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Chemguide Support for Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry |
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Extra material needed for the 2010 exam - Chapter 20 This page lists the material from the old Edexcel syllabus which isn't covered by my new Edexcel IGCSE Chemistry book. Oil pollution The old syllabus says that you should be able to "discuss the damage to the environment that may arise from the spillage of crude oil and the release of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere". Oil spillage is fairly obvious, in terms of pollution of coastline, short term harm to birds, etc, and long term harm if heavy components of the oil settle on the seabed. There is no chemistry in this - you can make it up as you go along! The bonds in hydrocarbons can absorb infra-red radiation in the same sort of way that bonds in water molecules or carbon dioxide molecules can. Hydrocarbons in the atmosphere can therefore have the same effects on atmospheric temperatures as carbon dioxide and water vapour. (See pages 57-58). Return to complete list of extras © Jim Clark 2009 |