8th Grade Teacher Resource Manual

Unit: Ground Level Ozone

Grade Level: 8

This lesson is part of a series of instructional units developed by The Clean Air Campaign. The units are designed to inform students in grades 4-8 about air quality issues in metro Atlanta including science, health, and human behavior issues. The Clean Air Campaign utilizes readily available resources, Web – based or print resources to teach air quality concepts. For more information about The Clean Air Campaign, log onto

The instructional units are divided into five grade level topics as follows:

Grade Level / Unit Topic / Lesson Titles
4 / Air Pollution and Visibility /
  • Hazy Days
  • Monitoring Air Pollution

5 / Air Quality and Transportation /
  • The Six Major Pollutants
  • Traffic Patterns
  • Green Vehicles

6 / Electricity and Air Pollution /
  • Air Pollution and Electrical Energy Production
  • Light Bulb Pollution

7 / The Impact of Air Pollution on Living Things /
  • Air Pollution and the Heart-Lung Connection
  • The Impact of Air Pollution on an Animal System

8 / Ground Level Ozone /
  • Air Pollution in Metro Atlanta and Georgia
  • Weather and Ground-level Ozone

The instructional units are designed to be integrated into existing content lessons. They can easily replace an existing activity. Therefore, issues relating to air quality can be woven throughout the curriculum for an entire semester or school year. This allows the teacher to focus on Quality Core Curriculum standards that must be taught at each grade level without having to find extra time in the curriculum to focus on air quality issues. Lessons can be accessed through the Georgia Learning Connections (GLC) website ( and the Environmental Education in Georgia web site(

Technology Integration

The Clean Air Campaign instructional units integrate technology based on standards suggested by the International Society of Technology Education (ISTE). Therefore, web resources are used extensively throughout most of the lessons. If web access is limited, then students may use library resources (books, encyclopedias, or journals) to gather information on specific topics. Print sources may be available from several government agencies including the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, Air Protection Branch.

The 8th Grade Unit

This unit focuses on the air quality issue of Ground Level Ozone. There are two lessons in the unit as follows:

  1. Air Pollution in Metro Atlanta - Students will use the Internet to investigate the role human beings play in creating air pollution; particularly ground level ozone and smog. Students will recognize causes of air pollution in metro Atlanta and identify ground-level ozone as a major component of smog. Students will also learn how the Air Quality Index (AQI) and Smog Alerts are used to inform the public about air quality. Then, using an Interactive AQI Calculator, students will determine when public health is at risk and issue smog alerts for the imaginary land of Atlantis.
  1. Weather and Ozone - In this lesson, students will query an interactive Ambient Monitoring Program Database to collectand graph statistics which they will analyze for relationships between weather conditions and ozone readings. Then they will design an ad campaign to educate the public about actions which can prevent or reduce air pollution.

Unit Resources

PowerPoint Presentations and Transparency Masters

PowerPoint presentations are hot-linked, below (#1- #4 for lesson 1; #2 and #5- #6 for lesson 2). If equipment is not available for showing multi-media presentations in class, these images can be pre-printed as transparencies and shown on an overhead projector. The presentations (masters) are in color. If no color printer is available, items in color can be shaded in with color transparency markers prior to the start of class.

  1. Sources of Nitrogen Oxides - Precursors to Ground Level Ozone
  2. Metro Atlanta’sAir Quality
  3. The AQI
  4. Monitoring Air Quality in Georgia
  5. Ground Level Ozone and Weather
  6. Things You Can Do To Prevent Ground Level Ozone

Software

Interactive AQI Calculator(used in Lesson 1)

This interactive database applies a complex formula which allows users to convert ambient ozone concentrations to AQI values and vice versa. It is easiest to use the web-based version of this database, by scrolling down the linked web page to “Interactive AQI Calculator” and selecting either AQI to Concentration or Concentration to AQI. It is highly recommended that the teacher practice using this feature before beginning the lesson.

If necessary, the AQI Calculator can be downloaded, saved to disk, and then loaded on student computers. (In this case, students would need to input a “concentrations” value into the 8-hr ozone field. They do this by using the arrow keys next to the field. Then, they need to scroll down to the “OK” button. The program will calculate the AQI and generate the appropriate health advisory. AQI values up to 300 can also be entered in the “AQI and Pollutant” category of the calculator).

Ambient Monitoring ProgramInteractive Database(used in Lesson 2):

This interactive database allows students to select a date, location, any of six pollutants, and any of four weather factors to see a chart and graph of data for a 24 hour period. With this data, students can determine relationships between weather conditions and ground level ozone formation. It is highly recommended that the teacher practice using this database before beginning the lesson with students.

Web sites

In addition to the Web resources linked in this unit, these others may be useful:

- Ozone map archives of the United States can be found on this site. Students will also be able to get a sense of the transport of ozone around the Southeast.

- This EPA website includes weather forecasting information linked to air quality.

- An air pollution website for kids sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

- A website about air quality in the state of Georgia with historical and real-time data (the latter during smog season only).

Speakers

The Clean Air Campaign has a free speakers’ bureau. Requests for speakers can be made through its Web site:

Background Information on Air Quality in Metro Atlanta – Ground Level Ozone

(Adapted from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) web site -

Materials presented in this section have been adapted from several resources focusing on air quality. These include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Department of Natural Resource Environmental Protection Division. Web Links to all adapted resources are provided.

Ground level ozone creates serious air pollution problem in the metro Atlanta area and in some other areas in the state of Georgia. High concentrations of ozone near ground level can be harmful to people, animals, crops, and materials. Ozone can irritate the respiratory system, aggravate asthma, and can inflame and damage cells that line your lungs. Ozone can also aggravate chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis and reduce the immune system’s ability to fight off bacterial infections in the respiratory system. Ozone can cause permanent lung damage. These effects can be worse in children and exercising adults.

Unlike stratospheric ozone, which forms naturally in the upper atmosphere and protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, ground-level (or tropospheric) ozone is created through the interactions of man-made or anthropogenic and natural or biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the presence of heat and sunlight. Ozone does not come out of any tail pipe or any smoke stack. Cars and gasoline-burning engines are large sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs also come from consumer products such as paints, insecticides, and cleaners as well as industrial solvents and chemical manufacturing. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), the other chemical precursor of ground level ozone, are produced whenever fossil fuels are burned and are primarily produced by motor vehicles and power plants. The sun's direct ultraviolet rays convert these emissions into ground-level ozone, which is unhealthy to breathe. Naturally occurring VOC’s, called biogenics, are released by plants. Since plants are essential for life, particularly for their production of oxygen necessary for us and other animals to breathe, these biogenic VOC’s cannot be controlled effectively. However, the anthropogenic or man-made VOC’s can be controlled through the efforts of humans who contribute to their production.

Many factors impact ground-level ozone development, including temperature, wind speed and direction, time of day, number of vehicles and driving patterns. Due to its dependence on weather conditions, ozone is typically a summertime pollutant and a chief component of summertime smog.

Background Information on The Air Quality Index or AQI

(Adapted from the Air Quality Index Brochure for Kids at

A key tool for communicating outdoor air quality is the Air Quality Index, or AQI. The AQI is an index which reflects daily air quality and triggers an alert if any of six major pollutants are at excessive levels. It tells how clean or polluted the air is, and what health effects can be expected within hours or days after breathing polluted air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and The Georgia Environmental Protection Division use the AQI to provide the public with timely and easy-to-understand information on local air quality and whether air pollution levels pose a health concern. The EPD reports on whichever air pollutant is a problem at the moment. Typically, the AQI reflects ozone levels in the summer months, but depending on weather conditions and the time of day, it may reflect other pollutants. The Ambient Monitoring Program at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD), Air Protection Branch, measures air pollutant levels in metro Atlanta and throughout the state. Twelve monitoring stations in metro Atlanta and nine across the rest of the state are used for these measurements.

Ambient Monitoring Stations in Georgia
(Source: Georgia Environmental Protection Division)

The AQI focuses on five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established national air quality standards to protect against harmful health effects.

The AQI measures from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the concentrations of air pollution and the greater the health danger. For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality and little potential to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

An AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to the national air quality standard for the pollutant, which is the level EPA has set to protect public health. So, AQI values below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy—at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

The AQI Index also uses colors to indicate air quality and health concerns related to air quality. The chart below provides additional information about the AQI. Real time Air Quality Index data for Atlanta can be found at

Index Value / Descriptor / Clean Air Campaign Health Advisory
0 to 50 / Good /
The air quality is good and you can engage in outdoor physical activity without health concerns.
51 to 100 / Moderate /
At this level the air is probably safe for most people. However, some people are unusually sensitive and react to ozone in this range, especially at the higher levels (in the 80s and 90s). People with heart and lung diseases such as asthma, and children, are especially susceptible People in these categories, or people who develop symptoms when they exercise at "yellow" ozone levels, should consider avoiding prolonged outdoor exertion during the late afternoon or early evening when the ozone is at its highest.
101 to 150 / Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups /
In this range the outdoor air is more likely to be unhealthy for more people. Children, people who are sensitive to ozone, and people with heart or lung disease should limit prolonged outdoor exertion during the late afternoon or early evening when ozone levels are highest
151 to 200 / Unhealthy /
In this range even more people will be affected by ozone. Most people should restrict their outdoor exertion to morning or late evening hours when the ozone is low, to avoid high ozone exposures.
201 to 300 / Very
Unhealthy /
In this range even more people will be affected by ozone. Most people should restrict their outdoor exertion to morning or late evening hours when the ozone is low, to avoid high ozone exposures.


Background Information on Ground Level Ozone and Weather

(Adapted from

Ground level ozone formation is influenced by the weather. Meteorologists use a set of criteria from historic meteorological data and ozone measurements to predict a day in advance when ozone levels may become high. The numerical predictions are then assigned a color according to the AQI color code. During smog season, The Clean Air Campaign issues Smog Alerts on days when the ozone level is expected to exceed federal limits based on the previous day’s forecast.

Ground-level ozone is produced when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) chemically react with nitrogen oxides. These reactions are powered by sunlight (and thus don’t occur at night), and are enhanced by high temperatures. For these reasons, production of ozone in Georgia is greatest during the late spring, summer, and early fall when there is an abundance of sunshine and daily temperatures are highest. These reasons also account for the daily rise and fall of ozone levels as the sun moves through its cycle of day and night. Once produced, ozone may accumulate if winds are light or other meteorological factors (such as a temperature inversion) prevent the ozone from spreading through the air. Collectively then, the weather conditions that produce the highest ozone concentrations are sunny, cloud-free skies, warm to hot temperatures, and light and variable winds. Ozone concentrations tend to be lower when skies are cloudy, relative humidity is high, temperatures are relatively cool, or winds are brisk.

Forecasting: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division (EPD), is responsible for the smog alert forecasts every day of the smog season. The EPD has a group of approximately 10 scientists (air quality experts, meteorologists, and research scientists) who meet via the Internet each day of smog season in the early afternoon. This group examines current and recent meteorological data, consults air quality models and considers other factors. They then issue a forecast as to the next day’s ozone levels. The Clean Air Campaign broadcasts the forecasters’ prediction on The Clean Air Campaign website every day from May 1-September 30 for the next day. There are several reasons why ozone forecasts are made for the following day: 1) it allows people who have health conditions which are aggravated by pollution to make changes in their plans 2) it allows the public to make changes in their transportation plans in order to help reduce pollution. For example, people with respiratory problems would want to consider avoiding outdoor exercise. Individuals might also be inclined to carpool; take the bus or another form of mass transit if they knew air quality was predicted to be bad. Real time ozone data is recorded on the following website: Data is available for today, yesterday, two days ago and three days ago.

Glossary for the 8th Grade Ground Level Ozone Unit

The following glossary for this lesson is largely adapted from EPA’s “plain-speaking guide” to important terms in the Clean Air Act.

(Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Georgia EPD at

Attainment area-- A geographic area in which levels of a criteria air pollutant meet the health-based primary standard (national ambient air quality standard, or NAAQS) for the pollutant. An area may have on acceptable level for one criteria air pollutant, but may have unacceptable levels for others. Thus, an area could be both attainment and nonattainment at the same time. Attainment areas are defined using federal pollutant limits set by EPA. The EPA considers metro Atlanta in “Serious” nonattainment.