Final Exam Flashcards
The element that constitutes the highest percentage of mass in the Earth’s crust is
Iron
Differentiate between transform, divergent and convergent plate boundaries
Transform- plates slide Divergent- plates move away from each other Convergent- plates moves towards each other
Which type of soil has the smallest particle? The largest?
Clay, smallest. Sand, largest.
The most common element found in the earth is
Oxygen
Volcanic activity is mostly caused by the motion of
plate tectonics
What is the zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions called?
ring of fire
The addition of oxygen to the early earth’s atmosphere most likely occurred through the process of
photosynthesis
What is continental drift?
When plates move away from each other
What is the process that makes soil less productive because it increases the salt content?
Soil salinization
Which zone of the atmosphere is where weather occurs?
Troposphere
List the five most abundant gases of the lower atmosphere in descending order.
Nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon, water vapor
What is the pH of normal rainfall?
5.6
Acid precipitation, leaching out the metal _____, causes fish and other aquatic organisms to die from acid shock.
aluminum
The ozone layer exits primarily in what section of the atmosphere?
Stratosphere
What types of surfaces have low albedo?
Dark
What direction do jet streams primarily travel?
West to East
Which two gases were most common in the earth’s earliest atmosphere?
Hydrogen and helium
List the order of the atmospheric layers.
Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, exosphere
What is the difference between point and non-point source pollution? Give examples of each.
Point: origin is known and singular - pollution from a certain factory. Non point -the origins come from many different places and isn’t traced back to one source - fertilizer runoff
What molecule is the most damaging to stratospheric ozone?
Chlorine
Why is ozone in the stratosphere so important?
The ozone layer is important because it absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, preventing most of it from reaching the earth’s surface
How do we know the composition of the atmosphere from thousands of years ago?
Gas bubbles trapped in ice tell what composition of the atmosphere was from thousands of years ago.
List several ways to reduce domestic water use.
Fix leaks, take shorter showers, turn off water while brushing your teeth.
The release of chemicals from underground storage tanks is most likely to pollute which water source?
Groundwater
What is the hydrosphere?
All the waters on the earth’s surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth’s surface, such as clouds.
Which part of the hydrologic cycle requires the input of solar energy?
Evaporation
What is the number one use of freshwater?
Irrigation
What is brackish water?
Salt and freshwater mixed together
How much of the earth’s surface is covered by water?
71%
Which irrigation method currently conserves the most water?
Drip irrigation
What substances will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lakes and bays?
Fertilizers, phosphorus, nitrogen
List the correct order of processing sanitary waste in sewage treatment plants.
Primary Treatment: solid separation, Secondary: biological treatment of wastewater, Tertiary: chlorination
What do most industries use water for?
Cooling for electricity production
What is the most domestic use of water in the United States?
Flushing toliets
What country would represent a large per capita water use?
United States
Which zone of a river will have the lowest level of dissolved oxygen due to sewage being dumped in it?
Floodplain
What may occur if wastewater treatment plant effluent that contains nitrates and phosphates is allowed to flow into a body of water?
Eutrophication
What is the zone of saturation?
Phreatic Zone
What is an effective alternative to chlorine for disinfecting wastewater in municipal treatment plants?
Ozone
What are examples of units of energy?
BTU, kwh
Where is a site of a hazardous chemical dumping ground over which homes and a school were built?
Love Canal
Which country currently ranks number one in both coal reserves and use of coal as an energy source?
China
What is the largest type of domestic solid waste in the United States?
Paper
Where is the site of the most serious commercial nuclear accident in the United States?
Three Mile Island
What is the most common method of disposing of municipal solid wastes in the United States?
Landfills
What is the location of the worst nuclear power plant accident in history?
Chernobyl
What is cogeneration?
Production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel source
What energy source supplies the most commercial energy in the world today?
Oil
What type of pollution, if any, do nuclear power plants produce?
No air pollution
What do nuclear reactors use to slow down the passage of neutrons in the reactor core?
Control rods
What fuel contains the greatest amount of sulfur?
Coal
What is salinization (include most common cause)?
Gradual accumulation of salts in upper soil layers that can stunt crop growth, lower crop yields, and can eventually kill plants and ruin the land; usually caused by inefficient irrigation
What is a secondary outbreak?
A rapid increase in the population of a pest that was the prey of a target pest following the application of a pesticide to kill the target pest
Biomagnification
the concentration of toxins in an organism due to its ingestion of other plants/animals in which the toxins are more widely scattered
Bioaccumulation
build up within the tissues of organisms (pesticides or other chemicals)
What is resurgence?
Observed when pests previously targeted and successfully controlled by pesticide recur, but in higher numbers than they did before
What does broad spectrum mean when referring to a pesticide?
Targets a large variety of species
What term can be used for disease carrying organisms?
Vectors
What is LD50?
The dose would be required to kill 50% of the test population
List five toxic metal pollutants.
Lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium
Positive feedback loops
causes a system to change further in the same direction (such as climate change)
Negative feedback loops
causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which is it moving (such as the relationship between predators and prey)
Fecal snow is characteristic of what city?
Mexico City
What does industrialized agriculture consume a lot of?
Water, used for irrigation
What kind of affect do forests have on carbon dioxide and oxygen levels?
Decrease carbon dioxide and increase oxygen via photosynthesis
What is most of the grain that is grown in the United States used for?
Feeding cattle
How is the diet of people in developed countries different from those in developing countries?
In developed countries, there are more meats and foods that require space and resources to produce, whereas in developing countries, grains and products that require few resources and little area to produce are more common
What are population characteristics of developing countries?
High birth rate, infant mortality rate, and death rate, low levels of education and short life expectancy
What is the current world population?
Approximately seven billion
What is true about early-loss populations, such as fish?
They have very high birth rates, but also high rates of infant mortality, resulting in a steep population drop at an early age before death rates level, resulting in a concave survivorship curve
What country has the largest population?
China
In a human population undergoing the demographic transition, what generally decreases first?
Death rate
What are estuaries?
The mouth of a river, where it flows into the ocean
Describe the Tragedy of the Commons
an economic problem in which every individual tries to reap the greatest benefit from a given resource
What biome is the most productive and which is the least?
The tropical rainforest is the most productive, and the least productive are the desert and tundra
Which biome, primarily found in the eastern United States, central Europe and eastern Asia, is home to some of the world’s largest cities and has probably endured the impact of humans more than any other biome?
Temperate deciduous forest
What affect can the destruction of wetlands have on a surrounding river?
Increased water flow and frequency of flooding, more sediments present in water (higher turbidity)
Which fishing technique is the most damaging to ocean ecosystems?
Trawl fishing; it scrapes the ocean floor and destroys ocean-bottom life
What causes the bleaching of coral reefs?
Warmer water temperatures
What part of the hydrologic cycle is the movement of water through the roots, stems and leaves of plants?
Transpiration
How is the phosphorous cycle different from the other nutrient cycles?
Phosphorous never enters the atmosphere
What is the direction of the flow of energy in a food chain?
Up; from producers to primary consumers to secondary consumers to tertiary consumers
When two species live in the same habitat and use exactly the same resources what will happen to the two species?
The two species will compete as the resources are limited
What is condensation?
When water vapor cools into a liquid form
K-Selected Species
K species- Produce a small amount of offspring and care for them over a long period of time, have a higher life expectancy
R-Selected Species
R species- produce many offspring in a short time period and a low life expectancy
Primary Succession
occurs when life grows out of a previously lifeless area
Secondary Succession
occurs when life grows out of an area that previously had life in it
What are common sinks for the following elements? Carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, sulfur.
Carbon- Carbonate rocks and the ocean, Phosphorus- Rocks and ground, Nitrogen- The atmosphere, Sulfur- Rocks
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum amount of individuals an environment can hold or ‘carry’
What affect do burning fossil fuels and deforestation have on carbon dioxide levels?
It increases the CO2 levels in the atmosphere
Which country constitutes 5% of the world’s people but produces 50% of all toxic waste?
United States
What does anthropocentric mean?
Originating from human processes or activities
What does sustainable development mean?
Economic development centered around the continued use of resources in the future
1st Law of Thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
The entropy of an isolated system always increases
What are intrinsic values?
The idea that animals have rights and worth beyond their instrumental value
RCRA
focused on managing waste at the factories and other places it is produced
CERCLA (Superfund)
focused on cleaning up the hazardous waste dump sites
FIFRA
regulates the manufacture and use of pesticides
What international treaty banned the use of CFCs?
Montreal Protocol
Lacey Act
prohibits the trading of endangered species across state lines
CITES
prohibits the trading of endangered species internationally
Endangered Species Act
identifies those endangered species
Today, most of the world’s energy comes from what three sources?
Oil, coal, and natural gas
