In 1954, the smog was so bad in Los
Angeles, CA, that people wore gas masks
to a banquet! Today, the air in Los
Angeles is a lot clearer! However, there
are still some bad air days on occasion.
In this activity you will explore how
pollutants move throughout the air and
how the geography of the land effects the
buildup of air pollution.
Background Knowledge:
In 1955 the Air Pollution Control Act was passed in America, This funded the research to find all
the sources of air pollution. By 1970, Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency to
enforce clean air standards. Soon, the United States passed more acts to ensure clean air. The air
in the United States got cleaner because pollution-controls were installed on power plants,
factory smokestacks and cars. Even with all this work, spots in America still has some bad air
days.
The science of air pollution begins with measuring, tracking, and predicting the concentrations of
key pollutants in the atmosphere. Several processes affect air pollution levels. These include:
1. Emissions: where pollutants come from
2. Chemical reactions; what happens to pollutants in the atmosphere
3. Transport: how pollutants move by the wind
4. Deposition: where the pollutants are deposited by wind or by rain

Question: How does the geography of an area affect the movement of pollutants and the air
quality of a region?
"Will the air be clean enough to breathe?"
Procedure: Students will analysis models and real-world data to explore the interactions of
factors that affect a region's air quality.