Unit 1 Global Climate Change Pt. 1

Question 1

chemistry

Answer 1

Chemistry: the scientific study of matter

Question 2

matter

Answer 2

Matter: every object in the universe is composed of matter. Defined as anything that occupies space and has mass (substance). All matter consists of elements/atoms.

Question 3

atoms

Answer 3

Atoms: all matter consists of atoms. The smallest units that retain all of the properties of their type of matter. In nature, atoms are not often found in isolation. Instead, they are usually bonded to each other to form molecules.

Question 4

molecule

Answer 4

Molecule: a group of two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds.

Question 5

elements

Answer 5

Elements: all matter is composed of individual elements. Substances that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical reactions. Individual elements combine in a fixed ratio to form compounds.
There are 92 naturally occurring elements on earth and several others have been artificially created in the laboratory
The periodic table of the elements is a list of all known elements.

Question 6

compounds, reactants and products

Answer 6

Reactants: starting matter
Products: ending matter
Compounds: substances with two or more elements in a fixed ratio.

Question 7

cellular respiration

Answer 7

Cellular respiration: series of chemical reactions that uses oxygen gas and a sugar called glucose to provide energy to your living cells, releasing water and carbon dioxide as by-products.

Question 8

the periodic table of elements

Answer 8

The periodic table of the elements: lists all of the chemical elements, ordered by atomic number.
4/92 naturally occurring elements make up the vast majority of matter within living organisms/living cells.
Another 7 elements account for much of the remaining mass.
14 trace elements are present in very tiny amounts, but cells cannot survive without them.
Only 25/92 are used by living cells.

Question 9

trace elements

Answer 9

Trace elements: also called micronutrients, are any chemical element required by living organisms in miniscule amounts, but cells require them to survive.

Question 10

atomic number

Answer 10

Atomic number: the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which determines the chemical properties of an element and its place in the periodic table.

Question 11

atomic weight

Answer 11

Atomic weight: the number of protons plus neutrons in an atom, represented as an average of naturally occurring forms of the element.

Question 12

solvent and solution

Answer 12

Solvent: a dissolving agent in a solution.
Solution: a liquid consisting of a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances.

Question 13

water and its importance

Answer 13

Due to its polar structure, water is an extremely effective solvent, able to dissolve just about anything.
Liquid water readily absorbs and releases heat and water therefore, resists temperature changes more than most substances. The presence of water can thereby act to moderate temperatures.
On a global scale, the oceans help moderate the Earth’s surface.
On a personal scale, sweating helps moderate your temperature by cooling off your skin.

Question 14

cohesion and adhesion

Answer 14

Cohesion: The attraction between molecules of the same kind.
EX: due to hydrogen bonding, water molecules tend to stick to each other.
Through cohesion, the effect of all these hydrogen bonds is to create surface tension, a film-like surface on which items (such as this spider) can be suspended.
Adhesion: the clinging of one substance to another, causes water to stick to surfaces, such as rain droplets on a car windshield. By means of hydrogen bonding.
Most of the chemical reactions that maintain life occur in water.

Question 15

aqueous solution

Answer 15

Aqueous solution: is one that contains a substance dissolved in water. A solution in which water is the solvent.
A small percentage of the water molecules break apart into hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH-).
Substances dissolved in water may also add H+ ions to the solution.
The concentration of H+ ions in an aqueous solution determines its pH.

Question 16

the pH scale

Answer 16

The pH scale: The concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. ph measure of the relative acidity of a solution. Runs from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most basic) with 7 as neutral. Each number in the pH scale represents a tenfold change in H+ ion concentration.

Question 17

acid

Answer 17

Acid: is a chemical that when dissolved in water, releases H+ ions.
EX: your stomach contains hydrochloric acid, HCI.
In solution, it tends to break apart into H+ and C1-.
Acids have a pH between 0-7

Question 18

burning fossil fuels and CO2 levels

Answer 18

releases chemicals that react with the water in the air to form strong acids and as they fall back to earth in the form of snow, rain or fog, the acid precipitation damages lakes and soil.
As CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere, about 25% of the excess is absorbed by the oceans and as it dissolves CO2 undergoes a chemical reaction that lowers the pH of the ocean and as this happens, ecosystems are destroyed because this limits the ability of organisms to perform the chemical reactions used to build their skeletons or shells.

Question 19

base

Answer 19

Base: is a chemical that when dissolved in water, removes H+ ions from solution, usually by combining them with OH- to form water molecules.
Lye is sodium hydroxide, NaOH and in water, the molecule falls apart and the released OH- combines with H+ decreasing the concentration of H+ ions in the solution. Bases have a pH between 7 and 14.

Question 20

buffers

Answer 20

Buffers: most cells regulate their pH through this. A chemical substance that resists changes in pH by accepting hydrogen ions from or donating hydrogen ions to solutions.
Consists of weak acids and weak bases.
Within human blood and other fluids, there are several different types of buffers that keep the body’s solutions at a nearly neutral pH, despite changes in the concentration of H+.
EX: contact solution protects eyes from potentially painful changes in pH.

Question 21

ecology

Answer 21

Ecology: is the scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment
The study of ecology is important because all of us are affected by our ecosystems in countless ways.
Biologists sometimes refer to the study of life on this scale as “skin-out” biology, meaning that ecology is concerned with the levels of biological organization from an organism outward into its environment.

Question 22

environmentalism

Answer 22

Environmentalism: a broad philosophy and social movement that seeks to maintain environmental quality.
The science of ecology can inform an understanding of our environment– a necessary first step toward solving environmental problems.

Question 23

Five levels of ecology

Answer 23

Five levels of ecology
Organismal ecology
Focuses on ways organisms adapt to their environments through physiology and behavior
Population ecology
Focuses on environmental factors that affect population size, growth and density.
Community ecology
Focuses on interactions between species and how this affects the makeup and organization of the community.
Ecosystem ecology
Focuses on questions of energy flow and chemical cycling
Biosphere

Question 24

population, community, ecosystem and biosphere

Answer 24

Population: a group of individuals of the same species living the same geographic place at the same time.

Community: consists of all the populations (of multiple species) living in a particular place.

Ecosystem: is all life living in a particular area together with all the nonliving components of that environment, including water, minerals and physical factors such as light and air.

Biosphere: is the global ecosystem–all life and all of life’s environment. The biosphere is the sum of all ecosystems on Earth which includes the lower atmosphere, the land and all water.

Question 25

producers and consumers

Answer 25

Producers: photosynthetic organisms such as plants who use solar energy, capture it and convert it to chemical energy.

Consumers: organisms such as animals that eat other organisms.

Question 26

biotic and abiotic factors

Answer 26

Biotic factors: a living component of a biological community; any organism that is part of an individual’s environment.

Abiotic factors: a nonliving component of an ecosystem, such as air, water, light, minerals or temperature.

• EX: Wind. Wind can affect an animal’s ability to regulate its internal temperature and affect the growth of plants.
• EX: Temperature. Most organisms best function between 32-110 degrees F.
• EX: Water. Terrestrial organisms have many adaptations to prevent drying out, but aquatic organisms must maintain a proper balance of water in their cells in order to survive.
• EX: Fire. Some plants have evolved mechanisms that take advantage of fires and sprout seeds only after being scorched.

Question 27

hydrothermal vents

Answer 27

Hydrothermal vents: volcanic gases occasionally seep through cracks in the deep ocean floor and near these cracks, hydrothermal venus, certain species of prokaryotes are able to use the chemicals as an energy source. These prokaryotes become the basis of a robust food chain within these unusual ecosystems.

Question 28

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 28

Biogeochemical cycle: any of the various chemical circuits occurring in an ecosystem involving both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. The flow an atom has through an ecosystem. These cycles occur both locally (within a particular ecosystem) and globally (within the entire biosphere).

Question 29

carbon

Answer 29

Carbon is the major ingredient of all organic molecules and therefore all life on Earth.
The major abiotic reservoirs of carbon are the ocean and (distant second) the atmosphere.
Photosynthesis transfers carbon from the abiotic reservoir (the atmosphere) to living producers (like plants).

Question 30

cellular respiration

Answer 30

Cellular respiration: moves carbon from living cells back to the atmosphere.
The uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis roughly balances the return of CO2 via cellular respiration.
—-This balance is affected by human activities as burning fossil fuels releases trapped carbon into the atmosphere.

Question 31

Which four elements make up the bulk of living cells?

Answer 31

Which four elements make up the bulk of living cells?

Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen

Question 32

precipitation, evaporation and transpiration

Answer 32

Precipitation: the process by which a gas changes to a liquid. For example, water precipitates from clouds and falls as rain.
Evaporation: the process by which a liquid changes to a gas.
Transpiration: the movement of water up and out of plants to the atmosphere.

Question 33

ionic bond

Answer 33

A(n) ionic bond forms when one atom gives up one or more electrons to another atom.

Question 34

ions

Answer 34

Atoms or molecules with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons are ions.

Question 35

covalent bond

Answer 35

A(n) covalent bond involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms, also known as a molecular bond.

Question 36

single bond

Answer 36

When one pair of electrons is shared between two atoms, a single bond is formed.

Question 37

double bond

Answer 37

When two pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms, a double bond is formed.

Question 38

polar bond

Answer 38

A polar bond is a type of chemical bond where a pair of electrons is unequally shared between two atoms. As a result, one end of the molecule has a slightly negative charge and the other a slightly positive charge.

Question 39

non-polar bond

Answer 39

Atoms involved in a nonpolar bond equally share electrons; there is no charge separation to the molecule.

Question 40

hydrogen bond

Answer 40

A weak bond called a hydrogen bond results from an attraction between a slightly positive region in a molecule and a slightly negative region in the same or a different molecule.