Environmental chemistry

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/environmental-chemistry

1. What is the scientific domain?
2. What is the interdisciplinary foundation?
3. How do scientists learn about the air, water, and soil?
4. Why do scientists need to know what the natural environment looks like before studying pollution?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific domain?The study of chemical and biochemical phenomena within natural environments
2. What is the interdisciplinary foundation?Integrates atmospheric, aquatic, and soil chemistry with analytical chemistry
3. How do scientists learn about the air, water, and soil?They collect samples, use tools like chromatography, spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry to find and measure tiny amounts of chemicals.
4. Why do scientists need to know what the natural environment looks like before studying pollution?Knowing the normal levels of chemicals helps scientists see when human activities add extra amounts and cause problems.

Anthropogenic Activities: Processes or effects that are caused by humans, rather than natural phenomena.
Chemical Speciation: The study of the different chemical forms or species in which an element can exist.
Bioavailability: The degree and rate at which a substance is absorbed into and made available at the site of action in the body or environment.