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Name:…………………..…….…Enrol. No.:…….……..….…Batch:…..…Sl. No.:……....

Date:…………...…...Sign. (Student):……….………....… Sign. (Invigilator):….....….

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Roorkee – 247 667

Mid Term Examination

(Autumn Semester; Session 2017-18)
U.G. I Year; CEN – 105: Introduction to Environmental Studies

Time: 90 Minutes Max. Marks: 50

Note: i) All questions are compulsory; ii) Wherever necessary, clarify assumptions
and write answers in the required / correct units.

POOL OF EQUATIONS / FORMULAS

[ H  ][ HCO 3 ] [ H  ][ CO 32  ] KH 
[ A] aq
K a1  K a2  
[ HCO ] pA
[CO 2 ]( aq.) 3

logBCF = 0.79 x logKOW - 0.4

kt = k20T-20

TSR =2πRN/60v E = t 9.81 η Q H

Qw Lw  Qr Lr 3 .9u 1 / 2 k r  k r , 20 T  20
La  kr 
Q w  Qr h3/ 2

Lt  La e  k d t k d  k d , 20  T  20 Power Potential = ½ ρAv3

H Q
P* = 0.37 ηm· ηE · ηT (v/10)3 vs  vh v
L As

Blade tip speed  m / s  g (  s   )d 2

Tip Speed Ratio  TSR   vs 
Wind speed  m / s  18  V = KH2 h
vK
L

P* = 0.37 η · η · η (v/10)3 Q  vA v vwater

'
v water  R
m E T  
vcont
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PART A (5 x 1 = 05 Marks)
Multiple Choice Questions (Note: Tick the right answer only. Multiple tick
or cross marks will be considered as wrong answer)

1) Ozone layer is part of

a) Troposphere b) Ionosphere
c) Stratosphere d) Thermosphere

2) Group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same area are
a) Community b) Population
c) Biome d) Ecosystem

3) In the carbon cycle, the largest natural store of carbon is:

a) Deep Ocean b) Atmosphere
c) Fossil Carbon d) Soil Carbon

4) Transport sector is the major source of

a) CO b) SO2 c) Ammonia d) Methane

5) Coal based thermal power plants are the major source of

a) NOx b) SOx c) Ammonia d) CH4

PART B (5 x 1 = 05 Marks)
Write “True” or “False” in the space provided for the following
statements as per their correctness and incorrectness. (Note: Answers
written with any corrections, overwriting, etc. will be considered wrong)

1. Rain water is naturally acidic due to Carbon Dioxide. ( TRUE )

2. Albedo of earth has a positive Radiative forcing. ( FALSE )
3. Sustainable development considers only economic and social goals. ( FALSE )
4. It is possible to clean flue gas at the thermal power plant to produce Gypsum. ( TRUE )
5. Gasification of wastes has the potential for producing less CO2 to atmosphere ( TRUE )

PART C (5 Marks)
(Fill in the Blanks)
(Note: Fill in the right answer without making corrections. Answers filled in
with corrections, overwriting, etc. will be considered wrong)

1. Acid rain is due to emissions of NOx and SOx. [2]

2. In a nuclear reactor, Control Rods absorb the neutrons. [1]

3. Photosynthesis is conversion of Solar energy to Chemical energy. [2]

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PART D (15 Marks) (Brief Answers / Short Calculations)

1. A media report claims “a herbal plant gives out oxygen for 20 hours and ozone for four
hours a day along with the formation of nascent oxygen which absorbs harmful gases
like Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide from the environment."
From what you have learned in this course, please comment (with proper justification)
on whether this Ozone emitting plant is beneficial for the Environment? Is it a good idea
to encourage plantation of this herb, specifically for the claimed Ozone benefit?
[3]
Answer:
Tropospheric ozone is harmful for the environment. It has toxic effects on humans and
vegetation. (2)
Even if, Tulsi emits Ozone (which is doubtful), it is only helpful in the stratosphere. It will
be very difficult for the surface level ozone to travel 18km to the stratosphere without
reacting with other species. So, it’s not a good idea to plant Tulsi for its claimed Ozone
benefits. (1)
(Note: it can have multiple correct answers and even 'yes' may be partly/fully rewarded
depending on the answer. Lateral/alternative thinking should be rewarded as in the cases
mentioned by you in the email.
The wrong answer would be to expect the Tropospheric Ozone to do UV protection and
not having a negative impact on other living organisms.)

2. A flat plate solar thermal collector is installed on the roof top of a hostel. The collection
surface is 15 m2. A water tank connected with the collector contains 1000 kg of water,
initially at a temperature of 35 °C. What will be the temperature of water after 1 hour,
assuming constant solar insolation equal to 0.725 kW/m2 and 60% of all the collected
energy is being transferred to water. [3]

Solution:
Q=0.725*15*3600*0.60=23490 kJ (1)
Q=mCp (rise in temperature)
Rise in temperature= 23490/4.18/1000=5.62 °C (1)
Temperature of water after 1 hr=35+5.62=40.62 °C (1)

3. Mention at least three problems with the Nuclear power generation that could prevent its
widespread acceptance in the future? [3]

Answer:
 Debatable and conflicting political and economic consideration
 Uncertainty of safety issues
 Hazardous waste’s safe disposal issue
 Known reserves would be used up quickly
 May be a path to nuclear weapons
(Note: Any other answer in line with the above should also be considered correct and marks
should be awarded. Award full marks to those who have listed three or more problems.)
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4. A horizontal axis wind turbine with 30 m rotor diameter produces 1.0 MW electricity at
a wind speed of 60 km/h. Calculate the following;
a) Blade tip speed for a Tip Speed Ratio of 4.25,
b) Overall percent conversion efficiency of the wind turbine (from wind energy
to electricity). Air density= 1.225 kg/m3 [2]
Solution:

a) Blade tip speed = 4.25*60*1000/3600

= 70.833 m/s or 254.9988 km/h (0.5)
b) A=3.14*30*30/4=706.5 m2
V=60km/h=16.6666m/s
Theoretical energy available= ½*1.225*706.5*(16.6666)^3
=2.003361 MW
Conversion efficiency = 1/2.003361*100
= 49.91% (Approx. 50%) (1.5)

5. The octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow) of a pesticide is 250000.00. Calculate the

bioconcentration factor of pesticide in fish to water. If the concentration of the pesticide
in water is 10 ppb, what will be the concentration of pesticide in fish? [2]

Solution:
logBCF = 0.79 x logKOW - 0.4
logBCF = 0.79 x log(25000) - 0.4
BCF = 7317.666 (1)
Concentration of pesticide in fish = 10 * 7317.666 ppb
= 73176.66 ppb (1)

6.
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PART E (20 Marks)

(Note: Clearly write formula(s), assumptions, etc. and show all necessary steps to
solve the following numerical problems)

Fig.1 Height vs. wind speed

1. Fig.1 shows the variation of height (from the surface of the earth) to wind speed. Assume
this is a parabolic relationship that can be expressed as the follows:

V = KH2 ; K = 1 m -1 s -1

Calculate the minimum height at which a horizontal axis wind mill should be erected to
generate a wind power density of 10 kW/m2 normal to the direction of the wind.
The electrical efficiency and mechanical efficiency of the system are both 0.9, whereas the
transmission efficiency is 0.52. [5]

3
[1]
P* = 0.37 η · η · η (v/10)
m E T

10 = 0.37*0.9*0.9*0.52 (v/10)3

V = (641/3) = 4*10 m/s [2]

H = 401/2 = 6.32 m [2]

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2. Rainwater directly falls on a deposit of dolomite. Dolomite is made up of Calcium Carbonate

and Magnesium Carbonate. Ksp (Solubility Product) of Calcium Carbonate is 10-8.42 and for
Magnesium Carbonate is 10-6.82. CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is 410 ppm. Henry’s law
constant for CO2 is 10-1.5 M/atm. Ka1=10-6.30, Ka2=10-10.3
a) What will be the pH of the runoff water?
b) Find out the concentrations of Calcium and Magnesium Ions in mg/L in the runoff water.
[10]
Solution:
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3. A thermal power plant of 2000 MW capacity is using coal having a heating value of 30
MJ/kg. Determine the amount of the coal in tonnes being used by this plant on an annual
basis assuming that the plant runs for 325 days in a year and overall conversion efficiency of
the plant is 35%.

If the above plant is polluting the environment and a decision is taken to replace it with an
atomic power plant of the same capacity. Determine the mass of U235 fuel rods required
annually to run this plant. U235 fuel rods comprise of 96% of U238. This plant may be
assumed to run for 325 days in a year with an efficiency of thermal energy conversion into
electricity to be 45%. The energy density of U235 may be taken as 8.2 x 1013 J/kg. [5]

Solution:
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