Chap 2: Environmental Systems Flashcards
Define
Matter
Anything that occupies space and has mass
Define
Mass
A measurement of the amount of matter an object contains
Define
Atom
The smallest particle that can contain the chemical properties of an element
Define
Element
A substance composed of atoms that cannot be broken down into smaller simpler components
Define
Molecule
A particle that contains more than one atom
Define
Compound
a molecule containing more than one element
Define
Hydrogen Bond
a weak chemical bond that forms when hydrogen atoms that are covalently bonded to one atom are attracted to another atom on another molecule
Define
Polar Molecule
A molecule in which one side is more positive and the other side is more negative
Hydrogen bounding makes water molecules stick strongly to one another in an action known as ____.
Hydrogen bonding also makes water molecules stick strongly to certain other substances, an action known as ____.
- cohesion
- adhesion
Name 4 characteristic properties of water that make life on earth possible.
Surface tension
Capillary Action
Boiling and freezing point
Solvent (including capacity to dissolve acid and base)
Structure
Hydrogen bonds makes it possible for water molecule to cohere with one another. Explain why this property make life on Earth (as we know it) possible.
Hydrogen bonds give water it’s characteristic boiling and freezing point. Because of cohesion, water can be a solid, a gas and, more importantly, a liquid at Earth’s surface temperatures.
THe hydrogen bonding between water molecules means that it takes a great deal of energy to change the temerature of water. Theus the water in organisms protects them from wide temperature swings.
Hydrogen bonding also explains why geographic areas near large lakes or oceans have moderate climates.
Liquid water is denser than solid water (ice). Why does it matter for life on Earth (as we know it).
Water occupy a larger volume in it’s solid form, and is therefore less dense, that water in it’s liquid form.
Because ice water is less dense that liquid water, it floats.
If ice was denser than liquid water, lake and ponds would freeze from the bottom up!
Define
Surface Tension
A property of water that results from the cohesion of water molecules at the surface of a body of water and that creates a sort of skin on the water’s surface.
Surface tension also makes water droplets smooth and more or less spherical.
Define
Capillary Action
A property of water that occurs when adhesion of water molecules to a surface is stronger than cohesion between molecules.
The absorption of water by a paper towel or a spnge is the result of capillary action.
This property allows the transport of water up tree trunks and allows for the upward movement of water through soil.
Define
Acid
When an acid is dissolved in water, it realease an hydrogen (H+).
Define
Base
a substance that contributes hydroxide ions (OH-) to a solution.
ex: Household bleach (pH 12) and Seawater (pH 8).
Define
pH
The number that indicates the relative strength of acids and bases in a substance
Define
Ocean acidification
An increase in the acidity of the oceans caused primarly by the uptake of carbone dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
The pH of ranges for 0-14
A pH value of 7 is ___
A pH above 7 is ___
A pH below 7 is ___
neutral
basic
acidic
Law of conservation of matter
A law of nature stating that matter cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change form
Inorganic compounds
Counpounds that do not contain carbon or do caontain carbon, but only carbon bound to elements other that hydrogen.
ex: NH3
NaCl
H2O
CO2
Organic compounds
Compounds that have carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds.
Name the 4 groups of biological macromolecules
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Lipids (fats)
- Nucleic Acid (DNA, RNA)
Energy is the ability to…
…do work or transfer heat.
Joule
The amount of energy used when 1 watt electrical device is turn on for 1 second.
Power
The rate at which work is done
Power = Energy/Time
What is the name of the measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance?
Temperature
Name 4 different form of energy
Electromagnetic radiation
Kinetic energy
Potential energy
Chemical energy
First law of thermodynamics
Energy is neither created or destroyed but can be converted form one form to another.
Second law of thermodynamics
When energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but it’s ability to do work diminishes.
or
Whenever one form of evergy is transformed into another, some of that energy is converted into a less usable form of energy, such as heat.
Energy efficiency
The ratio of the amount of energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system.
Energy quality
The ease with which an energy source can be used for work
entropy
randomness in a system
All systems move towards randomness rather than towards order.
Open system
A system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries.
Closed system
A system in which matter and energy excanges do not occur across system boundaries
Input
An addition to a system
Ex: at mono lake, input of the systems are water and salt.
Output
A loss from a system
Ex: At Mono Lake, outputs are water that evaporates from the lake and brine srimp removed by migratory birds.
System analysis
An analysis to determine inputs, outputs, and changes in a system under various conditions.
Steady state
A state in which inputs equal outputs so that the system is not changing over time.
This type of information is use to determine if a valuable resource or a harmful pollutant is increasing, decreasing or staying the same.
One part of a system can be in steady state while another is not. For exemple, the MOno Lake system was in steady state with respect to water but not with respect to salt. The inflow of water equaled the rate of water evaporation but salt was slowly accumulating, as it does in all terminal lakes.
Negative feedback loop
A feedback loop in which a system responds to change by returning to it’s original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occuring.
ex: Mono Lake: when the water level dorps, the lake surface area is reduced and evaporation decreases. As a result of the decrease in evaporation, the lake level rises again.
Positive feedback loop
A feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified.
Ex: As members of a species reproduce, the create more offspring that will be able to reproduce in turn, creating a cycle that increases the population size.
A terminal lake like Mono Lake is an example of
a) a closed system
b)an open system with only inputs
c)an open system with only outputs
d)an open system with both inputs and outputs.
d)
Even at remote Mono Lake, water flows in and birds fly to and from the lake.
The concept of energy efficiency is used to quantify
a) the first law of thermodynamics
b )the second law of thermodynamics
c) conservation of matter
d) energy quality
b) The second law of thermodynamics.
Every time there is a conversion of energy from one form to another, some of that energy will be lost as heat.
Energy efficiency is the ratio of the amount of energy in the desired form to the total amount of evergy that is introduced into the system.
The process of turning coal into electricity is 35% efficient, the rest of the energy for the coal (65%) is lost as waste heat.
