Question

What is the difference between
(i) Pollutant and contaminant
(ii) smoke and somg
(iii) air and water pollution?

Answer 1

(i)

Pollutant	Contaminant
Undesirable substances that cause adverse changes in the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of the environment.	A minor undesirable substance present in other substances, environment, etc.
Pollutants might not show their effect immediately.	Contaminants show their effect immediately.
All pollutants are not contaminants.	All contaminants are pollutants.

(ii)

Smoke	Smog
It consists of gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and carbon particles which are released by motor vehicles or factories.	It is the combination of smoke and fog.

(iii)

Air Pollution	Water Pollution
It is the degradation in the quality of air by the presence of pollutants like harmful gases, dust, etc. in the air.	It is the degradation in the quality of water by pollutants like sewage, dissolved salts, etc. in the water.