Which statement best describes nitrogen oxides health effects?

Which statement best describes nitrogen oxides health effects?

• A. Improve air quality and crop yields
• B. Inhibit plant growth, aggravate asthma, production of photochemical smog and acid deposition
• C. Have no health impacts
• D. Dissolve in rain without effect

Answer: (B)

Nitrogen oxides are pollutants produced by burning fossil fuels, and they have real health and environmental effects. They irritate the airways and can trigger or worsen asthma, causing coughing and reduced lung function, especially in children and people with respiratory conditions. They also drive environmental problems: in sunlight they help form ground-level ozone, a key part of photochemical smog, and they contribute to acid deposition through nitric acid, which lowers the pH of soils and water and can damage plants and aquatic life. The description that links these outcomes—hindering plant growth, aggravating asthma, and contributing to smog and acid rain—best captures the actual impacts of nitrogen oxides. The other statements either imply benefits, claim no effects, or misstate their behavior in rain.

Nitrogen oxides are pollutants produced by burning fossil fuels, and they have real health and environmental effects. They irritate the airways and can trigger or worsen asthma, causing coughing and reduced lung function, especially in children and people with respiratory conditions. They also drive environmental problems: in sunlight they help form ground-level ozone, a key part of photochemical smog, and they contribute to acid deposition through nitric acid, which lowers the pH of soils and water and can damage plants and aquatic life. The description that links these outcomes—hindering plant growth, aggravating asthma, and contributing to smog and acid rain—best captures the actual impacts of nitrogen oxides. The other statements either imply benefits, claim no effects, or misstate their behavior in rain.