1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.
2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to
4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.
1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.
2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.
3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!
4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.
Question | Answer |
| 1. Pollutant that results from burning coal; Heavy Metal; Causes central nervous system damage | Mercury (Hg) | 2. Pollutant regulated by the EPA; Results from car emissions/fossil fuels; Deposition may lead to eutrophication | Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) | 3. Acid that forms as a result of sulfur oxides reacting with water; A major component of acid rain | Sulfuric Acid | 4. Greenhouse gas resulting from combustion of old carbon reservoirs; Currently unregulated by the EPA | Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | 5. Class of chemicals banned by the Montreal Protocol; Chlorine atoms released by UV light acts as a catalyst to break down ozone molecules in the stratosphere | CFCs | 6. Greenhouse gas resulting from landfills, animal digestion, and rice farming; High heat trapping potential | Methane (CH4) | 7. Substances get into water from several sources like the mining and process of radioactive minerals such as uranium and thorium; Human health effects include mutations, birth defects, mental retardation, genetic disease, leukemia and cancer | Radioactivity | 8. Includes the following compounds: H2O2, H2SO4, PANs, and O3; Produced via reaction of substances added to the atmosphere with chemicals already present in the atmosphere with sunlight and water | Secondary Pollutants | 9. Dangerous indoor air pollutant; Most serious in developed countries | Tobacco Smoke | 10. A radioactive gas found in some soils and rocks, can seep into some houses and increase the risk of lung cancer | Radon Gas | 11. Specific spots where large amounts of pollution are discharged (factory smokestacks) | Point Source Pollution | 12. Any solid (or liquid) particles small enough to be carried aloft in air, dust, soot, sulfates, nitrates; Results from combustion; Produces smog & haze; Human health-respiratory damage | Particulate Matter | 13. Colorless gas; secondary pollutant from sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, and C-containing chemicals; contributes to smog; harmful to living tissue | Tropospheric Ozone | 14. Excessive amount of suspended soil particles that eventually settle out and accumulate on the bottom of a body of water; Measure-Turbidity | Sediment Pollution | 15. Metal in atmosphere as particles, from gasoline additive, phased out in the 1980s; Pollutes water passing through pipes; Diverse health impacts, including central nervous system damage, still in air in developing countries | Lead | 16. Colorless gas from coal burning for electricity and industry; contributes to acid precipitation; May be controlled by scrubbers | Sulfur Dioxides (SO2) | 17. Smog from fossil fuel combustion; The kind that blanketed London in 1952; "Gray air smog"; Contains soot, sulfur, CO, CO2 | Industrial Smog | 18. Addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus lead to large algal blooms. Microorganisms begin decomposition and deplete dissolved oxygen. This creates hypoxia zones | Eutrophication | 19. Colorless, odorless gas from vehicle exhaust and other sources, dangerous-prevents oxygen uptake | Carbon Monoxide (CO) | 20. Substances that move easily from the liquid to gas state including terpenes and dry cleaning fluids; Pollution concern because they are photochemically reactive and lead to tropospheric ozone | Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) | 21. Results from denitrification of inorganic fertilizers; Greenhouse gas that has high heat trapping capacity and persists in the atmosphere | Nitrogen Dioxide (N2O) | 22. Pollution cannot be traced to a singles site of discharge (atmospheric deposition, agriculture/industrial/residential runoff) | Non-Point Source Pollution | 23. Smog from reaction of sunlight with pollutants; The kind that blankets so many American cities; "Brown air smog"; Contains tropospheric ozone, NO2, VOCs, 100 more...; Hot sunny days in urban areas creates perfect conditions | Photochemical Smog | 24. The only non-anthropogenic greenhouse gas | Water (H2O) | 25. Governs the transportation of hazardous material and wastes | Hazardous Material Transportation Act | 26. A conservation law prohibiting the transportation of illegal captured or prohibited animals across state lines. It was the first federal law protecting wildlife and is still in effect though it has been revised several times. Today the law is primarily used to prevent the importation or spread of potentially dangerous non-native species | Lacey Act | 27. Agreement among 150 nations requiring greenhouse gas emission reduction | Kyoto Protocol | 28. Established primary and secondary air quality standards. Required states to develop implementation plans. Set limits and goals to reduce mobile source air pollution and ambient air quality standards | Clean Air Act | 29. Protects species that are considered to be threatened or endangered. Includes migratory birds and their habitats | Endangered Species Act | 30. Allowed congress to set aside federally owned land for preservation | Wilderness Act | 31. Promotes a national environment free from noise that jeopardizes health and welfare. Establishes research, noise standards and information dissemination | Noise Control Act | 32. Created to protect worker and health. Its main aim was to ensure that employers provide their workers with an environment free from dangers to their safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions | Occupational Safety and Health Act | 33. United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver on federal public lands | Mining Act of 1872 | 34. Banned the production of aerosols and initiated the phase out of all CFCs | Montreal Protocol | 35. The EPA is allowed to set the standards for drinking water quality and oversees all the states, localities and water suppliers who implements these standards | Safe Drinking Water Act | 36. Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction | Clean Water Acts | 37. Requires restoration of abandoned mines | Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act | 38. Established the soil conservation service, which deals with soil erosion problems, carries out soil surveys and does research on soil salinity | Soil Conservation Act | 39. Skin Cancer, Cataracts, Decreased Plant Growth | Effects of Ozone Depletion | 40. Biome where soils are lowest in nutrients | Tropical Rain Forest | 41. Most Populous nations | India and China | 42. Formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight and NOX VOCs & O3 | Photochemical Smog | 43. Inorganic Nitrogen is converted into amino acids & DNA of living organisms Ex: Uptake of Nitrogen in plants | Assimilation | 44. Perfect agricultural soil with equal portions of sand, silt, and clay | Loam | 45. Non-living components of an ecosystem | Abiotic | 46. The number of children a couple must have to replace themselves ~2.1 for developed countries | Replacement Level Fertility | 47. Trade winds weaken & warm surface water moves towards South America=drought in Western Pacific and increased precipitation in Southwestern North America | El Nino (ENSO) | 48. Organic dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms | Humus | 49. 1979 - Near power plant meltdown- loses cooling water- radioactive materials escape into the atmosphere | Three-Mile Island | 50. Represents the largest terrestrial biome- characterized by needle leaf trees and cold dry winters | Taiga | 51. Treeless plains that are the coldest of all biomes | Tundra | 52. Peat, Lignite, Bituminous and Anthracite coal | Coal Formation | 53. Species that serve as early warning signs that an ecosystem is damaged | Indicator species | 54. Vital process required for life to exist on earth- if accelerated, leads to global warming | Greenhouse Effect | 55. The number of individuals that can be sustained in an area | Carrying Capacity | 56. Reproductive strategy in which organisms reproduce late, bear few, cared for offspring ex: elephants | K-strategists | 57. Found in cities that burn large amounts of coal | Industrial Smog | 58. Development of communities in an area previously not inhabited by life Ex: Lava | Primary Succession | 59. Ammonia converted to nitrate ions | Nitrification | 60. Limiting factors in plant growth- does not have a gas phase in its biological cycle | Phosphorus | 61. When energy is changed from one form to another some is always degraded into lower quality energy (usually heat) | 2nd Law of Thermodynamics | 62. Causes Cancer | Carcinogen | 63. Manatee, California Condor, Atlantic Salmon | Endangered Species | 64. CO, CO2, SO2, NO, hydrocarbons, particulates | Primary Air Pollutants | 65. Reproductive strategy in which organisms reproduce early and bear small unprotected offspring | r-strategists | 66. Rapid algae growth caused by an excess of nitrogen and phosphorus | Algal Bloom | 67. Doubling Time 70/% Growth Rate | Rule of 70 | 68. "Human population cannot continue to increase. Consequences will be war, famine, and disease." | Thomas Malthus | 69. Part of the demographic transition model where death rate decreases but birth rates remains high | Transitional Stage | 70. Species in an ecosystem whose role is more important than others | Keystone Species | 71. These occur at plate boundaries | Volcanoes and Earthquakes | 72. Grassland scattered with individual trees and covers almost half the surface of Africa | Savanna | 73. The amount of chemical that kills half the animals in a test population | LD-50 | 74. Chemicals buried in an old canal, school, and homes built over it- led to the Superfund Law | Love Canal | 75. Part of the demographic transition model-decline in birth rate, population growth slows | Industrial Stage |
Pollutant that results from burning coal; Heavy Metal; Causes central nervous system damage&choe=UTF-8
Question 1 (of 75)
Pollutant regulated by the EPA; Results from car emissions/fossil fuels; Deposition may lead to eutrophication&choe=UTF-8
Question 2 (of 75)
Acid that forms as a result of sulfur oxides reacting with water; A major component of acid rain&choe=UTF-8
Question 3 (of 75)
Greenhouse gas resulting from combustion of old carbon reservoirs; Currently unregulated by the EPA&choe=UTF-8
Question 4 (of 75)
Class of chemicals banned by the Montreal Protocol; Chlorine atoms released by UV light acts as a catalyst to break down ozone molecules in the stratosphere&choe=UTF-8
Question 5 (of 75)
Greenhouse gas resulting from landfills, animal digestion, and rice farming; High heat trapping potential&choe=UTF-8
Question 6 (of 75)
Substances get into water from several sources like the mining and process of radioactive minerals such as uranium and thorium; Human health effects include mutations, birth defects, mental retardation, genetic disease, leukemia and cancer&choe=UTF-8
Question 7 (of 75)
Includes the following compounds: H2O2, H2SO4, PANs, and O3; Produced via reaction of substances added to the atmosphere with chemicals already present in the atmosphere with sunlight and water&choe=UTF-8
Question 8 (of 75)
Dangerous indoor air pollutant; Most serious in developed countries&choe=UTF-8
Question 9 (of 75)
A radioactive gas found in some soils and rocks, can seep into some houses and increase the risk of lung cancer&choe=UTF-8
Question 10 (of 75)
Specific spots where large amounts of pollution are discharged (factory smokestacks)&choe=UTF-8
Question 11 (of 75)
Any solid (or liquid) particles small enough to be carried aloft in air, dust, soot, sulfates, nitrates; Results from combustion; Produces smog & haze; Human health-respiratory damage&choe=UTF-8
Question 12 (of 75)
Colorless gas; secondary pollutant from sunlight, heat, nitrogen oxides, and C-containing chemicals; contributes to smog; harmful to living tissue&choe=UTF-8
Question 13 (of 75)
Excessive amount of suspended soil particles that eventually settle out and accumulate on the bottom of a body of water; Measure-Turbidity&choe=UTF-8
Question 14 (of 75)
Metal in atmosphere as particles, from gasoline additive, phased out in the 1980s; Pollutes water passing through pipes; Diverse health impacts, including central nervous system damage, still in air in developing countries&choe=UTF-8
Question 15 (of 75)
Colorless gas from coal burning for electricity and industry; contributes to acid precipitation; May be controlled by scrubbers&choe=UTF-8
Question 16 (of 75)
Smog from fossil fuel combustion; The kind that blanketed London in 1952; "Gray air smog"; Contains soot, sulfur, CO, CO2&choe=UTF-8
Question 17 (of 75)
Addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus lead to large algal blooms. Microorganisms begin decomposition and deplete dissolved oxygen. This creates hypoxia zones&choe=UTF-8
Question 18 (of 75)
Colorless, odorless gas from vehicle exhaust and other sources, dangerous-prevents oxygen uptake&choe=UTF-8
Question 19 (of 75)
Substances that move easily from the liquid to gas state including terpenes and dry cleaning fluids; Pollution concern because they are photochemically reactive and lead to tropospheric ozone&choe=UTF-8
Question 20 (of 75)
Results from denitrification of inorganic fertilizers; Greenhouse gas that has high heat trapping capacity and persists in the atmosphere&choe=UTF-8
Question 21 (of 75)
Pollution cannot be traced to a singles site of discharge (atmospheric deposition, agriculture/industrial/residential runoff)&choe=UTF-8
Question 22 (of 75)
Smog from reaction of sunlight with pollutants; The kind that blankets so many American cities; "Brown air smog"; Contains tropospheric ozone, NO2, VOCs, 100 more...; Hot sunny days in urban areas creates perfect conditions&choe=UTF-8
Question 23 (of 75)
The only non-anthropogenic greenhouse gas&choe=UTF-8
Question 24 (of 75)
Governs the transportation of hazardous material and wastes&choe=UTF-8
Question 25 (of 75)
A conservation law prohibiting the transportation of illegal captured or prohibited animals across state lines. It was the first federal law protecting wildlife and is still in effect though it has been revised several times. Today the law is primarily used to prevent the importation or spread of potentially dangerous non-native species&choe=UTF-8
Question 26 (of 75)
Agreement among 150 nations requiring greenhouse gas emission reduction&choe=UTF-8
Question 27 (of 75)
Established primary and secondary air quality standards. Required states to develop implementation plans. Set limits and goals to reduce mobile source air pollution and ambient air quality standards&choe=UTF-8
Question 28 (of 75)
Protects species that are considered to be threatened or endangered. Includes migratory birds and their habitats&choe=UTF-8
Question 29 (of 75)
Allowed congress to set aside federally owned land for preservation&choe=UTF-8
Question 30 (of 75)
Promotes a national environment free from noise that jeopardizes health and welfare. Establishes research, noise standards and information dissemination&choe=UTF-8
Question 31 (of 75)
Created to protect worker and health. Its main aim was to ensure that employers provide their workers with an environment free from dangers to their safety and health, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions&choe=UTF-8
Question 32 (of 75)
United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver on federal public lands&choe=UTF-8
Question 33 (of 75)
Banned the production of aerosols and initiated the phase out of all CFCs&choe=UTF-8
Question 34 (of 75)
The EPA is allowed to set the standards for drinking water quality and oversees all the states, localities and water suppliers who implements these standards&choe=UTF-8
Question 35 (of 75)
Regulates and enforces all discharge into water sources and wetland destruction/construction&choe=UTF-8
Question 36 (of 75)
Requires restoration of abandoned mines&choe=UTF-8
Question 37 (of 75)
Established the soil conservation service, which deals with soil erosion problems, carries out soil surveys and does research on soil salinity&choe=UTF-8
Question 38 (of 75)
Skin Cancer, Cataracts, Decreased Plant Growth&choe=UTF-8
Question 39 (of 75)
Biome where soils are lowest in nutrients&choe=UTF-8
Question 40 (of 75)
Most Populous nations&choe=UTF-8
Question 41 (of 75)
Formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight and NOX VOCs & O3&choe=UTF-8
Question 42 (of 75)
Inorganic Nitrogen is converted into amino acids & DNA of living organisms Ex: Uptake of Nitrogen in plants&choe=UTF-8
Question 43 (of 75)
Perfect agricultural soil with equal portions of sand, silt, and clay&choe=UTF-8
Question 44 (of 75)
Non-living components of an ecosystem&choe=UTF-8
Question 45 (of 75)
The number of children a couple must have to replace themselves ~2.1 for developed countries&choe=UTF-8
Question 46 (of 75)
Trade winds weaken & warm surface water moves towards South America=drought in Western Pacific and increased precipitation in Southwestern North America&choe=UTF-8
Question 47 (of 75)
Organic dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms&choe=UTF-8
Question 48 (of 75)
1979 - Near power plant meltdown- loses cooling water- radioactive materials escape into the atmosphere&choe=UTF-8
Question 49 (of 75)
Represents the largest terrestrial biome- characterized by needle leaf trees and cold dry winters&choe=UTF-8
Question 50 (of 75)
Treeless plains that are the coldest of all biomes&choe=UTF-8
Question 51 (of 75)
Peat, Lignite, Bituminous and Anthracite coal&choe=UTF-8
Question 52 (of 75)
Species that serve as early warning signs that an ecosystem is damaged&choe=UTF-8
Question 53 (of 75)
Vital process required for life to exist on earth- if accelerated, leads to global warming&choe=UTF-8
Question 54 (of 75)
The number of individuals that can be sustained in an area&choe=UTF-8
Question 55 (of 75)
Reproductive strategy in which organisms reproduce late, bear few, cared for offspring ex: elephants&choe=UTF-8
Question 56 (of 75)
Found in cities that burn large amounts of coal&choe=UTF-8
Question 57 (of 75)
Development of communities in an area previously not inhabited by life Ex: Lava&choe=UTF-8
Question 58 (of 75)
Ammonia converted to nitrate ions&choe=UTF-8
Question 59 (of 75)
Limiting factors in plant growth- does not have a gas phase in its biological cycle&choe=UTF-8
Question 60 (of 75)
When energy is changed from one form to another some is always degraded into lower quality energy (usually heat)&choe=UTF-8
Question 61 (of 75)
Causes Cancer&choe=UTF-8
Question 62 (of 75)
Manatee, California Condor, Atlantic Salmon&choe=UTF-8
Question 63 (of 75)
CO, CO2, SO2, NO, hydrocarbons, particulates&choe=UTF-8
Question 64 (of 75)
Reproductive strategy in which organisms reproduce early and bear small unprotected offspring&choe=UTF-8
Question 65 (of 75)
Rapid algae growth caused by an excess of nitrogen and phosphorus&choe=UTF-8
Question 66 (of 75)
Doubling Time 70/% Growth Rate&choe=UTF-8
Question 67 (of 75)
"Human population cannot continue to increase. Consequences will be war, famine, and disease."&choe=UTF-8
Question 68 (of 75)
Part of the demographic transition model where death rate decreases but birth rates remains high&choe=UTF-8
Question 69 (of 75)
Species in an ecosystem whose role is more important than others&choe=UTF-8
Question 70 (of 75)
These occur at plate boundaries&choe=UTF-8
Question 71 (of 75)
Grassland scattered with individual trees and covers almost half the surface of Africa&choe=UTF-8
Question 72 (of 75)
The amount of chemical that kills half the animals in a test population&choe=UTF-8
Question 73 (of 75)
Chemicals buried in an old canal, school, and homes built over it- led to the Superfund Law&choe=UTF-8
Question 74 (of 75)
Part of the demographic transition model-decline in birth rate, population growth slows&choe=UTF-8
Question 75 (of 75)
