Human And Social Biology

School -Based Assessment

Theme: The Environment.

Topic: The Effects of Air Pollution in the Environment.

Candidate Name: D-Jhonaye Meredith

Candidate Number:
Centre Name:
Centre Number:

Examination Period: 2022

Territory : Jamaica

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Page

Introduction 3
Statement of Problem 4
Research Objectives 5
Methodology 6
Presentation of Data 7
Analysis of Data 9
Conclusion 10
Recommendation 11
Reflection 12
Appendices 13
Bibliography 15

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 INTRODUCTION

Air pollution may be defined at the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the
atmosphere which is very harmful to the health of human beings, other living things and the
plant on a whole. There are various types of air pollution such as: particles, gases and biological
molecules. Exchange is a very popular community within the parish of St. Ann and is home to a
little over 1000 residents. As a regular commuter through the community of exchange, the
researcher realize that air pollution is seriously affecting the health and wellness of residents of
that community. Based on such observation, the researcher decided to conduct a research on the
effects of air pollution within the exchange community with an effect to provide possible
situations to this serious environmental issue.

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 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
What are the effects of air pollution on the community of Exchange?

4
 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 The main research objectives of this project are to:

 To discover the causes of air pollution in the community of Exchange
 To assess the effects of air pollution on the community of Exchange
 To provide possible solutions to combat the effects of air pollution within the community.

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 METHODOLOGY

For this project, the researcher has chosen the survey method of investigation. The tool for data
collection selected under this method is a questionnaire. A questionnaire is a set of printed or
written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical
study. The researcher decided to employ the use of a questionnaire because it is inexpensive,
could be easily understood by the respondents, and could be easily analyzed by the researcher.
The surveys were sent out via WhatsApp and administered using Google Forms. This
was done to safeguard the researcher's and respondents' safety in the face of the COVID-19
outbreak. It took respondents 24 hours to complete the questionnaire and the researcher did not
have any limitations outside of COVID-19 restrictions which led to the electronic distribution of
the questionnaires.

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 Presentation Of Data

What are the main causes of air pollution in the

community?
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Burning of garbage Agriculture (slash and Improper Disposal of Deforestation
burn) waste

Figure 1: Bar graph showing responses to question 5 “What are the main causes of air pollution
in the community?” 12% of the participants chose burning of garbage , 5% chose
Agriculture(slash and burn) 0.4% chose improper disposal of waste and 2.6% chose
deforestation.
According to the NASA/JPL-Caltech, the main cause of air pollution is caused by solid and
liquid particles and certain gases that are suspended in the air. These particles and gases can com
from car and truck exhaust, factories , dust pollen and volcanoes.

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 How does air pollution affect the
exchange community?

Increasing the risk of air - borne

diseases
25%
Negative effect on wildlife
50%
Affects vegetation
10%
15% Climate Change

Figure 2: Pie chart showing the responses to question 6 “How does air pollution affect the
exchange community?”

Things that family members do to combat air

pollution in their area
45
40
40
35
30
30
25
20
20
15
10
10
5
0
Car Pooling Stop Smoking Recycling Dispose waste at landfill
sites

Figure 3: Bar graph showing the responses to question 10 “What are some things that you or the
members of your family do to combat air pollution in your area?”

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 Analysis Of Data
The researcher discovered that the level of air pollution within the Exchange community was
high. This showed that others who participated in the survey made similar observations to that
of the researcher.
There were dichotomous questions asked in the questionnaire to help gather more
information but it was mostly about the things that cause the air pollution and how does it affect
them. 12% of participants voted that the burning of garbage is one of the main causes of air
pollution in their community and 10% voted that air pollution in their community increase the
risk of air-borne diseases. Within the 24 hours that the survey was sent out to be completed the
researcher noticed that family members helped to reduce to air pollution by disposing of waste at
landfill sites which was the main one.
While 5% of the participants voted that climate change was the 2nd main thing contribution
towards air pollution in the community 4% voted that car pooling for families helped to reduce
air pollution and 6% for family members to stop smoking. The researcher was shocked to see
that the burning of garbage was the main cause of air pollution in the Exchange community
because they felt as if enough wasn't being done. Residents complained that National Solid
Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) can come around more to collect and properly dispose
or have people walk around and pick up the garbage so that they don't have to burn them.

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 Conclusion
Air pollution is a serious issue that continues to prevail within the Exchange community. It has
had adverse effects on both the physical environment and the community members, primarily
through health issues for community members and contamination of groundwater.

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 Recommendations

 Recycle and Reuse.

 Stop smoking
 Dispose garbage properly

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 Reflection
This SBA process has been strenuous but I learnt a lot from it.
Lessons learnt after undertaking this project are that air pollution is a big issue , more than I even
thought this process also taught me that smoking and not recycling are some of the main causes
of air pollution. Less smoking and recycling and reusing could help to reduce air pollution. After
this research I could help a lot of people about air pollution , the causes that come with it air
pollution and how they could prevent it.

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 Appendices
1. What is your gender?
( ) Male ( ) Female

2. How would you rate the level of air pollution in your area?

( ) Low ( ) Medium ( ) High

3. Do you observed others smoking in your community?

( ) Yes ( ) No

4. How often is garbage collected in the Exchange community?

( ) 6 – 7 days a week ( ) 4 – 6 days a week

( ) 2 – 3 days a week ( ) garbage not collected at all

5. What are the main causes of air pollution in the community?

( ) Burning of garbage ( ) Improper Disposal of waste

( ) Agriculture (slash and burn) ( ) Deforestation

6. How does air pollution affects the exchange community?

( ) Increasing the risk of air – borne diseases

( ) Negative effect on wild life
( ) Affects vegetation
( ) Climate change

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 7. Do you or any of the members of your family have any of the following health
conditions?

( ) Allergies ( ) Lung disease

( ) Asthma ( ) Other

8. Do you believe that air pollution is a major issue in your community?

( ) Yes
( ) No
9. Do the members of the Exchange community have an annual or bi clean up?

( ) Yes
( ) No

10. What are some things that you or members of your family do to combat air pollution in
your area?

( ) Carpooling ( ) Recycling
( ) Stop smoking ( ) Dispose waste at landfill sites

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 Bibliography
 Morris, A. A. (2015). Human & Social Biology for Csec (UK ed.). Pearson Education
Limited.

 Tindale, A., & deSouza, S. (2018). Human and Social Biology - a Concise Revision
Course for CSEC (R). Collins

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