ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY Flashcards
What does N.I.M.B.Y. mean?
Not In My BackYard
What is DDT
A Pestacide that people used to use
What is a pest?
a destructive insect or other animal that attacks crops, food, livestock, etc.
What is the difference between toxic and poisonous?
Poisons are substances that cause harm to organisms when sufficient quantities are absorbed, inhaled, or ingested. A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms. This sign is used to indicate the presence of poisons.
What is a pH scale?
A scale to measure the amount of pH in the substance.
Which human activity is the major cause of acid precipitation?
Exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses.
What is the difference between pollutants and pollution?
Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants.
What are the effects of raising the water temperature in an ecosystem?
This tends to lead to lower levels of dissolved oxygen in water, hence more stress on the fish, insects, crustaceans and other aquatic animals that rely on oxygen, and potentially causing increases in harmful algae blooms.
What does LD50 mean?
The amount of a chemical that is lethal to one-half (50%) of the experimental animals exposed to it
What are the first couple steps of water treatment in Calgary?
Pre-treatment uses a process known as “flocculation” to capture and remove sediment, debris and micro-organisms from the raw water supply.
What are the Dietary Sources of Nutrients?
Carbohydrates, Proteins and Lipids
What are Lipids role in nutrition?
Storage of unused chemical energy
What are the four most common elements in the human body?
Oxygen (65%), Carbon(18%), Hydrogen(10%) and Nitrogen(3%)
What chemical do we add to the water supply to help with dental costs?
Fluoride
What cause’s Goitre’s?
An Iodine deficiency
What vitamin helps form the connective tissue that holds human’s skin, muscles, blood vessels and other body structures together?
Vitamin C
What guide recommends your daily intake of nutrients?
The Health Canada Food Guide
Where do humans get their source of Nitrogen?
From eating plants
What do the three different numbers on fertilizer represent?
Percentages of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
What is Kwashiorkor?
A childhood disease associated with a low protein diet
Describe the function that the mineral Phosphorus has in our bodies?
Promotes proper bone formation, regulates metabolism, forms compounds that store and release energy
Describe the function that the mineral Potassium has in our bodies?
Helps regulate nerve signals and muscle activity, involved in protein formation, required to regulate the acid/base balance
Describe the function that the mineral Iodine has in our bodies?
Major component of thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism
Describe the function that the mineral Cobalt has in our bodies?
Component of Vitamin B12, which helps regulate red blood cells