APES REVIEW
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- Natural selection
- organisms that posess favorable adaptations pass them on to the next generation
- Salt water intrusion
- near the coast, overpumping of groundwater causes saltwater to move in the aquifer
- Incineration disadvantages
- toxic emissions (polyvinyl chloride - dioxin), scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators needed, ash disposal (contains heavy metals)
- Commensalism
- symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits and the other is unaffected
- Ozone
- formation: secondary pollutant - effects: respiratory irritant, plant damage - reduction: reduce NC emissions and VOC's
- Estimate of how long a radio isotope must be stored until it decays to a safe level
- approximately 10 half-lives
- Ozone depletion caused by
- CFC's methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachoride, halon, methyl bromide, all of which attack stratospheric ozone
- Pros of petroleum
- cheap, easily transported, high quality energy
- Sustainability
- the ability to meet humanities current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meen their needs
- High Quality Energy
- organized and concentrated, can perform useful work (ex fossil fuel and nuclear)
- Sulfur oxides
- source: coal burning - effects: acid deposition, respiratory irritation, damages plants - reduction: scrubbers, burn low sulfur fuel
- Malthus
- said human population cannot continue to increase, consequences will be war, famine, and disease
- Fecal coliform
- indicatior of sewage contamination
- Mutualism
- symbiotic relationship where one partner benefits and the other is unaffected
- Best way to solve waste problem
- reduce the amounts of waste at the source
- Best solution to energy shortage
- conservation and increased efficiency
- Leaching
- removal of dissolved materials from soil by water moving downwards
- Aquifer
- any water bearig layer in the ground
- Ionizing radiation
- enough energy to knock electrons from atoms forming ions, capable of causing cancer
- Steps in coal formation
- peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
- Congeneration
- using waste heat to make electricity
- Major insecticide groups and examples
- chlorinated hydrocarbons - DDT; organophosphates - malathion; carbomates - aldicarb
- ENSO
- El Nino Southern Oscillation, see-sawing of air pressure over the South Pacific
- Indicator species
- species that serve as early warnings that an ecosystem is being damaged, ex trout
- excess phosphorous is added to aquatic ecosystems by
- runoff of animal wastes, fertilizer discharge of sewage
- Cons of petroleum
- reserves depleted soon, pollution during drilling, transport and refining, burning makes CO2
- Nitrogen Oxides
- (source: auto exhaust) (effects: acidification of lakes, respiratory irritation, leads to smog and ozone) (reduction: catalytic converter)
- Ammonification
- decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia
- Effects of global warming
- rising sealevel (thermal expansion), extreme weather, droughts (famine), extinctions
- Humus
- organic, dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms
- Postindustrial stage
- low birth and death rates
- Salinazation of soil
- in arid regions, water evaporates leaving salt behind
- Photochemical smog
- formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight (NO, VOC, O)
- Most important thing affecting population growth
- low status of women
- Carbon oxides
- source: auto exhausts, incomplete combustion - effects: CO binds to hemoglobin reducing bloods ability to carry O, CO2 contributes to global warming
- Major parts of a nuclear reactor
- core, control rods, steam generator, turbine, containment builing
- Minamata Disease
- mental impairments caused by mercury
- Replacement level fertility
- the number of children a couple must have to replace themselves (2.1 developed, 2.7 developing)
- Positive feedback
- when a change in some condition triggeres a response that intensifis the changing condition
- Preservation
- setting aside areas and protecting them from human activities
- Low Quality Energy
- disorganized, dispersed (heat in ocean or air wind, solar)
- Acid deposition
- caused by sulfuric and nitric acids resulting in lowered pH of surface waters
- Biome
- large distinct terrestrial region having similar climate, soil, plants, and animals
- aerobic respiration
- oxygen consuming producers, consumers and decomposers break down complex organic compounds and convert carbon back into CO2
- BOD
- biological oxygen demand, amount of disolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down organic materials
- LD50
- the amount of a chemical that kills 50% of the animals in a test population
- World population is
- almost 6.5 billion
- Denitrification
- bacteria convert ammonia back into Nitrogen
- Keystone species
- species whose role in an ecostystem are more important than others, ex sea otter
- Endangered Species
- North spotted Owl (loss of growth forest), Bald Eagle (thinning of eggs caused by DDT), Piping Plover (nesting areas threatened by development)
- Nuclear Fission
- nuclei of isotopes split apart when struck by neutrons
- Eutrophication
- rapid algal growth caused by an excess of nitrogen and phosphorous
- True cost/External costs
- harmful environmental side effects that are not reflected in a product's price
- Incineration advantges
- volume of waste reduced by 90% and waste heat can be used
- Age structure diagrams
- (broad base, rapid growth) (narrow base, negative growth) (uniform shape, zero growth)
- Hyphoxia
- when aquatic plants die, the BOD rises as aerobic decomposers break down the plants, the dissolved oxygen drops and the water cannot support life
- Electricity is generated by
- using steam (from water boiled by fossil fuels or nuclear) or falling water to turn a generator
- Volcanoes and earthquakes occur
- at plate boundaries (divergent, spreadig, mid-ocean ridges) (convergent, trenches) (transform, sliding, San Andreas)
- Illuviation
- deposit of leached material in lower soil layers (B)
- Organic fertilizer
- slow acting and long lasting because the organic remains need time to be decomposed
- Nitrogen Fixation
- because atmospheric Nitrogen cannot be used directly by plants it must first be conveted into ammonia by bacteria
- Municipal solid waste is mostly
- paper and most is landfilled
- Point vs non point sources
- point- from specific location such as pipe; non point- from over an area such as runoff
- Particulate matter
- (source, effect, reduction): (burning fossil fuels and car exhaust) (reduces visibility and respiratory irritation) (filtering, electrostatic precipitators, alternative energy)
- Second Law of Thermodynamics
- when energy is changed from one form to another, some useful energy is always degraded into lower quality energy (usually heat)
- Conservation
- allows the use of resources in a responsible manner
- Parasitism
- relationship in which one partner obtains nutrients at the expense of the host
- Love Canal, NY
- chemicals buried in old canal and school and homes built over it causing birth defects and cancer
- Ways to conserve water
- agriculture, drip/trickle irrigaiton - industry, recycling - home, use gray water, repair leaks, low flow fixtures
- Secondary succesion
- life progresses where soil remains (clear cut forest)
- Cone of depression
- lowering of the water table around a pumping well
- Effects of ozone depletion
- increased UV, skin cancer, cataracts, decresed plant growth
- Most endangered species
- have a small range, require large territory or live on an island
- Effects of El Nino
- upwelling decreases disrupting food chains, North US has mild winters, SW US has increased rainfall, less Atlantic Hurricanes
- During a Non El Nino year
- Easterly trade winds and ocean currents pool warm water in the western Pacific, allowing upwelling of nutrient rich water off the West coast of South America
- Pesticide pros
- saves lives from insect transmitted disease, increses food supply, increases profits for farmers
- Nuclear Fusion
- 2 isotopes of light elements (H) forced together at high temperatures till the fuse to form a heavier nucleus
- Greenhouse gases
- (H2O, CO2, O3, methane, CH4, CFC's) they trap outgoing infrared (heat) energy causing the earth to warm
- Surface mining
- cheaper and can remove more mineral, less hazardous to workers
- Negative feedback
- when a changing in some condition triggers a response that conteracts the changed condition
- Parts of the hydrologic cycle
- evaporation, transpiration, runoff, condensation, precipitaion
- Industrial stage
- decline in birth rate, population growth slows
- Primary succession
- development of communities in a lifeless area not previously inhabited by life
- R strategists
- reproduce early, many small unprotected offspring
- Ways to decrease birth rate
- family planning, contraception, economic rewards and penalties
- Phosphorous does not circulate as easily as Nitrogen because
- it does not exist as a gas, but is released by weathering of phospate gas
- First Law of Thermodynamics
- energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another
- energy flow in food webs
- only 10% of the usable energy is transferred because usable energy lost as heat (2nd law), not all biomass is digested and absorbed, predators expend energy to catch prey
- In natural ecosystems, 50-90% of pest species are kept under control by
- predators, diseases, parasites
- Radon
- radioactive gas, formed from the decay of Uranium, causes lung cancer and is a problem in the Reading Prong
- Percent water on earth by type
- 97.5% seawater, 2.5% freshwater
- Largest reservoirs of Carbon
- carbonate rocks first, oceans second
- Natural pest control
- better agricultural practices, genetically resistant plants, natural enemies, biopesticides, sex attractants
- LI Exotic Species
- gypsy moth, Asian Long Horned Beetle
- Doubling time
- rule of 70 -- 70 divided by the percent growth rate
- Ore
- a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a mineral making it profitable to mine
- 1st and 2nd most populated countries
- China and India
- Primary air pollutants
- produced by humans and nature (CO, CO2, SO2, NO, hydrocarbons, particulates)
- K strategists
- reproduce late, few, cared for offspring
- Photosynthesis
- plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into complex carbohydrates like glucose
- Carrying Capacity
- the number of individuals that can be sustained in an area
- Mutagen, Teratogen, Carcinogen
- causes hereditary changes, Fetus deformities, cancer
- Garret Hardin and The Tragedy of the Commons
- Freedom to breed is bringing ruin to all. Global commons such as atmosphere and oceans are used by all and owned by none
- Two most serious nuclear accidents
- Chernobyl, Ukraine; Three Mile Island, PA
- Natural raioactive decay
- unstable radioisotopes decay releasing gamma rays, alpha, and beta particles
- Preindustrial stage
- birth and death rates high, population grows slowly, infant mortality high
- US population is
- 300 million
- Loam
- perfect agricultural soil with equal portions of sand, silt, clay
- Petroleum forms from
- microscopic aquatic organisms in sediments converted by heat and pressure into a mixture of hydrocarbons
- Half life
- the time it takes for 1/2 the mass of a radioisotope to decay
- Alternate energy source
- wind, solar, waves, biomass, geothermal, fuel cells
- Chlorine
- (good>disinfection of water) (bad>forms trihalomethanes)
- Sanitary landfill problems and solutions
- leachate, liner with collection system - methane gas, collect gas and burn - volume of garbage, compact and reduce
- nitrification
- ammonia is converted into nitrate ions (NO-3)
- Biotic/abiotic
- living and nonliving components of an ecosystem
- Producer/Autotroph
- photosynthetic life
- Assimilation
- inorganic N is converted into organic molecules such as DNA/amino acids and proteins
- Pesticide cons
- genetic resistance, ecosystem imbalance, pesticide treadmill, persistence, bioaccumulation, biological magnification
- During an El Nino year
- trade winds weaken and warm water sloshed back to South America
- Transtional stage
- death rate lower, better health care, population grows fast