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Year 12 Chemistry - Social Relevance - Information search

Carry out an information search on one of the following topics

1. Motor vehicles release large quantities of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. (Pathfinder)

Find articles that discuss:

• the problems caused by nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere
• the solutions to these problems

or

2. Plastic materials may be difficult to recycle and tend not to break down in the environment. (Pathfinder)

Find articles that discuss:

• the problems encountered when recycling and disposing of plastics
• the solutions to these problems

You need to find 4 sources of information including at least one newspaper/magazine article; one book; and one Internet site.

Write a short paragraph for each source of information, summarising the required information (2 points for each source) 8 marks

Include a correctly formatted bibliography 4 marks

PATHFINDERS

Nitrous oxide pollution

Books
Subject headings use these to search any library catalogue or to search the Internet	Dewey numbers use these to browse the shelves of any library
Acid Rain Air Pollution Motor vehicles - environmental aspects Pollution	333.7 Natural resources & energy 363.7 Environmental problems 574.5 Ecology
Magazines & newspapers
Current Environmental issues kept in magazine section of library Newstext - ask Ms Spence to do a search os this Australian newspaper database for you. Online newspapers & magazines includes specialist search engines for news articles
Internet sites
Basic definitions http://www.science.org.au/nova/015/015glo.htm Australian Environment portal http://www.environment.gov.au/index.html Click on Atmosphere then Air Pollution. http://airwatch.mrwa.wa.gov.au http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/cleanmachine http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/pollution/air.html http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/nox/what.html OECD: Nitrogen Oxides Nitrogen oxides are a component of smog and ground level ozone http://www.environmentalindicators.com/htdocs/indicators/2nitr.htm Air Pollution (EDGAR): Nitrogen oxides emissions (statistics from around the world) http://www.earthtrends.wri.org/text/CLI/variables/813.htm Sources of Nitrogen Oxides in Air http://www.ew.govt.nz/enviroinfo/indicators/air/emissions/air3c/report.htm Urban air pollution in Australia http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/urban-air/index.html

Plastic waste

Books
Subject headings use these to search any library catalogue or to search the Internet	Dewey numbers use these to browse the shelves of any library
Plastics Plastics - environmental aspects Plastics - recycling Recycling	333.7 Natural resources & energy 363.7 Environmental problems 574.5 Ecology 668.4 Plastics
Magazines & newspapers
Current Environmental issues kept in magazine section of library Newstext - ask Ms Spence to do a search os this Australian newspaper database for you. Online newspapers & magazines includes specialist search engines for news articles.
Internet sites
http://www.environment.gov.au/epg/npi/ http://www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage http://ecorecycle.vic.gov.au http://residua.com/index.html http://virtualrecycling.com/web/ideas.shtml http://qlink.queensu.ca/ http://www.plastics.com http://www.polymers.com http://home.vicnet.net.au http://www.plastics.org/s_plastics/index.asp http://www.teachingplastics.com/9_12/index.html Plastics Recycling http://plasticsresource.com/s_plasticsresource/doc.asp?TRACKID=&CID=40&DID=420 Recycling Plastics http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/ Plastics.htm Households are the biggest source of plastic waste, but recycling household plastics presents a number of challenges. Global Recycling Network http://www.grn.com/ An information exchange for recycling and waste management professionals including a marketplace to exchange or recycle scrap metal, plastics, Polymers...They're Everywhere http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/plastics/index.html This interactive resource, from National Geographic, provides information about polymers found in the home and in nature and also how recycled plastic is used.