1. Environmental Chemistry
Topic 1

2. Environmental Chemistry
“Chemicals make up the underlying fabric of the world. They are part of the process in all natural cycles and changes”.

3. EARTH

4. Could we survive without chemicals?

5. What chemicals do our bodies need in order to remain healthy?

6. Healthy food (nutrients)
Clean air Clean water

7. We need nutrients for:
Energy
Growth
Body building
Cell repair

8. Proteins Lipids (fats) Vitamins Minerals Nutrients we need:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids (fats)
Vitamins
Minerals

9. Can you match these? Carbohydrates
a. Organic elements (has carbon in it, made by plants or animals) that help enzymes run the chemical reactions in your body. Ex. A, B, C, D, E, K……..
Proteins
b. Provide energy for growth, repair, everything we do.
Lipids (fats)
Building blocks of all our structures and cells
Vitamins
Store energy for later use
Minerals
e. Inorganic elements that come from the soil or water, are absorbed by plants, eaten by animals, and perform many functions in our bodies.

10. Organic/Inorganic?
Organic nutrients contain carbon (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins)
Plants can make these, animals have to eat them.

11. Inorganic (minerals)
Absorbed from soil and water by plants and animals get them by eating plants

13. What do we use minerals for?
Check out page 180 in your textbook!

14. Have you heard of all of these elements
Have you heard of all of these elements? Where are they on the periodic table? Are they nonmetals or metals?

15. Macrominerals: we need 100mg/day or more (ex. Calcium)
Trace elements: we need less than 100 mg/day

16. Which are trace minerals and which are macrominerals?

17. Amazingly, we often need only tiny amounts of minerals and vitamins
Amazingly, we often need only tiny amounts of minerals and vitamins. But without them we can get serious diseases.

18. Where do the nutrients we need come from?

26. Roots extract and concentrate minerals from the soil for us
t every year!
Gotta love the surface area of those root hairs!

27. So how do we make sure we have lots of healthy plants for all of us earthlings to eat so we can get all the organic and inorganic nutrients we need?

28. Fertilizers!
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium

29. Nitrogen: healthy stems and leaves
Phosphorus: germinate seeds, strong roots
Potassium: healthy flowers and fruits

30. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
Plants can’t use N2 directly from the atmosphere
Bacteria in soil and plant nodules “fix” N2 from the atmosphere into nitrates that dissolve in water so the plants can use the nitrogen.

31. How has crop production changed since fertilizers were introduced?

32. Doubled since 1950!

33. But there are some disadvantages
$$$$
Excess nitrogen pollutes our water
/envh10_vid_nitrates/ (Blue babies)

34. What are we ingesting along with our food, water, and the air we breathe?

35. What is pollution, and what can be done about it?