Question

While waiting at an airport, Neil Campbell once overheard this claim: "It's paranoid and ignorant to worry about industry or agriculture contaminating the environment with their chemical wastes. After all, this stuff is just made of the same atoms that were already present in our environment."

Drawing on your knowledge of electron distribution, bonding and emergent properties, write a short essay (50-100 words) countering this argument.

Answer 1

Chemicals made of the same atoms can have detrimental effects on the environment and organisms due to their arrangement and distribution. Persistent organic pollutants can accumulate and disrupt the endocrine systems of organisms, causing reproductive and developmental issues.

Step-by-step explanation:

The claim that industry or agriculture contaminating the environment with chemical wastes is not a concern because these wastes are made of the same atoms already present in the environment is flawed. While it is true that chemicals are made of atoms, it is the arrangement and distribution of these atoms that determines the properties and effects of the chemicals. Chemical pollutants can have detrimental effects on the environment and organisms, even in small quantities. For example, persistent organic pollutants can accumulate in organisms over time and disrupt their endocrine systems, leading to reproductive and developmental issues.

Answer 2

The atoms of each element have a characteristic number of electrons arranged in electron shells. The number of valence electrons determines what types of bonds or ions the atoms may form, so the chemical reactivity of an atom arises from its electron distribution. The properties of compounds emerge from the arrangement of their constituent atoms and of the bonds between them.

Thus, a wide variety of molecules with very different chemical properties can be made from the same basic atoms. Each molecule has a distinctive size, shape, and charge distribution, which determine its highly specific ability to interact with other molecules.

Compounds in chemical wastes may contaminate the environment if their atoms are combined in new arrangements that harm living organisms.

Step-by-step explanation: