Case Study Worksheet: Save Smog City Two From Particle Pollution

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Save Smog City 2 from Particle Pollution
Student Worksheet

1. Access the Smog City 2 web site at www.smogcity2.org.
2. Select “Save Smog City 2 from Particle Pollution.”
3. Once Smog City 2 loads to your computer, take note of the areas of Smog City, including Weather Conditions, Emissions Levels and Population. All areas have “clickable” choices. Mouse-over or click on the choices.

• NOTE: in the information box at the bottom of the screen, there is information about each choice.

4. Notice how each of the choices are pre-set to a certain level. These are called the default settings. You can use the reset button at any time to return to the default settings. In the chart below, circle or highlight the default
Changing population, as shown by the “total emissions” chart and the emission sources in the cityscape, affects VOCs, NOx and SO2. The compounds react to form ground-level ozone and particle pollution. When temperatures are cool, changing population also changes the usage of wood-burning stoves, which emit particle pollution In Smog City 2, you can increase the population from near-zero to about two million
Observe the AQI (Air Quality Index) box inside the black box. The default settings, which are circled above, result in a “red”, or “Unhealthy” AQI for particle pollution. The health message is: “Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.”

Scenario 1: Emission