Chapter 12 and 13 Flashcards
When harmful substances build up in the air to unhealthy levels, the result is _______ .
air pollution
Most air pollution is the result of _______ activities, but pollution can also come from natural sources.
human
A pollutant that is put directly into the air by human activity is called a _______ pollutant.
primary
_______ pollutants form when primary pollutants react with other primary pollutants, or with naturally occurring substances such as water vapor.
secondary
Ground level _______ is an example of a secondary pollutant.
ozone
Primary air pollutants include _______ , _______ , _______ dioxide , volatile _______ compounds , and _______ matter.
carbon monoxide nitrogen oxide sulfur dioxide volatile organic compounds particulate matter
Air pollution is _______ a new phenomena.
not
The world air-quality problem is much worse today because modern industrial societies burn a large amount of _______ fuels.
fossil
Almost _______ of air pollution comes from gasoline burned by vehicles.
one third
The EPA estimates that cars and trucks today burn fuel _______ % more efficiently and with _______ % fewer emissions than they did 30 years ago.
35
95
ZEVs have _______ tailpipe emissions.
no
_______ powered vehicles are the only ZEVs at this time.
battery-
Hybrid and methanol fuel cell vehicles are the only _______ ZEVs at this time.
partial
_______ stands for volatile organic compounds.
VOC
A _______ is a machine that moves gases through a spray of water that dissolves many pollutants.
scrubber
Electrostatic precipitators are machines that remove _______ particles from smokestacks.
dust
_______ can be defined as smoke mixing with fog.
smog
Sometimes, pollution is trapped near the ground due to a temperature _______ .
inversion
A temperature inversion occurs when the air higher up in the atmosphere is _______ than the air at or near the surface of the Earth.
warmer
There are both _______ term and _______ term effects of air pollution.
short-
long-
Air pollution can also occur _______ of buildings.
inside
Buildings that have very poor air quality are said to have a condition known as _______ -_______ syndrome.
sick-building
_______ gas and _______ are carcinogens that may be present in some buildings.
Radon
asbestos
Unwanted sound is _______ pollution, and can damage our hearing by destroying cells in our ears.
noise
The intensity of sound is measured in _______ , which is abbreviated dB.
decibels
What are 3 sources of light pollution in a city? _______ , _______ , and _______ .
billboards/ other signs lit from below
the lighting of building exteriors
poor-quality street lights
_______ precipitation is precipitation such as rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids.
acid
When fossil fuels are burned, they release oxides of _______ and _______ . When the oxides combine with water in the atmosphere, they form sulfuric acid and
nitric acid, which fall as acid precipitation.
sulfur
nitrogen
Acid precipitation can _______ living things, and can result in the decline or loss of some local animal and plant populations.
kill
A pH (power of hydrogen) number is a measure of how _______ or _______ a substance is.
acidic
basic
The lower the pH number is, the more _______ a substance is; the higher a pH number is, the more _______ a substance is.
acidic
basic
Pure water has a pH of 7_______ . Normal precipitation is slightly acidic, because atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves into the precipitation and forms carbonic acid.
7.0
Acid precipitation can cause a drop in the pH of soil and water. This increase in the concentration of acid is called _______ . Increased acidity causes aluminum and other toxic metals to be released and possibly absorbed by the roots of plants.
acidification
Aquatic animals are _______ to live in an environment with a particular pH range.
adapted
Some of the world’s most important monuments are being dissolved by acid precipitation. These monuments include the _______ in Greece, the _______ in India, ancient temples and pyramids in _______ and in the rain forests of _______ America, and the _______ Memorial in Washington, DC.
Acropolis Taj Mahal Egypt Central America Lincoln
One problem in controlling acid precipitation is that pollutants may be released in one area and fall to the ground _______ of kilometers away.
hundreds
Almost half of the acid precipitation that falls in southeastern Canada results from pollution produced in the northeastern _______ .
United States
Acid precipitation is an _______ problem.
international
_______ is the state of the atmosphere at a particular place at a particular moment.
weather
_______ is the long-term prevailing weather conditions at a particular place based upon records taken.
climate
Climate is determined by a variety of factors. These factors include _______ , _______ , _______ , the local geography of an area, solar activity, and _______ activity.
latitude
atmospheric circulation patterns
oceanic circulation patterns
volcanic
The most important of these factors is _______ from the _______ .
distance
equator
Latitude influences climate because the amount of _______ energy an area of Earth receives depends on its latitude.
solar
More solar energy falls on areas that are near the equator than on areas that are _______ .
closer to the poles
Three important properties of air illustrate how air circulation affects climate. First, _______ air sinks because it is denser than _______ air. As cold air sinks, it _______ and _______ . Second, warm air _______ . It _______ and _______ at it rises. Third, warm air can hold more _______ than cold air can. Therefore, when warm air cools, the water vapor it contains may condense into liquid water to form rain, snow, or fog.
cold warm compresses warms rises expands cools water vapor
Winds that blow predominantly in one direction throughout the year are called _______ winds.
prevailing
These winds are deflected to the right in the _______ Hemisphere. They are deflected to the left in the _______ Hemisphere.
Northern
Southern
Belts of prevailing winds blow most of the time in both hemispheres between 30° north and south latitudes and the equator. These belts of wind are called the _______ winds.
trade
Prevailing winds known as the _______ are produced between 30° and 60° north latitudes and 30°and 60° south latitudes.
westerlies
Ocean currents have a great effect on climate because water holds large amounts of _______ .
heat
El Niño is the name given to the short-term (generally 6- to 18-month), periodic change in the location of _______ and _______ water masses in the Pacific Ocean.
warm
cold
During an _______ , winds in the western Pacific Ocean, which are usually weak, strengthen and push warm water eastward. Rainfall follows this warm water eastward and produces increased rainfall in the southern half of the United States and in equatorial South America. El Niño causes drought in Indonesia and Australia.
El Niño
During _______ , on the other hand, the water in the eastern Pacific Ocean is cooler than usual.
La Niña
El Niño and La Niña are _______ phases of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. El Niño is the warm phase of the cycle, and La Niña is the cold phase.
opposite
The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is a long-term, _______ - to _______ - year change in the location of warm and cold water masses in the Pacific Ocean. PDO influences the climate in the northern Pacific Ocean and North America. It affects ocean surface temperatures, air temperatures, and precipitation patterns.
20
30
_______ and _______ ranges also influence the distribution of precipitation.
mountains
mountain
Both the _______ and _______ influence Earth’s climate. At a solar maximum, shown in Figure 8, the sun emits an increased amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation produces more ozone, warming the stratosphere. The increased radiation can also warm the lower atmosphere and surface of the Earth a little.
sun
volcanic eruptions
In large-scale volcanic eruptions, _______ dioxide gas can reach the upper atmosphere. The sulfur dioxide gas reacts with smaller amounts of water vapor and dust in the stratosphere. This reaction forms a bright layer of haze that reflects enough sunlight to cause the global temperature to decrease.
sulfur
The seasons result from the tilt of Earth’s axis (about _______ ° relative to the plane of its orbit).
23.5
Because of this tilt, the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the Earth _______ as the Earth moves around the sun.
changes
The ozone layer is an area in the _______ where ozone is highly concentrated.
stratosphere
Ozone is a molecule made of _______ oxygen atoms.
three
At the Earth’s surface, _______ are chemically stable.
CFCs
CFC molecules break apart high in the stratosphere, where UV radiation, a powerful energy source, is absorbed. Once CFC molecules break apart, parts of the CFC molecules _______ protective ozone.
destroy
Scientists have estimated that a single chlorine atom from CFC can destroy _______ ozone molecules.
100,000
As the amount of ozone in the stratosphere decreases, _______ ultraviolet light is able to pass through the atmosphere and reach Earth’s surface.
more
Many scientists think that because greenhouse gases trap heat near the Earth’s surface, more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will result in an _______ in global temperature.
increase
The average temperature at Earth’s surface _______ during the twentieth century. Because the temperature is rising at a similar rate to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, many scientists have hypothesized that the increase in greenhouse gases has caused the increase in temperature.
increased
_______ of experiments and computer models support this hypothesis.
thousands
It is not possible to rule out _______ climatic variability. For example, we know that fluctuations in temperatures on Earth occur naturally over the centuries.
natural
In 1997, representatives from 160 countries met and set timetables for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. These timetables will go into effect when a treaty called the _______ Protocol is ratified by 55 percent of the attending nations.
Kyoto
The Kyoto Protocol requires developed countries to decrease emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by an average of 5 percent below their 1990 levels by 2012. In March of 2001, the United States decided _______ to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Most developed nations are going ahead with the treaty.
not
The attempt to slow global warming is made difficult by the _______ , _______ , and _______ factors faced by different countries. _______ has already arisen between developed and developing countries over future CO2 emissions.
economic
political
social
conflict
