Unit 5 Flashcards
__________________ cells convert solar energy directly into electricity.
Photovoltaic
Turning off lights when you leave a room or switching to CFL or LED lighting is an effective conservation method because lighting usually accounts for _______________ % of average home electrical costs.
25
Define greenhouse gases. What human actions have led to an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? What has been the result?
Greenhouse gases are gases found in the atmosphere that trap incoming solar radiation and reradiate it to Earth’s surface as heat, warming the planet. Without them, Earth would be too cold to sustain human (and most other) life. Humans have greatly added to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide (resulting from burning fossil fuels). The result has been a relatively rapid increase in average global temperatures leading to climate change around the world.
A costal area that floods during high tides but is exposed to the air at low tide is known as a(n) __________________.
intertidal zone
The ocean’s __________ is the most important factor in determining the abundance of life in a given region of the ocean.
depth
Yellowcake is processed during an enrichment phase to increase the proportion of
U-235 to U-238
Which of the following is an example of low-level radioactive waste?
Worker clothing and gloves
Tools used in the nuclear facility
True or False: All species of birds that have been studied indicate a northward shift in the range of several hundred kilometers.
False
What are coral reefs, and where are they found? Explain the symbiotic relationship the polyp shares with its resident zooxanthellae.
Corals are tiny marine organisms that live in colonies of many individual polyps. Once established, coral reefs continue to grow by using chemical cues to attract free-floating coral larvae to attach to the top of existing coral skeletons. After attaching to a surface, the larva undergoes metamorphosis to the polyp stage and secretes a calcium carbonate skeleton. A reef thus grows from corals building on top of other corals over the course of generations.
Coral reefs are found in shallow, nutrient-poor, tropical seas, between 30° S and 30° N of the equator. Their mutualistic relationship with zooxanthellae (“zooks”)—a photosynthetic algae that lives inside and shares nutrients with the coral—enables them to live in these nutrient-poor marine waters. The zooxanthellae perform photosynthesis and provide the coral with sugars, and raise the pH a little, which helps the coral lay down its calcium carbonate skeleton. The coral provides CO2 for the zook’s photosynthesis; the zooks also use coral waste as nutrients.
Besides ocean acidification, what threats do coral reefs and other ocean ecosystems face? Describe the causes and consequences of these threats.
While acidification is a very big threat, oceans face many other threats, including overfishing, pollution, rising sea levels, and invasive species.
Overfishing includes taking too many fish, as well as the destruction of sea beds or killing of other nontarget species during fishing. It is the biggest threat to oceans: About 90% of top trophic level predators have already been eliminated by overexploitation. Such heavy losses disrupt the interdependent relationships needed to sustain each community. For example, without grazer fish to keep it in check, algae overgrows on coral. Pollution from sediment and high levels of nutrient runoff from agricultural areas are boosting algae production and creating algal blooms, which smother corals and block sunlight, reducing photosynthesis. Trash—from both land and sea—and petroleum from ships and boats are also polluting the marine environment at unprecedented rates.
Rising sea levels will increase the depth of ocean waters and may decrease sunlight penetration, thus reducing photosynthesis, especially in the deepening coral seas.
Invasive species pose yet another threat; more than 80% of ocean harbors around the world now host at least one invasive species. These non-natives can disrupt ecosystems and prey upon or outcompete native species, changing the makeup of the community.
What factors determine the identification of the different ocean zones that are recognized?
The main factor is depth. This relates both to sunlight penetration (darkness) and temperature. The distance to shore is also important. Areas close to shore receive nutrients from the nearby land and rivers that empty into estuarine regions, providing nutrients that support a more abundant and biodiverse ecological communities.
Which of the following is not an advantage that solar and wind power share?
Pollution free
Effective at large and small scales
The most inexpensive renewable technologies to install
Job creation
The most inexpensive renewable technologies to install
Which of the following in not a characteristic of sustainable energy sources?
They must be renewable.
We must use them at or less than the rate at which they are replenished.
They must have no environmental impact.
All of these are characteristics of sustainable energy.
They must have no environmental impact.
True or False: The rate of the reaction is controlled by the insertion of control rods that absorb the free protons.
False
True or False: Current warming can be explained by the Milankovitch cycles.
False
solar
convert solar energy
directly into electricity.
photovoltaic cells
The urban heat island effect is caused by:
minimal green space.
lots of pavement and buildings.
high energy use in the city as a whole.
all of the above.
all of the above
Barnacles, starfish, and mussels are found in the _______ ocean zone.
intertidal
The majority of geothermal sites are located in _________ and the western part of the ____________.
Iceland; United States
The Bronx River was historically covered with ______________________
salt marshes
Which of the following threats to ocean ecosystems contributes to damage in coral reef areas?
Fishing with dynamite or using toxic chemicals to capture reef fish
Overfishing
Sediment runoff from land
All of the above
all of the above
The urban heat island effect is caused by too little ____________, too much _____________, and high energy use
plant life, pavement
Trying to decrease the extent or impact of future climate change is known as ___________, whereas taking steps to adjust to current or inevitable climate change is known as____________.
Mitigation, adaptation
True or False: Light surfaces like snow have a lower albedo than darker surfaces like water.
False
The ______ may have been the first species to go extinct due to climate change.
golden toad
Ground temperature being harnessed to either heat or cool a house is always around ________________ degrees Fahrenheit.
55
Samsø used_____________,_______________, and __________energy sources to meet its energy needs.
Wind, solar, and biomass
In response to redlining in the 1960s, landlords in the Bronx:
burned their buildings to collect insurance money.
In a nuclear fuel assembly, control rods are used to regulate the nuclear reaction. But even if all the control rods are inserted into the fuel assembly, heat is still produced. Explain why.
The nuclear material spontaneously decays, even if the fission reaction has been halted. This spontaneous decay generates heat. (This is why spent fuel rods still generate heat and must remain in a cooling water bath.)
The largest segment of renewable energy is ____________________.
biomass
True or False: Coral reefs are nutrient-rich areas where shallow rivers meet the ocean.
False
Nuclear fission is a reaction that:
splits an atom, releasing energy.
combines two or more atoms, producing energy.
results in large explosions.
is required to make atoms radioactive.
splits an atom, releasing energy.
In the winter of 2010, the northeastern part of the United States had several large snowstorms that resulted in record high snowfall amounts. How does this weather fit in with the notion of global climate change?
Weather doesn’t equal climate. Isolated events such as snow storms cannot be taken as evidence either for or against climate change. Climate change models don’t predict that every location on Earth will be warmer, just that global averages will increase. Climate change is about changing climates, not just warming — shifts in the atmospheric jet streams or ocean currents that result from warmer temperatures may shift seasonal weather patterns resulting in colder or stormier weather in some places or simply more variable weather.
True or False: NOAA estimates that more than half of coral reefs worldwide are threatened by human activities or environmental changes.
True
Reduction of the use of commercial fertilizer will _____________ algae blooms.
decrease
Isotopes are atoms that have different numbers of ____________ in their nucleus but the same number of ____________
neutrons; protons
Net _________________ (2 words) emissions have fallen to zero because of Samsø’s switch to renewable energy sources.
carbon dioxide
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ energy can be captured on a small scale to lower home heating and cooling costs or on a large scale to produce electricity or heat.
Geothermal
Describe the characteristics of the four sustainable energy sources presented here for generating electricity: wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power. Why are all sources not practical for every location?
Electricity produced from wind, geothermal, and water all share the common feature of some force turning a turbine which spins adjacent to copper wiring within a generator to generate electricity. Wind energy uses the power of wind to turn turbines (windmills). Geothermal energy uses the heat produced by the Earth to heat water and produce steam which turns a turbine. Water energy uses the energy of water falling downhill and/or running by to turn a turbine. Solar energy is different in that it uses the energy of the sun to displace electrons in a photovoltaic cell which generates electrical current. All sources are not practical for every location because all locations don’t have abundant sunlight, or water, wind, etc. The practicality of these depends on abundance, and abundance varies across the planet.
Which of the following has the greatest albedo?
A forest
A light-colored roof
A dark asphalt road
The surface of the ocean
a light-colored roof
Which disadvantage of large dams can the smaller run-of-the-river dams avoid?
The environmental damage of creating a reservoir is avoided.
Which atom is more stable, Uranium-238 or Uranium-235?
Uranium-238
True or False: Barring a major accident, it is less hazardous to your health to live near a nuclear reactor than a coal-fired power plant.
True
Acidic solutions contain a greater amount of ________ ions.
hydrogen
It is estimated that ______% of all ocean species spend some portion of their life in a coral reef.
25
There are different types of radiation. Which one is most energetic and can therefore penetrate many surfaces, including skin?
Gamma radiation
Coral reefs are found in environments that are nutrient rich or poor?
poor
Identify several reasons suburban dwellers might have bigger ecological footprints than urban dwellers.
The biggest footprint factors revolve around energy usage. Longer commutes and a car-culture community (stores and amenities not in walking distance) greatly increase the use of individual or family vehicles for transportation. Homes tend to be larger in the suburbs and tend to be single family homes; this increases energy use in the home. Higher consumption of consumer goods (more space to hold their stuff) also can increase the waste generated by a suburban dweller.
The heat from the fission of ____________ isotopes is used to create steam, which is converted to electricity.
radioactive
According to the stabilization wedge strategy proposed by Pacala and Socolow we:
must reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations below the 350ppm to avoid disastrous consequences.
can continue to burn fossil fuels for the next 50 years if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions in other ways.
can use a variety of currently available strategies to prevent atmospheric CO2 from exceeding 500 ppm.
should focus our efforts on adapting to inevitable climate change rather than mitigation
can use a variety of currently available strategies to prevent atmospheric CO2 from exceeding 500 ppm.
How are spent fuel rods currently disposed of in the United States?
The spent fuel rods are initially stored in steel lined pools on site at the power plant to allow some of the short half-life material to decay. After a few years, it can be moved to above-ground dry cask storage. From here, it should go to an underground storage facility but as yet there is none available so these fuel rods either remain in steel lined pools or in dry cask storage.
True or False: An isotope with two half-lives has more daughter particles than an isotope with five half-lives.
False
____________________ are places where fishing and other human activities are restricted or completely prohibited.
MPAs
Coral are:
algae.
animals.
plants.
protozoa.
animals
True or False: Because the pH scale is logarithmic, even a small change in pH, like the 0.1 pH unit drop in ocean pH, represents a significant change.
True
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ energy sources are those that meet our needs, have acceptable impacts, and are readily replenished.
Sustainable
If urban centers have better health care and job opportunities than outlying areas, why are some city residents exposed to worse, not better, living conditions?
While some areas improve and boast good jobs, healthcare centers, cultural attractions, and schools, other areas may be the place where the city’s trash is dealt with, where industry resides, or where sewage treatment plants are located. In other words, one area may be wealthy and clean because another area is poor and polluted.
Radioactive tailings are created in the __________ step of the nuclear fuel production.
milling
Global climate changes will impact both mean annual temperature and ______, which will cause shifts in tree populations.
precipitation
rom an economic standpoint, which type of electricity production—nuclear or fossil fuel—is less expensive? Explain. Remember to include both internal and external costs in your answer.
Fossil fuel power plants are cheaper to build than nuclear plants and have a longer lifespan. Operating costs of the two plants are similar. Taking a nuclear power plant offline and making the structure safe costs far more than a similar situation for a coal-fired plant. In the average year where a nuclear accident has not occurred, health costs associated with fossil-fuel use far exceed those of the nuclear industry. However, in the unlikely event of an accident or natural disaster at a nuclear plant, then nuclear fuel costs soar due to clean-up, health costs, etc. In the end, nuclear is probably more expensive than coal.
True or False: The amount of future warming that Earth will experience in the next 100 years depends on the choices we make now.
True
