A2 Engineering Geology

Question 1

Overbreak

Answer 1

when too much rock is extracted.

Question 2

Underbreak

Answer 2

when too little rock is extracted.

Question 3

Reservoirs

Answer 3

bodies of water behind a dam wall.

Question 4

Dams

Answer 4

structures that hold back water.

Question 5

Inert

Answer 5

substances are chemically inactive.

Question 6

Bioavailability

Answer 6

the proportion of total metals that are available for incorporation into biota (bioaccumulation). It will vary with pH.

Question 7

Bioaccumulation

Answer 7

occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost by catabolism and excretion. The substance becomes concentrated in the organism.

Question 8

lon exchange

Answer 8

an exchange of ions between two electrolytes or between an electrolyte solution and a complex. It is used to describe the process of purification or decontamination of ion-containing solutions.

Question 9

Adsorption

Answer 9

the process by which particles, such as heavy metal ions, become attached, semi- permanently, to the surface of a clay mineral.

Question 10

Isomorphous substitution

Answer 10

the replacement of one atom by another of similar size in a crystal lattice during crystal growth without changing the crystal structure. It takes place only between ions differing by less than about 10% to 15% in ionic radii.