Ch. 14 Vocab Flashcards
Sulfur Oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere - where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid - and return to Earth’s surface
Acid Deposition
Conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog
Acid Precipitation
Solar energy systems that collect energy through the use of physical devices like photo-voltaic cells or flat-plate collectors
Active Solar Energy Systems
Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level than occurs in average air
Air Pollution
Power supplied by people or animals
Animate Power
Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
The number of species within a specific habitat
Biodiversity
Fuel that derives from plant material and animal waste
Biomass Fuel
A nuclear power plant that creates its own fuel from plutonium
Breeder Reactor
A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers
Chlorofluorocarbons
The sustainable use and management of a natural resource through consuming it at a less rapid rate than it can be replaced
Conservation
Metals, including iron , that are utilized in the production of iron and steel
Ferrous
The splitting of an atomic nucleus to release energy
Fission
Energy source formed from the residue of plants and animals buried millions of years ago
Fossil fuel
Creation of energy by joining the nuclei of two hydrogen atoms to form helium
Fusion
Energy from steam or hot water produced from hot or molten underground rocks
Geothermal Energy
Anticipated increase in Earth’s temperature caused by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface
Greenhouse Effect
Power generated from moving water
Hydroelectric Power
Power supplied by machines
Inanimate Power
Metals utilized to make products other than iron and steel
Nonferrous
A source of energy that is a finite supply capable of being exhausted
Nonrenewable Energy
A gas that absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation, found int he stratosphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9-30 miles) above Earth’s surface
Ozone
Solar energy systems that collect energy without the use of mechanical devices
Passive Solar Energy Systems
An atmospheric condition formed through a combination of weather conditions and pollution, especially from motor vehicle emissions
Photochemical Smog
Solar energy cells, usually made from silicon, that collect solar rays to generate electricity
Photovoltaic Cells
Addition of more waste than a resource can accommodate
Pollution
The amount of a resource in deposits not yet identified but thought to exist
Potential Reserve
Maintenance of a resource in its present condition with as little human impact as possible
Preservation
The amount of a resource remaining in discovered deposits
Proven Resource
Materials from a nuclear reaction that emit radiation; contact with such particles may be harmful or lethal to people; therefore, the Materials must be safely stored for thousands of years
Radioactive Waste
The separation, collection, processing, marketing, and reuse of unwanted material
Recycling
A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans
Renewable Energy
A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use
Resource
A place to deposit solid waste, where a layer of earth is bulldozed over garbage each day to reduce emissions of gases and odors from the decaying trash, to minimize fires, and to discourage vermin
Sanitary Landfill
The level of development that can be maintained in a country without depleting resources tot he extent that future generations will be unable to achieve a comparable level of development
Sustainable Development
