Macro and Micro look on the

Chemistry of the
Environment
Objective identify how the
sAt the end 1 environment interacts
with each other;
of this determine the processes
lesson, you
2 involved in the
should be environment
able to:
 ENVIRONMENT

The sum total of physical and biological

factors that directly influence the
survival, growth and development na
reproduction of organisms
 Learn about it!

Environmental
Chemistry
● The scientific study of the
chemical and biochemical
phenomena that occur in
natural places
● Source, Reactions,
Transport, Effect & Fate of
chemical species in
environment
 Learn about it!

● Atmosphere – all
gases on earth
● Biosphere – all living
things
● Hydrosphere – Water
● Litosphere – Rocks
(Sedimentary,
Igneous, Environmental
Metamorphic) Segments
● Geosphere – All layers of the solid
earth
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of the
ATMOSPHERE
● The atmosphere is a
mixture of gases that
surrounds the Earth.
● It has 5 layers
● 99% N2 and O2, 1%
trace gases
● 480km
 Learn about it!

ATMOSPHERE
The gases present in atmosphere are very important in the following
ways:
• These gases absorbs harmful radiations of sun to protect life on
earth.
• N2 is used by nitrogen fixing bacteria.
• O2 is required for respiration.
• CO2 is necessary for photosynthesis.
• Water vapors are responsible for sustaining life on earth.
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of
Troposphere
● Troposphere is where
most weather
phenomena occur,
including low-
pressure systems,
cloud formation, and
precipitation.
Learn about it!
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of
Stratosphere
● The stratosphere is the
second layer of Earth's
atmosphere
● It contains the ozone layer,
● Airplanes often fly in this
layer because it's calm with
less turbulence.
 CHEMISTRY OF THE MESOSPHERE

• Very cold (-90 degree Celsius)

• Where most space shuttles, debris burn

• The mesosphere is thick enough (35km) to

slow down meteors, causing them to burn
up and leave trails in the night sky.

• The highest layer of the atmosphere in

which the gases are all mixed up rather
than being layered by their mass.
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of
Thermosphere
● Thermosphere is the layer on
earth’s atmosphere above the
mesosphere
● Features:
● Aurora Borealis and
Australis occur here,
● ISS orbits here
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of
Thermosphere
● Why it’s hot: High-energy solar
radiation excites the sparse gas
molecules, causing them to gain
heat.

● Sparse gas molecules - gas

particles that are spread out and
far apart from each other,
meaning their density is very
low.
 Learn about it!

Exosphere

● The very edge of the

atmosphere

● Separates the rest of the

atmosphere from outer space.
 CHEMISTRY OF THE MESOSPHERE

• Very cold (-90 degree Celsius)

• Where most space shuttles, debris burn

• The mesosphere is thick enough (35km) to

slow down meteors, causing them to burn
up and leave trails in the night sky.

• The highest layer of the atmosphere in

which the gases are all mixed up rather
than being layered by their mass.
PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE

ATMOSPHERE
Learn about it!

By 1987, just two years after the hole

was discovered, an international
treaty was in place that cut the use of
CFCs in half. Three years later in
1990, the Montreal Protocol was
strengthened to ban the use of CFCs
altogether.
Learn about it!

• Normally, rain water has a pH

of 5.6
due to presence of Hydrogen
● The ions formed by reaction of
rain water with carbon dioxide
present in the atmosphere.

• When the pH of the rain water

drops below 5.6, it is called
acid rain. Oxides of sulfur and
nitrogen in the atmosphere
produces acid rain.
Learn about it!
Learn about it!

GLOBAL
WARMING
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of the
HYDROSPHERE
● The part of the earth
that includes all water
● 71% of Earth is made
up of water
● 97% of that is salt
water, and 3% is fresh
water Water distribution on Earth.
 WATER
Properties

Excellent solvent
Hydrogen bonding
High heat capacity
High boiling point
Density anomaly –
Water’s density is highest at 4°C,
causing ice to float
 Learn about it!

The Hydrologic
Cycle
• This cycle moves water
across Earth in its
different phases.

• The phases affect where

the water goes, and its
properties.
The water cycle
There are different processes in the
water cycle. These processes
involve the change of phase, or a
change in the areas of Earth
affected.
 Learn about it!

Evaporation
● Evaporation is the
change of water from
its liquid form to gas
(water vapor)

The process of evaporation.

 Learn about it!

Transpiration
● Transpiration also involves
the change from liquid to
gas, but the liquid water
comes from plants.

The process of transpiration.

 Learn about it!

Condensation
● Condensation is the
change of phase from
gas to liquid. This
forms clouds.

The process of
condensation.
 Learn about it!

Precipitation
● Precipitation involves
the release of water
from clouds. Examples
of precipitation types
are rain and snow.

The process of precipitation.

 Learn about it!

Infiltration
● Infiltration involves
the seepage of water
into the ground.

The process of infiltration.

 Learn about it!

Runoff
● Runoff occurs when
precipitation exceeds
infiltration.

The process of runoff.

Key Points

The hydrologic cycle is responsible for the

1 movement of water around the world.

Evaporation is the change of liquid water into

2 water vapor.

Condensation is a process where water vapor is

3 turned into liquid water.

Precipitation is the release of water from

4 clouds as rain, sleet, hail, or snow.
 Challenge Yourself

How would you

describe the forms
of precipitation
(snow, hail, sleet,
and rain)?
 Learn about it!

Desalination
• This is the process of
removing salt from
saltwater. It usually
involves purification of
water.

The desalination process

Learn about it!

Ocean is the
largest Carbon
reservoir
It stores around 40,000 billion
tonnes of carbon (Dissolved form)
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of GEOSPHERE

• The geosphere consists

of the solid earth: Crust,
Mantle, Outer core, and
Inner core
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of GEOSPHERE

• The Earth's outer core is

liquid because the
pressure is not high
enough to keep it in a
solid state.
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of GEOSPHERE

• The Inner core is solid

because the intense
pressure from the
weight of the planet
keeps its atoms held
together.
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of LITHOSPHERE

• Types of rocks:
Igneous rocks
sedimentary rocks
Metamorphic rocks
 Rock Cycle
• The continuous changing and remaking of
rocks

• Any rock can change into any rock

• Remember:
• Igneous rocks – crystallize from magma
• Sedimentary rocks – form from cemented
sediments
• Metamorphic rocks – form by changes in
temperature and pressure
Formation of Sedimentary
Rocks
• Much of Earth’s surface is covered with
sediments
• Sediments: Pieces of solid material that have been
deposited on Earth’s surface by wind, water, ice,
gravity, or precipitation
• When sediments become cemented together, they form
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• The formation of sedimentary rocks begins when
weathering and erosion produce sediments

• When Earth’s surface is exposed at the

surface, it is exposed to weathering
• Weathering: Physical and chemical processes that
break rock into smaller pieces.
 Weathering and Erosion
• Weathering: Two Types
1. Chemical: Rock is dissolved or chemically
changed
2. Physical: Rock fragments break off of the solid
rock
• These processes form rock and mineral fragments
known as clastic sediments

• Clastic: Broken particles that vary in size

• Erosion
• After weathering, rock fragments are
transported to new locations by erosion
• Erosion: Removal and movement of surface materials
from one location to another
 4 Causes of Erosion
1. Wind
• wind moves fine sand and dust

2. Moving Water
• Water in streams becomes muddy after
storms
3. Gravity
• gravity pulls particles downhill

4. Glaciers
• ice erodes the land surface and carries the broken
rocks and soil debris far from their original places,
resulting in some interesting glacial landforms
 Deposition & Lithification
• After weathering and erosion occur, the particles
settle to the ground or sink to the bottom of the
water body

• This is deposition

• The larger grains settle to the bottom while the finer

particles settle at the top because of water movement

• As more and more sediments settle, the bottom

layers are subject to increased pressure and temp

• This results in lithification

• Lithification: Physical and chemical

processes that transform sediments into
sedimentary rocks.
Metamorphic Rocks
• Meta = change

• Morphe = form

• The rocks literally change form while remaining

solid

• High temps and pressure combine to alter the

texture or chemical composition of a rock
without melting it
Learn about it!
Weathering
Mechanical Weathering (Physical)
• Mechanical Weathering (MW): Process by
which rocks are broken down into smaller
pieces
• Two factors affect this:
1. Temperature: When water freezes, it
expands. As temperature increases, the
ice melts.
• This repeated thawing and freezing of
water in cracks of rocks is called
FROST WEDGING.
 Mechanical Weathering
(Physical)
2. Pressure: Bedrock at great depths is under
great pressure. When the overlaying rocks
are removed, the pressure is reduced
• The rocks are then able to expand and
cracks can form from the reduction in
pressure
• Over time, this repeated cracking of
rocks causes the layers of the rock to
strip away in succession, like the
peeling of an onion
• This is known as EXFOLIATION!
Mechanical Weathering
 Chemical Weathering
• Chemical Weathering: Process where rocks undergo
changes in their chemical composition

• Chemical reactions break down the bonds holding the

rocks together, causing them to fall apart, forming
smaller and smaller pieces

• Chemical weathering is much more common in locations

where there is a lot of water

• This is because water is important to many of the

chemical reactions that can take place

• Warmer temperatures are also more friendly to chemical

weathering (reactions happen faster at higher temps)

• 4 Factors: Water, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Acid

Rain.
 Chemical Weathering (CW)
1. Water: Can dissolve many minerals and rocks
• This reaction of water with other substances is known as
hydrolysis!

2. Oxygen: Can combine with other substances

• This reaction of oxygen with other substances is known as
OXIDATION

3. Carbon Dioxide: The carbon dioxide in the

atmosphere dissolves in rainwater forming
carbonic acid, which, once in contact with rocks,
slowly dissolves them.

4. Acid Rain: Caused by sulfur dioxide (burning of

fossil fuels) and nitrogen oxides (car exhaust)
released into air from human activities
• Can be harmful to organisms and non-living structures.
 Learn about it!

Chemistry of BIOSPEHERE

• BIOSPHERE -The sum of

all ecosystems on Earth,
including all life and the
remains of organisms
that have not yet
decomposed BIOSPHER
E
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES
are processes that are necessary for an
organism to live and that shape its
capacities for interacting with its
environment.

Some of it are respiration, hydration,

energy production (cellular
respiration), and Photosynthesis
 Learn about it!

RESPIRATION
• The process of breathing
in oxygen and breathing
out carbon dioxide.
• However, the term more formally refers to the
chemical process organisms use to release
the energy from food, which typically involves
the consumption of oxygen and release of
carbon dioxide.
 Learn about it!

RESPIRATION
• The process of breathing
in oxygen and breathing
out carbon dioxide.
• However, the term more formally refers to the
chemical process organisms use to release
the energy from food, which typically involves
the consumption of oxygen and release of
carbon dioxide.
Learn about it!
 Learn about it!

HYDRATION
• Hydration is the body's ability
to absorb water, the vital liquid
it needs, and is based on how
much is available to it.

• Every cell, tissue, and organ

requires fluid to perform
functions such as maintaining
temperature, disposing of
waste products and lubricating
joints.
 Learn about it!

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

• The process by which the

organisms obtain the energy
available in the carbohydrates

• CARBOHYDRATES – A molecule
containing C, H, O
(C6H12O6) or Glucose
Learn about it!
Learn about it!

Adenosine Triphosphate
(ATP)
 Learn about it!

PHOTOSYNTHES
IS
• a chemical process that
converts light energy from the
sun into chemical energy that
fuels the metabolism of plants.
Overall, these chemical
processes that are
constantly happening
around us remind us that
our environment is
delicate and should not
be abused but rather be
cared for, for what we do
to our environment will
eventually return to us