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GCSE Biology (B3) > How Humans Can Affect the Environment > Flashcards

How Humans Can Affect the Environment Flashcards

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1
Q

What do humans pollute?

A
  • Waterways with sewage, fertiliser, and toxic chemicals
  • Air with smoke and gases such as sulfur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain
  • Land with toxic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides. These can be washed into the water
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2
Q

What is the difference between a pesticide and a herbicide?

A

A pesticide kills animals (pests)

A herbicide kills plants (herbs…)

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3
Q

How do humans reduce the amount of land available for plants and animals?

A

By building, quarrying, farming, and dumping waste

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4
Q

What is produced when goods are made?

A

Industrial waste

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5
Q

How is the land polluted by humans?

A
  • Sewage contains gut parasites and toxic chemicals. It must be treated properly to remove these
  • Household and industrial waste placed in landfill can leak toxic chemicals. Some industrial waste, such as radioactive waste, is very hazardous
  • Farming methods can pollute the land
  • Herbicides and pesticides are poisons and can enter the food chain or be washed into rivers
  • Chemical fertilisers can be washed into rivers
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6
Q

How is water polluted by humans?

A
  • Herbicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilisers are washed into rivers + streams
  • Fertilisers and untreated sewage can cause a high level of nitrates in the water
  • Toxic chemicals from landfill also leak into the waterways and pollute the water, killing organisms such as fish
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7
Q

What produces sulfur dioxide and other acidic gases?

A

Burning fuels

Cars and power stations release them

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8
Q

How is acid rain produced?

A

Sulfur dioxide dissolves in the water in the air, forming acidic solutions

The solutions then fall as acid rain

This can happen a very long way from where the gases were produced

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9
Q

How can acid rain affect organisms?

A
  • Trees can be damaged if the leaves are soaked in acid rain for long periods
  • When trees are damaged, food and habitats for other organisms are lost
  • Acid rain can also change the soil pH, damaging roots and releasing toxic minerals such as aliminium ions
  • Enzymes are also very sensitive to pH
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10
Q

What has deforestation caused?

A
  • Increased the rate of CO2 in the atmosphere due to the burning of trees or decay of wood by microorgamisms
  • Reduced the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis
  • Reduced biodiversity due to loss of food + habitats
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11
Q

Why has deforestation occured?

A
  • So that crops can be grown to produce ethanol-based biofuels
  • So there can be increases in cattle + rice fields for food
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12
Q

What has led to an increase in the levels of methane in the atmosphere?

A

Cattle + rice growing

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13
Q

What does the destruction of peat bogs lead to?

A
  • Releases CO2 into the atmosphere
  • The peat is used in compost
  • The compost is then decayed by microorganisms
  • The decay is what leads to the release of CO2
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14
Q

How is carbon dioxide sequestered?

A

It is removed from the air by plants in photosynthesis and by dissolving in oceans, rivers, and lakes

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15
Q

What might an increase in the Earth’s temperature by only a few degrees celcius lead to?

A
  • Changes to the Earth’s climate
  • Rise in sea levels due to the melting of the ice caps and glaciers
  • Reduce biodiversity
  • Cause changes in migration patterns
  • Result in changes in the distribution of species
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16
Q

How is ethanol produced from starch for use as a biofuel?

A
  • Microorganisms respire anaerobically to produce it
  • Sugars from crops are used as the energy source
  • Glucose is produced from maize starch using carbohydrase
  • The ethanol is then extracted via distillation to be used as a fuel

Digestion -> Fermentation -> Distillation

17
Q

How is biogas produced?

A

By anaerobic fermentation by bacteria using waste carbohydrate

18
Q

Which gas is the fuel in biogas?

A

Methane

19
Q

How do biogas generators work?

A
  • Provide the ideal conditions for bacteria to reproduce and germent the carbohydrates
  • Maintained at a suitable temperature in an oxygen-free environment
  • Some are designed to mix the contents
  • They are either burried in the ground for insulation or have insulating jackets
20
Q

Where do large-scale, commercial generators use waste from?

A

Sugar factories or sewage works

21
Q

What makes biogas better quality?

A

More methane = better quality

22
Q

Aside from methane, what else do biogas generators produce?

A

Slurry, which can be used as a fertiliser

23
Q

Why is it more efficient for us to eat plants and not animals?

A

The food chain is shorter, so less energy will be wasted

24
Q

How can we produce meat more efficiently?

A
  • Preventing the animal from moving so it doesn’t waste energy on movement
  • This is seen as cruel by many so is contraversial
  • Keeping the animal in warm sheds so it doesn’t use as much energy from food to maintain its body temperature
25
Q

What is sustainable food production?

A

Methods of producing food which can be sustained/carried out over time without destroying the fertility of the land or ocean

26
Q

How are fish stocks in the oceans preserved?

A
  • They are monitored
  • Fishermen have quotas
  • Fishermen have to use certian sized nets to avoid catching small, young fish
27
Q

What is Fusarium used to produce?

A

Mycoprotein - a protein-rich food suitable for vegetarians

28
Q

How is Fusarium grown?

A

Aerobically on cheap sugar syrup made from waste starch in a fermenter

29
Q

What features do industrial fermenters have?

A
  • Air supply providing oxygen for respiration
  • Stirrers or gas bubbled used to keep the microorganism spread out and to provide and even temperature
  • A water-cooled jacket around the outside, as the respiring microorganisms release energy which heats the contents (to maintain correct temp.)
  • Sensors to monitor both pH and temperature
30
Q

What human activities can affect the global environment?

A
  • Deforestation - can increase levels of CO2
  • Rice growing + cattle farming lead to increase in levels of methane
  • Building dams to store water in reservoirs causes loss of habitat, drying out of rivers, and reduction of fertile land

GCSE Biology (B3) (4 decks)

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