AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462), Higher tier · Chemistry of the atmosphere › Common atmospheric pollutants
Practise Atmospheric pollutants from fuels. 12 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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Name the toxic gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels.
carbon monoxide
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
(a) Which pollutant is produced when a fuel containing sulfur is burned? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
Carbon monoxide
Oxides of nitrogen
Soot
Sulfur dioxide
(b) Name the toxic gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels.[1]
(c) Name the two products of the complete combustion of a hydrocarbon.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Sulfur dioxide
(b)Answer: carbon monoxide
carbon monoxide
(c)
carbon dioxide
water (vapour)
Question 2Medium6 marks
Petrol and diesel are fuels used in car engines. The exhaust gases contain pollutants.
(a) Explain how oxides of nitrogen are produced in a car engine.[2]
(b) Balance the equation for the formation of nitrogen dioxide. ....N2 + ....O2 → ....NO2[1]
(c) Incomplete combustion of the fuel produces carbon monoxide and soot. Explain why incomplete combustion happens.[1]
(d) Some fuels also produce sulfur dioxide when they burn. Explain why.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
nitrogen and oxygen from the air react
at the high temperature in the engine
(b)Answer: N2 + 2O2 → 2NO2
N2 + 2O2 → 2NO2
(c)
there is not enough / a limited supply of oxygen (for all the carbon to form carbon dioxide)
(d)
the fuel contains sulfur (compounds) as an impurity
the sulfur reacts with / is oxidised by oxygen when the fuel burns
Question 3Hard4 marks
Modern petrol car exhaust systems include a catalytic converter, which uses a catalyst to convert some pollutant gases into less harmful ones, including converting carbon monoxide and nitrogen monoxide into carbon dioxide and nitrogen. 2CO + 2NO → 2CO2 + N2
(a) Balance the equation for this reaction if it were written using nitrogen dioxide, NO2, instead. ....CO + ....NO2 → ....CO2 + ....N2[1]
(b) Evaluate the use of catalytic converters as a solution to air pollution from cars.[3]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: 4CO + 2NO2 → 4CO2 + N2
4CO + 2NO2 → 4CO2 + N2
(b)
catalytic converters reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen, so they reduce the associated health and environmental (acid rain) problems
the reaction converts these pollutants into carbon dioxide, so it does not reduce (and may even slightly increase) the car's emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas
catalytic converters do not remove particulates or reduce fuel / energy use, so they only partly solve the pollution problem from vehicles