Reference no: EM132364785
Assignment - Problem Solving Task
Mixed qualitative and quantitative short answer questions on engineering sustainability
Population growth
Population growth plays a key role in environmental sustainability. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050.
a. In 300 - 400 words, discuss the factors that influence population growth and how population growth effects/impacts environmental sustainability.
b. The population of china in the year 1999 was 1.2 billion and that of India was 986 million. Assuming a constant population growth rate of 2% per year, the population of India is predicted to equal the population of China in 20 years. At what constant rate must China's population grow for the populations of the two countries to be equal in 2019, as predicted?
c. From current data, we know that the populations of the two countries are not equal as predicted 20 years ago, with the population of China at ~1.42 billion and that of India at ~1.37 billion. In two or three sentences, explain this discrepancy between the prediction and the reality.
Global Warming and Climate Change
Human activity has been linked to many of the currently observed changes to the environment, including global warming and climate change.
In 400 - 500 words, explain what greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change are, the connection between them and how they are linked to human activity.
With reference to Table 1 below, explain what is meant by global warming potential and discuss the factors that contribute to the differences in the values for different greenhouse gases. Why is there so much focus on CO2 even though it has a much lower global warming potential compared to other greenhouse gases?
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Table 1
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GHG
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GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL
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20 years
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100 years
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CO2
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1
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1
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CH4
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12
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56
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N2O
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120
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280
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Using the 100 years global warming potential figures from Table 1, calculate the number of tonnes of CO2 equivalent of 80 kg of N2O.
Global warming can lead both to melting of ice sheets on land and to an increase in temperature of the ocean waters. Both of these phenomena have the effect of increasing sea levels. Using information in Table 2 below, calculate the predicted rise in seal level if all the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets were to melt and the temperature profile of the oceans shifts upwards by ΔT = 1 oC. Please state and explain any assumptions made.
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Table 2
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Current volume of water in earth's oceans
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1.5 × 109 km3
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Surface area of the earth's oceans
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3.35 × 108 km2
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Average surface area of Greenland ice
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1,736,095 km2
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Average thickness of Greenland ice
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1.5 km
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Average surface area of Antarctica ice
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11,965,700 km2
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Average thickness of Antarctica ice
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2.45 km
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Volumetric expansion coefficient of water
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2.07 x 10-4/oC
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Density of water
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1 g/cm3
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Density of ice
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0.917 g/cm3
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References
List your references in alphabetical order, using Harvard or APA referencing format. References should be properly citied in the text, when making reference to other source material. References which are not used should not be cited. Appropriate references would include, official reports, journal articles, news articles, etc. We do not expect references to popular culture websites, youtube videos, or other questionable information that has not been assessed or impartially reviewed.