particles of 2.5 micrometres or less, which is about thirty times finer than a human hair.
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